Marcos Ignacio "Nacho" Ambriz Espinoza (born 7 February 1965) 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 ...

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 ...

Liga MX 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 a ...

club

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...

Playing career

Playing for various clubs in Mexico, Ambríz is closely associated with

Club Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Necaxa, is a Mexican professional football club in Liga MX based in the city of Aguascalientes. It plays in the Estadio Victoria. History Foundation (Light and Power Comp ...

, a club he had three spells with, and was part of two championship-winning seasons in 1994–95 and 1995–96. He earned 64 caps and scored 6 goals for the

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 ...

between 1992 and 1995, and captained the squad at the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

, where he played in all four games. Ambríz also formed part of the national squad that won the 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Managerial career

Following his retirement from the playing field, Ambríz began his coaching career in 2002 with the

, where he was the assistant to

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 ...

, taking part in the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

. Following his participation with the national team, he joined

Puebla 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 ...

, managing only seven matches. In 2003, he was once again the assistant to Javier Aguirre at Spanish clubs

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...

and Atlético de Madrid. They parted company when Aguirre was sacked from the Madrid position in 2009. He also had spells with San Luis – from 2009 to 2011 – and

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

in 2012, only in charge for twelve matches.

Querétaro

On 4 February 2013

Adolfo Ríos José Adolfo Ríos García (born 11 December 1966) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He won the 1999 U.S. Cup with Mexico. Club career Ríos García made his debut for UNAM in 1985 and remained there unt ...

, President of

Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...

, announced Ambríz as their new manager after the club sacked

Sergio Bueno Sergio Bueno Rodríguez (born July 4, 1962) is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager. Player Sergio Bueno started his professional football career with Deportivo Neza in the 1983-84 tournament against Puebla FC where he came in ...

after a 3–0 loss to

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply América, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

Estadio Azteca Estadio Azteca () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mexico City. It is the official home of football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul as well as the Mexico national football team. The stadium sits at an altitude of above sea level. Wit ...

. He managed the club up until February 2015, where Ambríz was sacked after a string of bad results during the Clausura tournament.

Club América

On 26 May 2015, Ambríz was confirmed as the new manager at

, signing a two-year contract. He led América to a disappointing run at the FIFA Club World Cup, losing the quarter-final match to Chinese team

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

, and defeating Congolese club

TP Mazembe Tout Puissant Mazembe, commonly referred to as TP Mazembe, is a Congolese professional football club based in Lubumbashi. History Tout Puissant Mazembe, the first sports club from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a value of at least $10 ...

to claim a fifth-place finish in the competition. The following year, Ambríz led América to the

CONCACAF Champions League 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 Ameri ...

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, defeating

Tigres UANL Club de Fútbol Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, simply known as Tigres UANL or Tigres, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Nicolás de los Garza, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León. Foun ...

4–1 on aggregate, thus earning their qualification to the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup. In September, he was ranked as the 10th best coach according to ''Football Coach World Ranking''. On 17 September, after suffering a 2–0 home defeat to León, Ambríz was sacked as manager the following day.

Necaxa

In August 2017, Ambríz was appointed manager of Necaxa, staying with the club for a year; he won the

Clausura 2018 Copa MX The Clausura 2018 Copa MX (officially the Clausura 2018 Copa Corona (beer), Corona MX for sponsorship reasons) was the 79th staging of the Copa MX, the 51st staging in the professional era and is the twelfth tournament played since the 1996–97 C ...

with Necaxa, beating

1–0 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

to end a 19-year trophy-less drought for the club.

Club León

On 18 September 2018, Ambríz was named manager of Club León, replacing

Gustavo Díaz Gustavo "Chavo" Díaz Domínguez (born 7 November 1974) is a Uruguayan former football manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It ...

. During the 2019 Clausura, he helped León attain the records of most consecutive wins with eleven and the most points attained during the current 17-match tournament format with 41 points and a first-place finish. They faced

in the Clausura championship final but lost following an aggregate score of 1–0. Despite the loss, his feats with the club contributed to him being named best manager at the conclusion of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

. After a first-place finish in the Guardianes 2020 general table, on 13 December, León won the league title defeating

Club Universidad Nacional 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 ...

with an aggregate score of 3–1, becoming Mexico's joint fourth most successful team with eight titles in total alongside

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 ...

. Following León's championship win, Ambríz and Club León were unable to reach an agreement for Ambríz's contractual renewal. Ambríz opted to not renew the contract, citing his desire to manage a European club.

Career statistics

International goals

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Necaxa * Primera División: 1994–95, 1995–96 *

Copa México 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 was ...

: 1994–95 *

Campeón de Campeones ''Campeón de Campeones'' ( es, Champion of Champions) is an annual Mexican football competition established in 1942. In its current form, the winner of the Apertura season faces the winner of the Clausura season, for both Liga MX and Liga MX Feme ...

: 1995 *

CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup The CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup was an international association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

* FIFA Club World Cup third place:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Mexico *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

: 1993

Manager

América *

: 2015–16 Necaxa *

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 ...

: Clausura 2018 León *

: Guardianes 2020 Individual *

Best Manager: 2018–19 *

Best XI Manager: Guardianes 2020

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ambriz, Ignacio 1965 births Living people Footballers from Mexico City Association football defenders Association football utility players Mexico under-20 international footballers Mexico international footballers 1993 Copa América players 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1995 King Fahd Cup players 1995 Copa América players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players Liga MX players Salamanca F.C. footballers Club Necaxa footballers Club León footballers Club Puebla players Atlante F.C. footballers Club Celaya footballers Mexican football managers Club Puebla managers San Luis F.C. managers C.D. Guadalajara managers Querétaro F.C. managers Club América managers Liga MX managers Segunda División managers SD Huesca managers Mexican expatriate football managers Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate football managers in Spain Mexican footballers