Miguel Herrera, known as Piojo, returned to Mexico City after 11 months coaching Costa Rica's national team, failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The Mexican coach said he felt overly judged by the Tico press and disclosed having more media offers than soccer club proposals. He vowed to carefully evaluate any new coaching opportunity to avoid another setback.
Miguel Herrera arrived at Mexico City's airport after an 11-month stint leading Costa Rica's national team, where he took responsibility for failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. "They judge you as if you had committed a crime. The truth is that I am responsible, I am the head, but we were a group seeking and with a lot of illusion. In the end, one accepts one's responsibility, the criticisms will be good, they will be bad, I will take the best from the critics," he stated upon arrival.
Before leaving, Herrera spent an extra week in Costa Rica, where a sector of the fans supported him despite the qualifying failure. After being sacked from the position, the Mexican coach faces a landscape with more job offers in media outlets than from soccer clubs, though he does not rule out returning to coaching, either in Mexico or abroad.
"Right now I have nothing, honestly. Today I have more job offers in the media than on the field, I want to be on the field, I want to continue on the field. When I decide not to be anymore, it will be because I am tired," he explained. Herrera stressed the need to carefully analyze future opportunities: "Whatever comes, we will analyze it well, because obviously, if a second, a next opportunity comes, we have to analyze it well, we cannot have another failure, because all that would be to slam the door on my experience as a coach, and I would not like to give it that way. I would like to retire tomorrow with successes and deliver good accounts".
Although he was mentioned as a candidate to coach Atlante, there is no confirmation of concrete club proposals at this time.