Jaime Lozano is out as Mexico national team manager with the federation sending out a press release confirming the news.
"Jaime Lozano was offered, along with his coaching staff, a contract until 2030, in which during 2024-2026 they will accompany a more experienced manager towards our World Cup, and later it would be Jaime himself who would retake the reins of head coach in the 2026-2030 process," the FMF statement read.
La Federación Mexicana de Futbol agradece y reconoce el compromiso y entrega de Jaime Lozano. Hoy termina su etapa como Director Técnico de la Selección Nacional Mayor. Esperamos lo mejor para su carrera profesional y personal. pic.twitter.com/HciqORROcp
— Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (@FMF) July 17, 2024
The rumor making the rounds was the FMF wanted Javier Aguirre to take over with Lozano as his assistant. Obviously this was something Lozano was not in favor of.
Lozano's sacking comes following a disappointing Copa America for Mexico who were unable to get out of the group stage for the second tournament in a row. In a group with Jamaica, Venezuela and Ecuador, Mexico were only able to get four points and managed to score only one goal.
Lozano came under a lot of criticism for his player selection and the way he utilized some of his players like Santiago Gimenez. The Feyenoord is one of the few Mexican players playing abroad and getting minutes.
While he was a starter, in the Copa America, he was getting pulled after the hour mark or so. Needing goals, it makes little sense to take off arguably your best striker.
There were other players that saw little or no minutes at the tournament that could have been tried out in favor of some the old guard who underperformed time and time again.
Lozano took over the Mexico job after Diego Cocca was sacked. Lozano had done a good job with the Olympic team which is one of the reasons he was hired.
With his dismissal, Mexico once again starts from scratch. Because the next World Cup will be held across three countries, including Mexico, they do not have to worry about qualifying. At the same time, this means there will be less games to prepare. Given their performances these past couple of years, they are in desperate need of quality opponents.
In addition to Aguirre, expect the names of Pachuca's Guillermo Almada and America's André Jardine to be in the mix. The former has done a tremendous job with Pachuca, particulary integrating the young players. The latter is coming off back-to-back title with Club America and has molded them into the best team in Mexico.
There are plenty of big name foreign managers out there though it's unlikely Mexico will be interested in them given their recent history.
The Copa America was supposed to serve as a "generational shift" with players like Guillermo Ochoa, Hirving Lozano and Raul Jimenez left off the team. Instead it was another embarrassing showing for Mexico and perhaps proof that this current generation is lacking behind previous iterations.