Mexico sacks Cocca; Lozano is interim coach
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) on Monday officially dropped Diego Cocca as manager of the senior men’s national team after a third-place finish in the Concacaf Nations League. In his place, Jaime “Jimmy” Lozano will step in as interim coach.
Cocca, hired in February and fired from his post with a 3-3-1 record, fell below expectations last week after Mexico lost 3-0 to the United States in the Nations League and beat Panama 1-0 in the ensuing third-place game.
“In the last week, I have found many deficiencies,” FMF commissioner president Juan Carlos Rodriguez said in a video on Monday.
“A game against the United States can be lost, there’s always that risk because this is football and the win can go one way or the other. What cannot be accepted was the way in which it happened,” he said.
“This phase has been flawed by the disorder in decision-making, by the lack of processes, rigor, and transparency in appointments, and by a perfect storm in the bad habits that we’ve been dragging for so many years.
“The natural thing to do would be to wait for the end of the Gold Cup, but today we don’t have time to waste. So I inform you that I’ve made the decision to terminate the contract of Diego Martin Cocca and the members of his coaching staff,” Rodriguez said.
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He later added that Rodrigo Ares de Parga would also be dropped as executive director of national teams.
The firing of Cocca and Ares de Parga add to the list of ongoing changes at the FMF since last year.
In the past 11 months, and related to just the men’s side, Mexico has made the following changes: the firing of general sporting director Gerardo Torrado and sporting director of national teams Ignacio Hierro; the hiring and eventual exit of Jaime Ordiales as sporting director for men’s national teams; the exit of men’s coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino; the hiring and firing of Ares de Parga as the executive director of national teams; the hiring of Duilio Davino as sporting director of men’s national teams; the hiring and firing of Cocca as the new men’s coach; the exit of former FMF president Yon de Luisa; and the election of Rodriguez as the new FMF president.
Lozano, 44, led El Tri’s Olympic squad to a bronze medal at Tokyo 2020.