At 67 years old and with more than three decades as technical director, Javier Aguirre is still in force. In his third stage at the head of the Mexican National Team, he achieved the best group stage for El Tri in a World Cup. Now, facing the round of 32 duel against Ecuador, he is clear that he does not want to repeat past mistakes.
Aguirre’s lessons
“I learned many things in those two games (the eliminations of 2002 and 2010), I was surely wrong, but it is important not to make the same mistake, that would be a double mistake; now is a different time, on a personal level even, and the big difference is our home field, that is like never before our great number 12 player,” he declared at a press conference.
“Vasco” highlighted the enthusiasm of the Mexican fans:
“We are aware that we have a country behind us and that motivates us a lot, so I would say that we are all very excited about what is coming.”
Aguirre has experienced four World Cup eliminations: as a player in Mexico 1986, as a technical assistant in the United States 1994, and as a coach in Korea-Japan 2002 and South Africa 2010. When asked what El Tri lacked to make history, he responded:
“The eliminations have always had a culprit, which is surely the coach. One could remember difficult eliminations and make 20 thousand stories to understand what was done wrong, but the victories belong to the players and the defeats to the coaches, and I include myself.”
He avoided seeking external explanations:
“Destiny, chance, arbitration, luck, that doesn’t matter to me. Both in 2002 and 2010 there were specific events that harmed us, but it is nothing more than an absurd justification after so much time.”
In this World Cup, the third to be played at home, Aguirre arrives with the scars of lost battles. Those that serve as fuel to want to change history.
