The World Cup hasn’t even taken place yet, and there’s already speculation as to who may be the next head coach of the Mexico National team after the tournament. Tata Martino is going to be the coach of the team in Qatar, there’s no doubt about that. However, he seems as fed up with the job as some of the fan base is with him. The straw that broke the camel’s back for Martino was the firing of Gerardo Torrado as essentially the sporting director of the Mexican National teams. Torrado was sacked more due to the poor results of the underage national teams, and women’s squad than Tata Martino’s issues with the main national team.
There’s been a ton of controversy surrounding the fact that Martino does not attend Liga MX games. Something that he’s made a point to do as of late. Also, he’s seemed visibly fed up with the Mexican press. That’s something that the heads at the Mexican federation seemed to have taken notice of. Most of the foreign coaches that don’t have Liga MX experience have a real tough time with the press as Mexico managers. Possibly the best thing that you can do to avoid these issues is to bring someone on from within Liga MX. Right now the two hottest commodities are Guillermo Almada of Pachuca, and an unlikely candidate, Nacho Ambriz of Toluca.
Almada Seems To Be The Clubhouse Leader
Almada has stated that he would like to coach the national team, and he has a couple of things going for him. For one, he’s been to two consecutive Liga MX finals. He was also able to reach the finals with Santos. Proving that he’s not a product of the system or carried by his players. It could actually be argued that he’s been successful without ever coaching a top Liga MX squad. He’s able to get the most out of middle of the pack players.
There are also things that could derail Almada’s campaign. If he didn’t end things well with the folks at Santos, Grupo Orlegi could look to block him from the national team. This is something that we’ve seen happen time and time again. On the other hand, he’s a highly emotional character that’s never been under the media microscope like he would be at the National team. Pachuca and Santos are not high profile teams that command a lot of media attention. He could unravel quickly, and that’s certainly something that needs to be accounted for. If he wins the championship though he’ll likely get the job.
Would Ambriz Be A Decent Option For The National Team?
Ambriz was coming off being sacked at Huesca, and having such a dreadful season with Toluca that the team had to pay one of the fines given out to the last 3 teams in the Liga MX relegation table. His team this year was 6th in the Liga MX regular season. Knowing that, we may need to pump the brakes a bit on him being eligible to be the national team coach. It’s only a few good games that he’s coached as of late. We’d have to go back to his Leon days to justify his appointment as national team manager.
What Ambriz brings to the table though, may just be what Almada lacks! He’s been in the national team both as a player, and an assistant coach under Javier Aguirre in that 2002 World Cup. He’s got coaching experience in Europe, and a proven track record of success in Liga MX. Either of the two would be fine choices. Particularly if Mexico wants to look in house. Almada could craft potentially a better project with young players encapsulating not only the main national team, but the underage squads. That could certainly be appealing to Mexico’s high ranking officials who make these decisions.
