MEXICO CITY (AP) – In the end it wasn’t the middling on-field performance by Mexico’s national soccer team that cost Miguel Herrera his job as head coach of “El Tri.”
It was the feisty nature, admired by some and criticized by others, that led to the ouster of “El Piojo,” an affectionate Spanish nickname that means “The Louse.”
The Mexican Soccer Federation fired Herrera on Tuesday, just two days after he led the team to a CONCACAF Gold Cup title. The ouster came after a television reporter said the coach punched him at the Philadelphia airport.
“Nobody can be above a situation like the one that happened Monday in Philadelphia,” said Decio de Maria, who on Saturday becomes president of the federation.
“Our values, our principles, are above any result,” he added. “In our profession, our industry, the matches are never over, and as public figures who represent an institution we must be absolutely clear on that.”