MEXICO CITY (AP) — Javier Aguirre has spent a lifetime being Mexican football’s ultimate firefighter, hired mid-cycle to save the national team from one crisis after another.

As the 67-year-old leads his third — and final — World Cup squad in 2026, his great challenge isn't a qualifying emergency. It may just be the ghosts of his own past tactical mistakes.

Aguirre, 67, managed El Tri at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups, and he returns for the home tournament co-hosted with the U.S. and Canada. In all three instances, he was hired mid-cycle to rescue a struggling team.

In 2001, he replaced Enrique Meza after a devastating loss to Honduras threatened Mexico’s qualification. In 2009, Aguirre repeated the feat, replacing Sven-Göran Eriksson to salvage another rocky qualifying campaign.

“Javier was very smart because he knew how to get the best out of the group,” noted former national team striker and current ESPN analyst Jared Borgetti.

Lingering Ghosts

Despite qualifying the team for the World Cup twice — and reaching the round of 16 both times — Mexican fans still hold a grudge over his tactical missteps.

“I messed up by changing the playing system,” Aguirre recently said in an interview with the influencer Jorge Van Rankin regarding Mexico’s infamous 2-0 elimination by the U.S. in 2002. “I got nervous ... my inexperience came out.”

Similar criticism followed in 2010 when Mexico lost to Argentina in the round of 16, a match where Aguirre controversially started an unfit Adolfo Bautista over Cuauhtémoc Blanco, one of Mexico’s all-time greats.

“I was a little annoyed with Javier because he was going to put me in, but he changed it and put ‘Bofo’ in instead. I thought he’d put me in in the second half. I kept peeking out so he’d see me and put me in, but he didn’t,” Blanco said. “I was really excited about playing against Argentina, and he didn’t give me the chance.”

The 2026 mission: Healing a fractured squad

For this third stint — which he has stated will be his last — Aguirre once again inherited a team in disarray. He replaced Jaime Lozano, who was dismissed after Mexico’s disappointing group-stage exit at the 2024 Copa América.

Unlike his previous rescues, however, Aguirre didn’t have to endure a grueling qualifying campaign, as Mexico automatically secured a berth as co-hosts. A different kind of pressure awaited. Instead of fighting for points, Aguirre’s primary mission was reuniting and revitalizing a squad still reeling from its group-stage collapse at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“I want players who feel proud to compete — players who give everything for their country on the pitch,” Aguirre said. “If they play well and offer versatility, even better. But above all, they must be genuinely eager to represent Mexico.”

Aguirre inspires as a ‘true warrior’

There is a reason Aguirre demands such fierce commitment from his players: it is exactly how he forged his own path to the first division and, ultimately, to the 1986 World Cup.

“He’s a great leader and a loyal friend. Back in his playing days, he was a true warrior who never gave up,” said Manuel Negrete, the legendary former Mexican midfielder who shared a locker room with Aguirre in 1986.

The son of Spanish immigrants who arrived in Mexico fleeing the Spanish Civil War, Aguirre began to stand out in football not for flawless technique, but because he was always the one who ran the most and fought the hardest.

That grit defines his coaching style. In Spain’s La Liga, he forged a reputation for making relegation-threatened sides, like Osasuna and Mallorca, fiercely competitive. While he adapts tactically, his base 4-2-3-1 formation prioritizes defensive organization, high pressing and lethal, quick transitions.

“I don’t like how his teams play,” said Miguel Herrera, who coached Mexico at Brazil 2014. “But I love him as a coach because he has a clear conviction in what he does, and his teams know perfectly well what they are doing on the field.”

Helping Mexico turn the tide yet again

Although his third stint with El Tri had an erratic start, Aguirre gradually recruited players better suited to his demanding approach. The results followed in 2025, when Mexico captured both the CONCACAF Nations League and the Gold Cup.

Mexico will arrive at its opening World Cup match against South Africa riding a wave of momentum and an eight-game unbeaten streak.

“With me and everyone else, he’s like a father figure, making you feel loved and admired,” said midfielder Érik Lira. “He gives you enormous confidence, and that shows on the field.”

A master of group and media management

Off the field, Aguirre says often that his greatest motivation is his wife, Silvia Carrión, with whom he has three sons: André, Mikel and Iñaki. He regularly mentions her at press conferences, jokingly stating that he “wanted to retire as a coach at 50, but Silvia told me I still needed to buy a few things, and here I am at 67.”

Aguirre has noted that he doesn’t yet know what he will do after the 2026 World Cup, but he will discuss his next steps with her.

Another hallmark of the veteran manager is his expert handling of the media. In press conferences, he calls regular reporters by name, and playful banter is commonplace. When comfortable, he drops profanity, frequently utilizing his charisma to sidestep direct, difficult questions.

“Javier knows everything. He’s a coach who knows how to manage the group, the press and the pressure. He has thick skin. We all believe in him, and that’s very important,” said goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who was on the team under Aguirre in 2010 and returns to the squad in 2026.

Those who have known the coach longest recognize how much he has evolved and learned from his setbacks.

“I met him 22 years ago when he was just starting out as a coach, and over the years, his work ethic has evolved into a relentless pursuit of excellence,” Borgetti said. “He still speaks and acts with that same characteristic passion, but he has undoubtedly refined his approach. He has all the tools to make this national team play well and help us achieve something historic.”

Ultimately, that historic breakthrough is exactly what millions of Mexicans are hoping for.

___ AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup