Mexican news outlet Terra is reporting that the man who brought Monterrey to new heights, Victor Manuel Vucetich, has been hired as the new manager of the Mexican National Team.
The hiring of Vucetich means that Luis Fernando Tena’s reign as coach of El Tri’s senior squad has come to an end after just one match. Tena acted as interim manager following Jose Manuel “Chepo” de la Torre’s dismissal last week following El Tri’s 2-1 home loss to Honduras in World Cup qualifying. The 55 year old will now step aside in favor of Vucetich, who enters the fold in a permanent role.
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Vucetich, who has spent the better part of the last 23 years coaching numerous clubs in the Primera Divsion de Mexico, is best known for his work as boss of Monterrey.
Arriving at the Nuevo León club in 2009, Vucetich made an immediate impact guiding Los Rayados to their first Liga MX Apertura title. He then repeated the domestic feat in 2010 before making the name “Vuce” part of MLS vernacular when he skipped past Real Salt Lake over the two legged CONCACAF Champions League final in April 2011. The Tampico-born manager went on to make the regional accolade his own by repeating the CCL title feat in 2011-12 and 2012-13.
The most successful era in the club’s history, which also saw Vuce lead the club to a third-place finish at the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup, came to a sputtering stop when Monterrey finished 7th in the 2012 Apertura and 9th in the 2013 Clausura. With the managerial leash tightened, the 58 year old needed a strong start to the 2013 Apertura. It didn’t happen.
After mustering only a single victory in Monterrey’s first seven matches, Vucetich was fired putting an end to his four year run at the club. Now he’s been handed a new task - bailing out his country from the potential travesty that would be Mexico failing to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
His objective is straightforward: Earn maximum points in El Tri’s two remaining qualifiers, a home game against Panama and a road clash in Costa Rica. Currently deadlocked with Panama for the fourth and final World Cup qualification spot in the CONCACAF Hexagonal, Vucetich has little, if any, room for error.