Alex Diego Tejado (born 1 July 1985) is a Mexican former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

and current

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

of the Mexico national under-18 team.

Playing career

Diego joined the Pumas youth system at age 14 and worked his way through the ranks, made the first division team with Pumas when

Hugo Sánchez Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born 11 July 1958) is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager, who played as a forward. A prolific goalscorer known for his spectacular strikes and volleys, he is widely regarded as the greatest Mexican fo ...

commanded it. He was also a player and captain of the U-20 Mexican team in 2006, but an injury delayed his national team dream. He then played under

Miguel España Miguel España Garcés (born 31 January 1964) is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager. He was a player of UNAM Pumas, and took over as coach after Hugo Sánchez stepped down as coach, and he took them to the Copa Sudamericana 200 ...

's leadership. In 2006 Diego was loaned to

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

, making his first-division debut with them. Then he returned to Pumas where worked hard to get a position, under Tuca Ferretti's leading. A highlight of his career was a goal from about 40 yards out against Tijuana; this was not only the game-winning goal, but a goal that opened doors for the young Mexican. In 2010 Diego was loaned by Pumas to Atlante and in June 2011 is officially transferred. A fast and strong player, he can play right-footed as well as a lefty. He has good field vision to penetrate with long passes. Diego retired from professional football at the age of 31 in 2017, and has since taken a managerial role.

Coaching career

He went back to his youth team and coached the

Pumas UNAM Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., commonly referred to as UNAM, is a professional football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico. The club competes in the Liga MX, the top division in the Mexican football league system. Fo ...

Under-15 team for 2 years. After a promising track record with the youth teams, he took control of the

Pumas Morelos The Pumas Morelos was a football club that played in the Segunda División in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. The Pumas Morelos are affiliated to Pumas UNAM. The most goals scored were made by Alex Castańeda which were 36. The team was bought by A ...

squad in the Mexican Segunda Division. Moving up again, Diego made his way into the Liga Ascenso MX to manage his recently former club,

Alebrijes de Oaxaca Alebrijes de Oaxaca Fútbol Club is a Mexican football team based in the city of Oaxaca, state of Oaxaca. They play in the second tier of Mexican football league, Liga de Expansión MX. The team was created when the Tecamachalco franchise won ...

Honours

Pumas UNAM *

Mexican Primera División The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in al ...

: Clausura 2009

External links

* 1985 births Living people Footballers from Mexico City Liga MX players Club Universidad Nacional footballers Chiapas F.C. footballers Atlante F.C. footballers Lobos BUAP footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football defenders Mexican men's footballers {{Mexico-footy-defender-stub