The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) have listed former Leeds United coach Marcelo Bielsa as their ideal candidate to manage the men’s national team, sources told ESPN MX’s David Faitelson
Faitelson broke the news on Monday, later listing a gameplan that the FMF have in mind following the end of Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s contract as Mexico’s head coach after the 2022 World Cup.
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“The candidate that keeps them [the FMF] up at night is Marcelo Bielsa, they want Bielsa,” said Faitelson during an episode of Futbol Picante. “If it’s not Bielsa, there are other candidates.”
According to the report, other alternatives for the FMF include Ignacio Ambriz, Matias Almeyda, Antonio “Turco” Mohamed, Guillermo Almada, and former Mexico coaches Miguel Herrera, Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti and Juan Carlos Osorio.
The national team is scrambling to find a replacement for Martino after an underwhelming exit in the group stage of the World Cup. In preparation for the next edition of the tournament that they’ll co-host with the United States and Canada in 2026, Mexico’s new cycle will soon kick-off with CONCACAF Nations League matches in March and this summer’s Gold Cup.
On Futbol Picante, Faitelson divulged other details for the FMF’s gameplan in a post-Martino era, which include: Hiring a new manager before March’s Nations League games, limiting the amount of staff the new hire would bring, making the vacant U23 coach position an automatic assistant for the senior manager, aiming to bring in El Tri legend Rafael Marquez and/or former Mexico U23 coach Jaime Lozano as assistants, requiring the new manager to move to Mexico City, and creating an advisory committee made up of former national team coaches.
