The president of the Mexican Football Federation, Yon de Luisa, affirmed this Tuesday that the national team of that country lacked in the World Cup cycle heading to Qatar 2022 having a coaching staff that knew the Mexican player, in clear allusion to the header by Argentine Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino.
Despite De Luisa accepting that the appointment of Martino, who was Mexico’s coach from 2019 to 2022, was wrong, he assured that he did not consider it appropriate to cut off the process before the termination of the Argentine’s contract, at the end of Qatar.
“In the previous cycle we lacked a coaching staff that knew the Mexican soccer player in depth, that got involved with them and that generated trust from both parties,” he explained at a press conference in which the reflections were presented after the failure. del Tri in Qatar and structural changes were announced for the process towards the 2026 World Cup.
Martino led Mexico at the 2022 World Cup to their first first-round elimination in the last seven World Cups, a record he only boasted alongside Brazil.
De Luisa did not set a deadline for Mexico to have a new coach, although he hopes that the new strategist can be on the bench for the games against Suriname and Jamaica in the Concacaf Nations League next March.
“We want a coach profile who has had success stories raising cups, who has managed different teams and who knows that working for a national team is different from working for a club. That in 50 or 60 days he does what a club does in 300. But above all, that he fully knows not only the local league, but also the Mexican player”, concluded the manager.