Mexico City /
They have almost passed 20 years since Javier Aguirre and Ignacio Ambriz arrived in Europe to start an outstanding career in which they put Osasuna on the map, to return to the ‘ Athletic of Madrid in the foreground, with the Basque as coach and the current DT of the Lion as his assistant.
It was in 2002 when this couple of friends emigrated, who will meet again tonight as rivals during the Monterrey Vs. Lion pending Day 3, a duel that will be followed to Bilbao, where it is Juan Iribarren, who was part of the coach of both and who later accompanied the Basque in the Mexican and Japanese selections.
“They both know each other well, they know how they think, how they like their teams to develop on the field. It will be a very interesting match to analyze for people who like football, a reunion between Javier and Nacho, a match that will give a lot of itself and I will be watching from here “, he explained to Half time the Spanish physical trainer and technical assistant.
After being disconnected from the Athletic de Bilbao, Iribarren stays in this city in the Basque Country, from where he remembered the good friendship they maintained Aguirre and Ambriz.
“I listened to a thousand conversations, anecdotes, comments, I really enjoyed them and I wish them all the best. With Nacho I matched the three seasons of Osasuna and Atlético de Madrid; I had a very good relationship with him, they treated me both of them are wonderful, “he said by telephone.
‘BOTH feel the need to SEPARATE’
In particular, Iribarren recalls that in the third season at Atleti (2008-09), Ambriz already wanted to be technical director because he feared that the offers he had already rejected would not reach him later.
“They both felt it was time to separate their paths, Nacho to return to Mexico already trained as a coach, to gain experience in Mexican football,” he noted.
“But I saw Javier in European football, he is a very cosmopolitan man who has traveled all over the world and I didn’t see him at that time returning to Mexico in the short and medium term. I saw Nacho developing his career in Mexico “.
This good future augured well for both of them because they saw how they made Osasuna get to today Europa League, reason why in 2006 the Basque was named by the UEFA Coach of the Year, distinction that led him to Atletico, to which they led to Champions.
“We came to an Atlético (in 2006) that is not exactly what we all know now, it was a team at the time that came from a tough transition stage, that had gone through Second Division, had been out of European competitions for a decade and we had to do this job of putting this great club back where it deserves to be, ”Iribarren added.
“First we took it upstairs, we played 1 UEFA Cup, then we took him to Champions, we played once and it was the time when Nacho’s growth was already great; Nacho’s transcendence and prestige had already reached a good level. “
After that, the management of the separation between the two was natural, without losing a friendship that tonight will be rivalry, with much more urgency of triumph for Ambriz because his Fera is penultimate place with 7 points, while the Basque Striped ones are owners of the third place with 18 units.
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