Mexico’s Javier Aguirre lands a new coaching job in Spain

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Javier Aguirre, who coached Mexico at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups but was dismissed after the team’s 3-1 loss to Argentina in the second round of the tournament in South Africa in the summer, Thursday was named coach of Real Zaragoza in Spain’s La Liga.

It will be the third Spanish team that Aguirre, 51, has coached after earlier stints with Osasuna and Atletico Madrid. Real Zaragoza is currently in last place in the league with a 1-6-4 record, but Aguirre said he believes that can be corrected.

‘While this project is enormous . . . I like it, it’s a challenge,’ Aguirre said. ‘The league has just started, so there’s time [to improve] and we’ve got a good enough squad.’

Aguirre, a former Mexico national team player who also played for the Los Angeles Aztecs in the North American Soccer League, spent four seasons with Osasuna and two with Atletico Madrid, achieving success with both clubs.

-- Grahame L. Jones