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The former legendary striker of the country, Hugo Sánchez, has been appointed as the new coach of the Mexican national team, replacing the Argentine Ricardo La Volpe, who has been in charge since 2002 and resigned after the World Cup.
Hugo Sánchez, considered the best Mexican football player of all time at the age of 48, dominated in Spain with Real Madrid in the ninth decade of the previous century. From 2000 to 2005, he coached the Pumas club and in September took over as the coach of Necaxa.
In the Mexican national team, the passionate Hugo Sánchez replaces R. La Volpe, who defeated him in the battle for this position four years ago. Both coaches have publicly criticized each other - Hugo Sánchez criticized La Volpe's tactics, while La Volpe in turn stated that his rival is "second-rate".
However, La Volpe resigned after an unsuccessful performance by Mexico in the World Cup held in Germany and went to work for Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires. On Thursday, after America Gallego withdrew his candidacy for the position, Hugo Sánchez was appointed as the new coach, promising to show everything he is capable of and lift the team, which often fails to demonstrate its potential in final tournaments, to new heights.
"I want us to become world champions and not settle for just quarterfinals or semifinals," - ambitiously declared Hugo Sánchez to journalists gathered in the Mexican city of Pachuca, where he was nicknamed "Hugol" (a combination of his name and the Spanish word for goal).
As a player, Hugo Sánchez won numerous titles in Mexico and Spain. Starting his professional career at Pumas, he moved to Spain after six years to play for Atletico Madrid, but his best years as a striker were spent at Real Madrid, where he became the Spanish champion five times in a row and was the league's top scorer the same number of times.
In over 70 matches for the national team, he scored 47 goals, but he did not shine in World Cups and only managed to score one goal in three appearances. After retiring in 1997, Hugo Sánchez returned to Pumas as a coach and won the Mexican championship twice.
