The Tigres UANL Club has confirmed the appointment of Veljko Paunovic as its new technical director starting with the 2024 Apertura Tournament and with this we remember the European coaches who have coached in Mexican soccer at the club level.
Throughout the history of Aztec football, many European coaches have come to take the reins of different clubs in Mexico and in the following list we name several of them.
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🗓 On March 5, 1921 Árpád Fekete was born, the Hungarian 🇭🇺 he was coach of Chivas, Nacional, Oro, Toluca, Atlas, Pumas, Laguna, Jalisco, Tigres, Tecos UAG, Atlante, Leones Negros, León and Morelia
Conquered 🏆🏆🏆 Ligas MX (2 with Chivas 🐐 and 1 with Gold) and 🏆 Copa MX with the Pumas pic.twitter.com/SmLxqeRhJ4
— Gooooool Pass ⚽🥅 (@PaseDeGooooool) March 6, 2023
One of the European coaches who deserves a special mention is the Hungarian Árpád Feketewho was one of the main figures in the history of Mexican soccer in its early years and is currently not known by the new generations.
He had a 25-year career on the bench, the ‘Firefighter‘ Fekete He directed 14 Mexican soccer teams: Guadalajara, Nacional, Oro, Toluca, Atlas, Pumas, Laguna, Jalisco, Tigres, Tecos, Atlante, Leones de la U. de G., León and Atlético Morelia.
His record includes two league titles and a Champion of Champions with the Sacred Flock, as well as a league championship and a Champion of Champions with Gold and a Cup with Pumas UNAM.
After his retirement as a soccer player, he took the reins of the team as coach of the Pumas UNAM, where he directed more than 200 games. He won a League, an Inter-American Cup and two Concachampions. Years later he was coach of the Mexican team.
After a successful career at Real Madrid with various titles, combined with stages in clubs in the Netherlands and other countries, in the mid-nineties, the Dutch strategist landed in Mexico to direct, for the first time, Club América, consolidating to a vintage team.
The first experience of Beenhaker in America it would only last a year; Later, after a year away, the Dutchman would return to Mexico in 1996 to coach Chivas, a stage that did not last a year and where he barely highlighted a victory in a National Classic against his former team.
Beenhaker would return to national soccer in 2003, in what was his second stage as technical director of América, where he was eliminated in the Liguilla against Toluca in the 2004 Clausura and in the round of 16 in the Copa Libertadores.
With experience in the Netherlands, managing clubs such as Groningen, PSV Eindhoven and Ajax Amsterdamas well as experience in youth categories of the Dutch team, Westerhof He landed in Mexico in 2004 to direct Chivas for the first time; At that stage, he was close to winning the league championship, but lost in the final against Pumas in the Clausura 2004.
In 2005 he left Mexico and returned in 2006, again to direct the Sacred Flock; However, his second stage was far from being as exciting as that of a couple of years ago and he was fired after ten days played. Months later, he would be hired by Necaxa for the 2007 Apertura, but he could not stand out and was fired at the end of the contest.
After a long career in football in his native Spain between 1986 and 2005, Lillo landed in Mexico in 2005 to direct Sinaloa Doradosas well as the last stage of Pep Guardiola as a professional footballer; However, despite the work done, it was not enough to avoid the decline of the ‘Big Fish‘.
The Dutch coach directed the Guadalajara Sports Club at the time when Johan Cruyff He was an advisor to the club, directed the 2012 Apertura and unfortunately could not perform well due to the team’s limited roster.
After long negotiations, Jemez He signed with Cruz Azul for one year ahead of Clausura 2017, despite not qualifying for the final phase of Clausura 2017.
Finally, the team was able to qualify for the final phase of the 2017 Apertura Tournament after failing to do so in the previous three seasons. On November 27, 2017, he terminated his contract with the Mexican club, after being eliminated by Club América in the quarterfinals.
The Spaniard’s first opportunity as a first team coach was in Mexico with Teco Students between 2013 and 2014, he later also commanded Santos Laguna and between 2017 and 2018 he commanded Pachuca. In none of them could he stand out.
The Portuguese Pedro Caixinha He arrived in Mexico to lead the Santos Laguna project in 2012.
After three years at the helm of the Warriors, Caixinha won a league title, a Cup and a Champion of Champions; Later, he became a strategist for Cruz Azul, where he stayed for a year (2018 to 2019), to win a Cup and a Super Cup, however, he was left on the edge of the long-awaited league championship for the Machine after losing to América in the final. of Apertura 2018.
Later he had a second stage with the Warriors in 2022, but it only lasted a few weeks and he left due to his poor start to the tournament.
The Serbian strategist had his first step in Mexico taking the reins of Club Deportivo Guadalajara, he commanded them during the two 2023 tournaments and reaching the final in the Clausura 2024, being runner-up and reaching the quarterfinals in the Apertura 2023. From of Apertura 2024 was hired to lead Club Tigres UANL.
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