Corona: “I’ll know when it’s time to retire”
The Tijuana goalkeeper insists that he is not thinking about finishing his career just yet, but knows that that moment will come.
José de Jesús Corona is still active in Mexican soccer with Tijuana, the club he joined on a free transfer in July after leaving Cruz Azul. The 42-year-old has a year left to run on his contract and, as of the moment, no plans to retire. But he is aware that the time to hang up his gloves will eventually come and when his current agreement ends in December, he will take stock of his situation. He will have the option of a six-month extension when his contract expires.
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“At the moment I am enjoying my day-to-day routine. For me, it’s very clear. While I am feeling good physically, still enjoying football and still passionate about training and being part of daily life with my teammates, I’ll keep going,” he explained in an interview with Claro Sports. “I couldn’t tell you when I’ll stop, I still have a one-year contract. We’ll continue working and see what happens next at the end of my contract. My idea is to continue for another year, to be active, but we’ll see. If that’s not possible, I’ll take a step aside, I will know when the exact moment is”.
Planning for the future
Although for now retirement is not an option, he knows that at some point his playing career will come to an end. With that in mind, he has been studying for his coaching license and wants to enroll on a sports management course. Right now, he doesn’t know whether he will continue his career as a coach or as a member of the coaching staff.
“I have been preparing. I already have my coaching license. I haven’t decided yet whether to be a technical director or not but I did want to prepare myself for that possibility. Now I want to start with a sports management course. I haven’t decided if I want to continue being involved directly in the game or in a managerial position, but I want to be prepared when that decision comes,” Corona said.
In the meantime, the keeper and his team Tijuana have other things to focus on - the Xolos are 16th in the general table with five points, and have to start getting results if they are to qualify for the Liguilla. Having played the first three games, Corona has spent the last three on the bench.