Javier Aguirre, the Mexico coach (67), warmly greeted Lee Kang-in (24, Paris Saint-Germain), whom he coached during his time at Mallorca (Spain).
Aguirre's Mexico will play a September friendly against Korea at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., at 10:30 a.m. on the 10th (Korean time).
Mexico, which faced Japan earlier, drew 0-0. Korea defeated the United States 2-0.
After finishing a pregame news conference held a day before the Korea match, Aguirre met his "welcome pupil" Lee Kang-in on his way back to the locker room.
Aguirre is the figure who unlocked Lee Kang-in's potential and enabled him to transfer to the "French powerhouse" Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Aguirre, who managed Mallorca in the 2022-2023 season, developed Lee Kang-in by encouraging his defensive involvement despite his strongly offensive tendencies, helping him take a step forward. Lee Kang-in scored 7 goals and provided 9 assists over two seasons before transferring to PSG in 2023.
In a past interview, Lee Kang-in also expressed his respect for Aguirre.
According to a video posted on Sept. 9 on TV Azteca Deportes' social media, Aguirre warmly embraced Lee Kang-in, who had been waiting for him as he came out after the news conference. Lee Kang-in responded with a bright smile. The outlet said, "Lee Kang-in exchanged jokes with his former coach and showed laughter."
Aguirre previously led Mexico to the round of 16 at the World Cup in 2002 and 2010. He took the Mexico helm for a third time in July last year. Although he won both the Nations League and the Gold Cup earlier this year, he has been criticized for not finding a definite starting lineup. He plans to solidify the core through the upcoming matches against Japan and Korea.
According to Mexico's Goal.com, he said, "I have a rough idea of the starting lineup, but there are a few things we need to observe more," and "The most important thing is not the result. What matters most to us is becoming bolder and improving. We tried to avoid risks in the Japan match, but there were many scenes where we could have been more aggressive. Since these are friendlies, we are not obsessed with winning or losing, but the clear thing is we must move forward."
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