From the World Cup to LaLiga: Javier Aguirre is on his way back to Spain - RAW CHILI

On Monday, Javier Aguirre will have one task on his agenda: signing his contract with Valencia. Late Sunday, lawyers and financial advisers for both the club and the coach were putting the finishing touches on the deal, ironing out the loose ends that invariably crop up in negotiations of this kind. What neither side is denying any longer is that Aguirre will coach Valencia through June 30, taking charge of a team currently in LaLiga’s relegation places. El Vasco will become the 67th head coach in Valencia’s history and the first born in Mexico.

When will Aguirre take the reins at Mestalla?

Aguirre is expected to board a flight to Spain on Wednesday. That means Thursday will likely be the first time he is formally unveiled and gets down to work on the training field in Valencia. For now, Los Che have informed interim head coach Óscar Sánchez that he will remain in charge of first-team training until he can hand over the reins to Aguirre in person. In fact, Valencia’s reserve team plays West Ham in England on Wednesday in its opening Premier League International Cup game, but the club has told Sánchez that he will stay behind to continue running first-team training sessions.

From the World Cup to LaLiga: Javier Aguirre is on his way back to Spain MEX4804. CIUDAD DE MÉXICO (MÉXICO), 01/08/2024.- (i-d) El entrenador de porteros, Joseba Ituarte; auxiliar técnico, Rafael Márquez; director técnico de la selección nacional mexicana de fútbol, Javier Aguirre; auxiliar técnico, Toni Amor y el preparador físico, Pol Lorente, posan durante una conferencia de prensa este jueves, en la Ciudad de México (México). EFE/José Méndez
José MéndezAguirre’s Valencia coaching team

Aguirre is expected to arrive at Mestalla accompanied by at least two Spanish assistants he knows and trusts implicitly: his No. 2, Toni Amor, and fitness coach Pol Lorente, who has left his role with the Mexico national team. Aguirre and his staff have spent the past few days analyzing Valencia’s roster. In phone conversations between the Mexican coach and Braulio Vázquez, the two have already discussed areas of concern and needs they hope to address in the transfer market, primarily in defense and, more specifically, at center back. Those discussions will become more detailed once Aguirre has had the chance to assess his players’ performances on a day-to-day basis.

While Valencia waits for Aguirre, the team will continue its usual routine under Sánchez. The Murcia-born coach’s most notable legacy from his two games in charge has been the emergence of Aaron Mayol and Aimar Blázquez. As things stand, neither is expected to travel with the reserve team for the game against West Ham, with the plan instead for them to work first under Sánchez and then Aguirre during these weeks of transition between coaches and the first team’s break from competitive action. Beginning Thursday, Aguirre, Amor and Lorente will naturally begin putting together the team’s working plan for the next three weeks, and there is a possibility that El Vasco will ask to play at least one friendly before Valencia faces Racing Santander in LaLiga on October 11.