Who is Jimmy Lozano? His career before Mexico came calling
After the dismissal of Diego Cocca, the Mexican strategist who won the Bronze in the Olympic Games, will occupy the position of interim coach.
Mexican Football Federation president Juan Carlos Rodríguez announced on Monday morning that the FMF had parted ways with Diego Cocca, head coach of Mexico’s national team for the past four months (129 days to be precise).
The 3-0 Concacaf Nations League semi-final defeat to the United States last Thursday, together with the agonising 0-1 victory over Panama for third place, underlined the fact that changes were needed to begin a new chapter - one that the Argentinean coach would play no part in. The Federation thanked him for the work he has done and brought in a new coach, Jaime Lozano, on a temporary basis.
Cocca leaves after being in charge for seven games with a balance of three wins, three draws and one defeat - numbers which were apparently
not good enough to convince the FMF with the Gold Cup just around the corner.
Jaime Lozano’s trajectory
‘Jimmy’ Lozano has been selected as the new interim coach to lead Mexico at the Gold Cup. Even through the 44-year-old has a relatively short history as a coach, he knows the national team set-up after having coached the Under-23 team with whom he gained excellent results. Lozano’s U23s clinched the broze medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, and those credentials were enough to gain the trust of the powers that be at the FMF.
Born in the country’s capital, the Mexican’s playing career began with the Pumas in 1998 - a team with which he won the double championship in 2004, the Campeón de Campeones during the same year, as well as the Trofeo Bernabéu against Real Madrid. After leaving Pumas, he had spells at various clubs such as Celaya, Cruz Azul, Tigres and Morelia.
He gained his coaching certificate in 2014 and started out with the Auriazules, where he spent two years before joining Querétaro. His experience in the Liga MX concluded in 2022 with Necaxa, and an opportunity to coach Mexico’s Under-23s. He guided the youth team to third place in the 2019 Pan American Games; won the title in the Concacaf 2020 Pre-Olympic Games, and finished with the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. In fact, the base of the current squad is formed by players who he has worked with in the past.