Javier Aguirre at Valencia, will he sign a Mexican as he did at Osasuna and Zaragoza? | OneFootball

Javier Aguirre returns to LaLiga as Valencia head coach until season’s end after leading Mexico at the last World Cup. His comeback revives the question of another Mexican signing.

According to Superdeporte, the pattern began in 2002 at Osasuna, his first job in Spain after the World Cup. Manuel Vidrio of Pachuca and Tigres striker Carlos Ochoa joined on loan, but neither made an impact.

Vidrio played five league games and Ochoa three before both went back to Mexico. The centre-back underwhelmed and the forward struggled with the level.

He later took Real Zaragoza midway through 2010-11, then added Efraín Juárez from Celtic and Pablo Barrera on loan from West Ham. Branded Operación Mexicana, it again fell short, Juárez played 16 league games with six starts, Barrera 20 with 13.

At Espanyol he signed no compatriots, though he still tapped the Mexican market to source a leading centre-forward.

Now at Mestalla after Osasuna, Atlético de Madrid, Zaragoza, Espanyol, Leganés and Mallorca, he is the club’s oldest head coach. The winter window is some way off, so he will study the squad, with free agents an option for defence or attack. Rumours already link Erik Lira of Cruz Azul and a loan for Obed Vargas from Atlético de Madrid, with answers likely in January.

Source: Superdeporte

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”