Javier Aguirre life and biography

Javier Aguirre Onaindía (born 1 December 1958 in Mexico City), popularly nicknamed El Vasco, is a Mexican football manager and former midfielder. He was also a member of the Mexican national team, of which he is currently the manager.

Aguirre played for a number of clubs in Mexico, including Club América, where he won several championships, including a final against CD Guadalajara, where he scored a goal. He also played outside Mexico with CA Osasuna in Spain and the Los Angeles Aztecs in the United States.

He made 59 appearances for the Mexican national team between 1983 and 1992, scoring 13 goals. He played in the FIFA World Cup in 1986 and was sent off in the quarter-final defeat by West Germany.

Mexico
In 2001, he replaced Enrique Meza as the manager of Mexico due to poor results. That same year, he managed them in the Copa América 2001, but lost 1-0 in the final against host nation Colombia. In 2002, he managed them in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Osasuna
Aguirre was then hired to coach CA Osasuna in the Spanish La Liga, where he has been one of the most consistent coaches in the past years, mostly due to the achievement of all the goals he sets. After being hired to save Osasuna in 2002, he did so and stayed with the team until 2006, when he earned them a spot in the UEFA Cup.

Atlético Madrid
This overwhelming success on such a small budgeted team earned him the spot on Atlético Madrid's bench. In the first season (2006–07), his task was to get the team back in a European competition and he did so by putting Atlético in the UEFA Cup. The second year's goal (2007–08) was a more ambitious one: the Champions League. After an irregular season, Atlético earned a ticket to the UEFA Champions League under Aguirre's command.

On 2 February, Spanish sports newspaper Marca reported that Aguirre would be replaced by ex-Atlético goalkeeper and CD Castellón manager Abel Resino. The club cited Atlético's recently lacking performance in the new year as reasons for Aguirre's dismissal (Atlético had not won a single game in 2009, up to that point). While most of the club felt his dismissal was necessary, some see his departure as unfair since Aguirre elevated the club to a level it had not seen in almost 14 years.

Return to Mexico
On 3 April 2009, Aguirre was officially appointed as the new manager of the Mexican national team after the poor performance of Sven-Göran Eriksson. Many believe that Eriksson was the scapegoat to be blamed because of Mexico's recently weak team (compared to past years), but brought average results for Mexico. He was officially presented as Mexico manager in a press conference on 16 April 2009. At the press conference, he stated: "I add, gentlemen, that I want the player who comes, come with pride, to recover the identity that comes with our love for the shirt" and that a call-up "is a reward and not a punishment, that we're all here because it is a prize for our careers."

On 6 June 2009, Aguirre debuted in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against El Salvador, losing 2–1. However, he rebounded four days later with a 2–1 win over Trinidad and Tobago.

On 9 July 2009, Aguirre was ejected in a bizarre incident during the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup match versus Panama. During a play along the sideline, Aguirre kicked Panamanian player Ricardo Phillips, triggering Phillips to push Aguirre, causing ejections for both Aguirre and Phillips and delaying the match for over 10 minutes due the refusal of the player from Panama to leave the field. Aguirre apologized to the Mexican fans, media, football players and staff, but never extended such courtesy to Philips or the Panamanian team. He was suspended for three games and the Mexican Football Federation was fined USD $25,000 by CONCACAF.

On 26 July 2009, Aguirre led Mexico to its fifth Gold Cup title and its first win against the United States outside of Mexico since 1999. He then led Mexico to a crucial comeback win over the same opposition at the Estadio Azteca on August 12, 2009 and followed it up by winning 3–0 in Costa Rica, putting Mexico closer to a qualifying spot for the World Cup that seemed to be an impossible task at the time when Eriksson was sacked. On 10 October 2009, Mexico beat El Salvador in the Estadio Azteca 4–1, qualifying Mexico for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

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