Enrique Meza Enríquez (born 3 March 1948) is a Mexican professional football

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 ...

who most recently coached

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. Prior to pursuing a career in coaching, he was a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...

during their dynasty of the 1970s, albeit a backup to legendary goalkeeper Miguel Marín. He retired in 1976 and is one of the most successful managers of the professional era of the Liga MX.

Coaching career

Beginnings

Notably, Meza has been coach of several professional soccer teams in Mexico Premier League and

Mexico National Team The Mexico national football team () represents Mexico in international football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation (). It competes as a member of CONCACAF. Mexico has qualified to seventeen World Cups and has qualified conse ...

. His career has been filled with impressive successes and disappointments. Meza started his coaching career in the first division Mexico league by coaching

from 1982 to 1983 and from 1992 to 1995. He led Cruz Azul to the Mexico league final in 1994, but lost. The next year he switched to coach Monarcas Morelia. Enrique Meza and Pele

Crucially, it was not until 1996 that his coaching truly started showing its capturing potential. His new team,

Toros Neza Neza Fútbol Club, also known as ''Toros Neza'' is a Mexican football team based in the city of Nezahualcóyotl. They play in the Liga de Balompié Mexicano. The club returned for the Clausura 2011 Liga de Ascenso tournament, taking the place o ...

, had a distinct style of football offensive play, resulting in their scoring numerous goals. During 1996, his Toros Neza team made it to the final, but lost to Chivas de Guadalajara by a high score.

Three times league Champion

Soon after losing the final, he announced that he was leaving to coach

Club Toluca Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Club Deportivo Toluca, is a Mexican football club, playing in the Primera División de México, the top-flight of Mexican football. Toluca's stadium, Estadio Nemesio Díez Riega is ...

. His coaching proved to be very successful and spectacular. Meza was what Toluca needed, and the club became champion on three occasions: Verano 1998, Verano 1999 and Verano 2000, in just two years. In 2000 Meza left Club Toluca to coach the Mexico national team. The performance of the team was below expectations, and he resigned after only few months of accepting the appointment. In 2006 Meza took the coaching position at Pachuca Football Club.

South American and CONCACAF Titles

After a very bad start, Meza slowly transformed the team, leading Pachuca Football Club to its first Copa Sudamericana championship. This made C.F. Pachuca the first time Mexico won a CONMEBOL title. In 2007 Meza took C.F. Pachuca to their second CONCACAF: Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football title, which entitled the team to participate in the

World Club Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 2000 ...

, and lead C.F. Pachuca to its fifth league title. On 29 August 2007, his team won its first Superliga title, after defeating the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

at the Home Depot Center.

FIFA Club World Cup

In April, 2008, Pachuca reclaimed the

CONCACAF Champions Cup The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Americ ...

and secured a berth for the Japanese hosted

2008 FIFA Club World Cup The 2008 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2008 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth FIFA Club World Cup, a football tournament for the champion clubs from each of FIFA's six continental c ...

held in December 2008. Pachuca finished fourth after winning 1 match with 2 losses. Meza managed Pachuca to a second final in Clausura 2009, but he lost his second final against

Ricardo Ferretti Ricardo Ferretti de Oliveira (born 22 February 1954), also known as Tuca Ferretti, is a Brazilian-Mexican professional football manager and former player. As a player, Ferretti was an attacking midfielder known for his mobility, powerful rig ...

of Pumas UNAM (first loss against Guadalajara while coaching Toros Neza) by aggregate score 2–3. On June 1, 2009, Meza finished his contract with Pachuca; and some members of the media linked Meza to

. Meza's results have made him one of the greatest coaches in the Mexico League, making him the fourth most successful coach in the league's history. Cruz Azul's president, Guillermo Alvarez, Confirmed that Enrique Meza and Cruz Azul had reached an agreement - for what would be his fourth time as coach of Cruz Azul five years later. Enrique Meza returned to Cruz Azul with a new challenge and determination of giving Cruz Azul a title. Since the 1997 Mexico League Winter Tournament Cruz Azul have not won a title.

Mexico coach vs World Champions: Spain

On July 28, 2010, he was selected as interim coach of the Mexico national team, after

Javier Aguirre Javier Aguirre Onaindía (; born 1 December 1958), nicknamed ''El Vasco'' (The Basque), is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager who is currently in charge of Spanish team RCD Mallorca. Aguirre played for Mexico at the 1986 Wo ...

left the position. He gained new, endearing wide appeal for his only game as interim coach on 11 August 2010 at Mexico's hallowed home of football - Azteca Stadium - because he tactically got a 1–1 draw against the

2008 UEFA European Football Championship The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

and

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

winners

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

2012 Mexico Apertura league

With the Mexico

Clausura The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is divi ...

- closing - first half of the year football league ending in May 2012, Meza finished his term as head coach and technical director of

on Tuesday 15 May 2012. And on Friday 18 May 2012, Toluca Football Club hired Enrique Meza as their new coach and technical director for the 2012

Apertura The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is divi ...

- opening - second half of the year Mexico League. Subsequently, Meza led Toluca to come first in the 2012 Liga MX by points, but lost out to

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

in the final championship match of the playoffs involving the premier 8 ranked teams of the League.

Return to Pachuca

On Tuesday 3 September 2013, in a strategic move, the management of Pachuca Football Club held a press conference and announced that Meza was coming in as new technical director, coach and manager of the distinguished Hidalgo club. Meza took over from

Gabriel Caballero Gabriel Esteban Caballero Schiker (born 5 February 1971) is a professional football manager and former player. Born in Argentina, he represented the Mexico national team. Club career Caballero started playing in his native Argentina's Central ...

who served as coach of Pachuca Football Club from November 2012 to 2 September 2013.

Puebla FC

Meza was brought in during October 2017 to try to turn around a

Puebla FC Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

team that had hit rock bottom of the relegation table. By March 2018, Meza had received praise by the media in regards to his ability to turn around a modest roster into a playoff team.

Personal life

Meza is popularly called "Ojitos" because of his sharp eyes. His son Enrique Maximiliano Meza is also a football manager.

Managerial statistics

Includes matches from Liga MX,

Copa MX The Copa MX (formerly called Copa Tower Monterrey, Copa Eliminatoria, Copa México and Copa Corona MX (for sponsorship reasons)) was a Mexican football cup competition that was established in 1907. After a lengthy hiatus that began in 1997, it wa ...

Titles and honours

*League Championships: ** Verano 1998 Toluca Football Club ** Verano 1999 Toluca Football Club ** Verano 2000 Toluca Football Club ** Clausura 2007 Pachuca Football Club *CONCACAF Team of the Year: ** 2007: Pachuca Football Club *CONCACAF Champions' Cup: ** 2007 Pachuca Football Club **

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Pachuca Football Club * FIFA Club World Cup: ** Fourth Place:

Pachuca Football Club * Copa Sudamericana: ** 2006 Pachuca Football Club

Picture gallery

File:Enrique Meza and Sepp Blatter in Japan.jpg, Enrique Meza with FIFA President Sepp Blatter in Japan during the

File:Enrique Meza 2.jpg, Seen here, in the middle, Meza trains his

team in Mexico City: Mexico File:Enrique Meza 12.jpg, As coach and technical manager of Mexico's national football team during their 11 August 2010 friendly with world champions:

File:Enrique Meza 15.jpg, With the 2007 North American SuperLiga Cup his Pachuca team won after defeating Los Angeles Galaxy in the Home Depot Center on 29 August File:Enrique Meza 22.jpg, Meza walks off the pitch after he led the Mexico national team to a 1–1 draw with world champions Spain on 11 August 2010 at Azteca Stadium: Mexico City File:Enrique Meza 23.jpg, Addressing a global press conference concerning Mexico's friendly game with Spain File:Enrique Meza 32.jpg, Enrique Meza and Spanish Coach:

Vicente del Bosque Vicente del Bosque González, 1st Marquess of Del Bosque (; born 23 December 1950) is a Spanish retired football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and is to date the only football manager to ha ...

greeting each other - at Azteca Stadium, Mexico City Mexico during the 11 August 2010 friendly game between Mexico and world champions Spain File:Enrique Meza 33.jpg, Meza and Vicente File:Enrique Meza and Cruz Azul Team.jpg, With his complete Cruz Azul team; including medical personnel and assistants File:Enrique Meza and Pachuca.jpg, Speaking to his Pachuca football club team File:Enrique Meza 6.jpg, Training session with his Cruz Azul team on an away match at the football Club Santos Laguna

Corona Stadium The Corona Stadium (the name comes from the beer brand) was one of the smallest football stadiums in Mexico having only capacity for 20,100 seats. It was located in the city of Torreón, Coahuila. This sport facility was used mostly for footba ...

in Torreón, Coahuila, México

Notes

External links

FIFA on Enrique Meza
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meza, Enrique 1948 births Living people Mexico national football team managers 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup managers Cruz Azul managers Atlético Morelia managers Deportivo Toluca F.C. managers Atlas F.C. managers C.F. Pachuca managers Mexican football managers Tigres UANL footballers Footballers from Mexico City Mexican footballers Toros Neza footballers Liga MX managers Association football goalkeepers