Thank you Ricardo La Volpe

The Argentinian coach who spent the majority of his life in Mexico has decided to finally retire from all coaching activities to move to another branch in the atmosphere of soccer.

One of the most respected coaches to ever step foot in Mexico in Ricardo la Volpe recently made his retirement from coaching in the Liga MX. La Volpe who spent more than 35 years as a coach for various club and national teams went on ESPN talk show of the Liga MX, Futbol Picante, and made his final declarations on what he would do next as he is stepping down from his coaching career. The ex goalkeeper of Argentina who won the FIFA World Cup in 1978 made the following statements:

“I am choosing to be an athletic director, I don’t want to direct more. I already passed the age, because I spent that kind of pressure.”

It should be noted that La Volpe has been a trailblazer since he started coaching all the way back to 1983 in Mexico as he was noted as having an eagle eye on top talented Mexican players and giving them opportunities on the field that led them to be a protagonist in their careers. Players like Andres Guardado, Diego Lainez, Daniel Osorno, Rafael Marquez, Edson Alvarez, Juan Pablo Rodriguez are just a few players that were giving the opportunity by La Volpe. But the list can continue if you would really dissect the resume of “El Bigoton.”

Along with producing top talented players, La Volpe created and made many Liga MX club team contenders throughout his coaching career. “El Bigoton”, had a crusade of coaching Mexico as he coached Oaxtepec, Ángeles de Puebla, Atlante, Chivas, Querétaro, América, Atlas, Toluca, Rayados and Jaguares de Chiapas. Not to mention that he also coached in his country of Argentina, teams like Boca Juniors, Vélez Sarsfield, and also crossing the “pond” and coached the Pyramids in Eygpt. So it is clear that La Volpe carries a load of experience.

Let us not forget that La Volpe coached the national team of Mexico as he gave them a different identity while he coached them from 2002-2006, as well, coaching Costa Rica national team from 2010-2011.

But there is more to add to the 68-year old newly sporting director resume, as he built a category of successful coaches under his tactics and teachings. Miguel Herrera, Ruben Omar Romano, Daniel Guzman, Jose Guadalupe Cruz, and Sergio Bueno all are products of La Volpe teachings as they all became top tier coaches their moments.

So we can thank La Volpe for generating much success not only in coaching but creating and establishing successful players, coaches, and club teams in the Liga MX. There are few people like La Volpe who have had much success in Mexico and it should not go unnoted.

Thank you, La Volpe, and hopefully, as a sporting director, you can continue to have much success.