Veteran coach Javier Aguirre arrived in Valencia saying there’s “a lot of work” to do to help the team recover from a poor start to the season but insisting there was enough talent and quality to get the squad back on track.
Aguirre was announced as Valencia’s new coach on Wednesday to replace Carlos Corberán, who was fired after the team lost four of their first five games in the Spanish league. They have now lost five of their first seven matches.
“There’s a lot of work to do,” Aguirre told reporters briefly on Thursday. “There’s still a long way to go in the league, but there are things that need to be done.”
Aguirre is taking charge of a seventh different Spanish club after coaching his native Mexico at the World Cup. The 67-year-old Aguirre’s third stint as Mexico coach ended with a round-of-16 loss to England in Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
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“The institution, the history, is what made me decide to come here,” he said about Valencia.
Aguirre’s first game in charge will be at promoted Racing Santander on Oct. 11.
He praised Valencia’s squad and was optimistic about the team’s chances to leave the bottom of the table. They currently sit second-to-last in the 20-team standings, ahead of Málaga.
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“There’s a lot of individual talent, and we’ll try to get the best out of the group,” he said. “In some matches, they deserved more, and the last few games were fantastic.”
Aguirre previously coached Spanish clubs Osasuna, Atlético Madrid, Real Zaragoza, Espanyol, Leganés and Mallorca. He was given a deal with Valencia until the end of the season.
Valencia said the club have the option to extend Aguirre’s contract for an additional year. The team’s next match is at promoted Racing Santander on Oct. 11.
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His hiring completes an early-season reconstruction of Valencia’s operations after their poor start in LaLiga. When firing Corberán, Valencia also removed chief executive Ron Gourlay and have since appointed Braulio Vázquez as sporting director.
Owner Peter Lim, a Singaporean businessman, has been long blamed by Valencia fans for the team’s struggles in recent years. They claim that Lim, who took over in 2014, has been treating the club only as a business.
Valencia have not finished higher than ninth in La Liga since coming fourth in 2017-18 and 2018-19. They were ninth last season.
