Early years After his retirement, Aguirre took up managing, first at
Atlante and then
Pachuca, where he won his first title as manager, the
Invierno 1999 championship.
First spell with Mexico On 22 June 2001, Aguirre was appointed manager of the
Mexico national team, replacing
Enrique Meza. The team sat fifth in their qualifying group for the
2002 FIFA World Cup following a 3–1 away defeat to
Honduras, part of a dismal run of just one win in 12 matches. In his debut match on 1 July,
El Tri defeated the
United States at home. Mexico ultimately qualified in second place behind
Costa Rica after securing a crucial 3–0 victory over Honduras at the
Estadio Azteca on 11 November. In July 2001, Aguirre led Mexico at the
Copa América in Colombia, where they defeated
Brazil,
Chile and
Uruguay before narrowly losing the final 1–0 to the hosts. A year later at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, his side topped their group at Italy's expense before falling 2–0 to the United States in the Round of 16.
Osasuna On 6 June 2002, while leading Mexico at the World Cup, Aguirre joined
La Liga club
Osasuna after previous manager
Miguel Ángel Lotina quit for
Celta de Vigo; he had previously played for the
Navarrese club. In his first season in
Pamplona, the club reached the semi-finals of the
Copa del Rey, losing 4–2 on aggregate to
Recreativo de Huelva. In
2004–05, Aguirre went one better, guiding Osasuna to the
cup final, where they lost 2–1 after extra time to
Real Betis. In the
following league season, the
Rojillos beat
Sevilla FC to a joint-best 4th place and their first qualification to the
UEFA Champions League, having led the table after 11 games.
Atlético Madrid On 24 May 2006, days after Osasuna finished the season in fourth, Aguirre signed a one-year contract to replace
Pepe Murcia at
Atlético Madrid. After a fourth-place finish in 2008 confirmed a place in the Champions League, he extended his deal by another year. Aguirre was dismissed from the
Vicente Calderón Stadium on 2 February 2009, after a run of two points from five games. He was replaced by the team's former goalkeeper
Abel Resino, who arrived from
CD Castellón.
Second spell with Mexico On 3 April 2009, Aguirre was officially appointed as the new manager of the
Mexico national team, replacing
Sven-Göran Eriksson. He was officially presented in a press conference two weeks later. At the press conference, he stated: "I am not a savior. My aim is that we regain our identity and convince people that we can achieve this together". His annual salary was reported to be US$1,635,000. On 6 June 2009, Aguirre debuted in a
2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against
El Salvador, losing 2–1. However, he rebounded four days later with a 2–1 win over
Trinidad and Tobago. On 9 July 2009, Aguirre was ejected in an incident during the
2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup match versus
Panama. During a play along the sideline, Aguirre kicked Panamanian player
Ricardo Phillips, triggering Phillips to push Aguirre, causing ejections for both Aguirre and Phillips and delaying the match for over 10 minutes due to the refusal of the player from Panama to leave the field. Aguirre apologized to the Mexican fans, media, football players and staff, but never extended such courtesy to Philips or the Panamanian team. He was suspended for three games and the
Mexican Football Federation was fined US$25,000 by
CONCACAF. On 26 July 2009, Aguirre led Mexico to its fifth
Gold Cup title and its first win against the
United States outside of Mexico since 1999. He then led Mexico to a comeback win over the same opposition at the
Estadio Azteca on 12 August 2009 and followed it up by winning 3–0 in
Costa Rica, putting Mexico closer to a qualifying spot for the World Cup that seemed to be an impossible task at the time when Eriksson was sacked. On 10 October 2009, Mexico beat El Salvador in the Estadio Azteca 4–1, qualifying Mexico for the
2010 FIFA World Cup. After that, in their last hexagonal game against
Trinidad and Tobago, they tied 2–2, ending the World Cup qualifying journey. On 30 June 2010, Aguirre resigned as coach of Mexico following their failure to reach the quarter-finals of the
2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Mexico finished second in
Group A, ahead of hosts
South Africa and
France, but their progress was halted in the
round of 16 where they were defeated 3–1 by
Argentina. Aguirre's decision-making during the qualifying stages and during the World Cup garnered criticism, with journalist
José Ramón Fernández calling him the worst coach at the World Cup after France's
Raymond Domenech. His insistence on playing team-less striker
Guillermo Franco, while keeping
Manchester United striker
Javier Hernández on the bench bewildered many fans and commentators. Aguirre came under additional criticism for his refusal to explain his decisions. During the run up to the World Cup Aguirre expressed his desire to coach in the Premier League in England, but did not receive any offers.
Real Zaragoza On 17 November 2010, Aguirre became the manager of
Real Zaragoza. On 29 December 2011, he was relieved of his duties following the club's descent into the relegation spots.
Espanyol On 28 November 2012, Aguirre was appointed manager of
Espanyol, who were 20th in the
La Liga table at the time. On 16 May 2014, Aguirre announced his departure. He was succeeded by
Sergio.
Japan In August 2014, Aguirre became the new manager of the
Japan national team, replacing
Alberto Zaccheroni, who had resigned following the
World Cup. At the
2015 AFC Asian Cup, Japan won all three of its group matches, scoring seven goals and conceding none, though was knocked out in the quarter-final by the
United Arab Emirates. On 3 February 2015, the
Japan Football Association announced the termination of Aguirre's contract. This decision followed the confirmation that Spanish anti-corruption investigators had indicted Aguirre for alleged involvement in an ongoing match-fixing investigation.
Al Wahda On 18 June 2015, Aguirre was hired as new manager of the
Al-Wahda FC from
United Arab Emirates. On 21 May 2017, after leading Al Wahda to the President's Cup championship victory, Aguirre decided to step down as manager.
Egypt In July 2018, Aguirre was on a four-man shortlist for the vacant
Egyptian national team manager job. He was appointed manager in August 2018. During the
2019 Africa Cup of Nations, which was hosted in Egypt, the national team was eliminated by
South Africa in the Round of 16. As a result, Aguirre was sacked along with the whole technical and administrative staff of the national team for the disappointing result.
Leganés In November 2019, Aguirre returned to La Liga, taking over
Leganés after the dismissal of
Mauricio Pellegrino. In July 2020, he stepped down from his position after the club was relegated on the final day of the season.
Monterrey Although Aguirre had previously stated that his coaching days in Mexican football were behind him, he took the reins of
Monterrey in December 2020. On 28 October 2021, Aguirre led Monterrey to the
CONCACAF Champions League title with a 1–0 triumph over
América in the final. On 26 February 2022, he was dismissed from his position after a run of disappointing results.
Mallorca On 24 March 2022, Aguirre returned to La Liga. He joined
Mallorca, who were one point above the relegation zone with nine games remaining. Mallorca avoided relegation on the last day of the season. Aguirre led Mallorca to the
Copa del Rey final. They lost to
Athletic Bilbao on penalties after a 1–1 draw at the
Estadio de La Cartuja in
Seville. On 22 May 2024, Aguirre and Mallorca parted ways.
Third spell with Mexico On 22 July 2024, the
Mexican Football Federation announced Aguirre as the new manager of the
national team. In November 2024, Aguirre was hit by a beer can, leaving him bloodied after his team’s 2–0 loss to Honduras in the Nations League quarter-final. Despite the injury, Aguirre downplayed the incident, focusing on congratulating the victors. The Mexican Football Federation condemned the attack, urging CONCACAF to act, while CONCACAF promised an investigation. Honduras manager
Reinaldo Rueda also expressed disappointment over the violence. The incident was also condemned by FIFA President
Gianni Infantino, calling it "horrible" and called for an investigation of the incident. In March 2025, Aguirre helped Mexico achieve its first
Nations League title after defeating
Panama 2–1 in the
final. In July that year, Aguirre won his second
Gold Cup after defeating rivals the
United States 2–1 in the
final. ==Managerial statistics==