After just over four months in charge, Diego Cocca has been fired as Mexico men’s national team head coach.
Cocca’s entire staff was also let go, as was national team director Rodrigo Ares de Parga.
Jaime Lozano has been named interim manager and will be in charge for the Gold Cup, which kicks off later this month.
The final straw for Mexico’s federation was an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to the United States in Thursday’s CONCACAF Nations League semifinal. Mexico turned in a poor performance that was also blighted by indiscipline, as two El Tri players were red carded and several were involved in melees with USMNT players.
“We can lose a game against the United States. The risk always exists because this is football and winning can go either way. What is not acceptable is the way it happened,” said Mexican federation president Juan Carlos Rodríguez in a video explaining the decision.
“We gave up the chance to win from the beginning starting with logistical decisions that caused friction within the group. In the end we didn’t just lose the game, we also lost the ability to react, leadership inside and outside the field, control of emotions, and the sense of behaving with professionalism.”
“It would be natural to wait until after the Gold Cup, but today we don’t have time to waste,” Rodríguez added.
Cocca won just three of his seven games in charge after leaving Tigres to take on the El Tri job in February.
His final game at the helm was on Sunday, a 1-0 win over Panama in the Nations League third-place game.
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