Aguirre quits as Mexico coach

Aguirre quits as Mexico coach
(AFP) Wednesday 30 June 2010
Aguirre quits as Mexico coach
Getty Images

Javier Aguirre on Wednesday resigned as Mexico coach following the team's defeat to Argentina in the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup™. The 50-year-old replaced ex-England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson in April 2009, but Sunday's 3-1 defeat to Argentina in Johannesburg was the fifth successive time the country had failed in the Round of 16.

"It's very clear. The first person responsible is me. I believe that I have to resign my job," Aguirre told a news conference. "It's the most honest solution, the fairest and it's something I have to do."

Aguirre was in his second spell as national coach having qualified Mexico to the 2002 FIFA World Cup where they were eliminated by the United States in the last 16. He also led Mexico to the 2001 CONMEBOL Copa America final where they lost to Colombia in Bogota.

Mexico's best performance at a FIFA World Cup was a run to the quarter-finals in 1970 and 1986 when both tournaments were staged at home.