Mexico City: Javier Aguirre, twice Mexico's saviour during qualifying campaigns, is itching to lead the 'Tricolor' in his second World Cup as their coach.
Aguirre arrived in the nick of time in April 2009 to resuscitate Mexico's stumbling campaign after Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson had left the team's participation in South Africa at risk following their loss to Honduras.
Now the 51-year-old, nicknamed 'The Basque', wants to take Mexico to the quarter-finals for only the second time since 1986.
"At the last four World Cups we've been on the cusp of the quarter-finals and reaching the last eight has now become more of an obsession than a goal," Aguirre told a Spanish magazine recently.
"I have the best ever young generation of footballers, they won the under-17 World Cup. Add that to our experienced players and I feel this team is ready to make history," he added at a news conference.
Mexico have appeared at 13 World Cups and they will open the first to be played on African soil on June 11 against hosts South Africa in Group A, which also includes Uruguay and France.
Aguirre, a charismatic coach and the son of Spanish immigrants, started in management at the 1994 World Cup in the United States where he was assistant to Mexico coach Miguel Mejia Baron.
He moved on to Mexican clubs Atlante and Pachuca before his first stint as the national team's coach where he averted another qualifying catastrophe to take the side to the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, an experience which ended in the first knockout round after a loss to the United States.
Aguirre's next stop was Spain, where he spent several years at Spanish clubs Osasuna and Atletico Madrid, helping the latter to qualify in 2008 for the Champions League.
His playing days took him to Mexican clubs America, Guadalajara and Atlante and the 1986 World Cup in his country.
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