Mexican coach Javier Aguirre has revealed that he turned down the chance to manage West Brom in 2013 for family reasons and admitted it was a call he regrets.
The 61-year-old is currently the boss of La Liga outfit Leganes and he has enjoyed a successful career in management that has seen him take charge of the Mexican national team, Japan, Egypt and Atletico Madrid among various other roles.
However, despite working in different continents across the globe, Aguirre has never worked in England but he did have a big opportunity to do just that, as he told the Daily Mail of an approach that was made by West Brom back in 2013.
“Sometimes the train passes only once and I hope that wasn’t the case. I have always dreamed of coaching in England. I had been waiting 20 years for this chance and West Brom called me and said ‘we want you to come now. Whatever Espanyol want we will pay’. And I said ‘yes’.
“I then spoke to my wife and she asked me to think twice. Espanyol had been good to us, life was good in Barcelona and all my staff were Mexican. It came down to ethics and family, so sadly I said ‘no, thank you’. If it came around again maybe I wouldn’t ask the wife!”
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This came around the Christmas period of 2013, with Albion on the lookout for a new boss having sacked Steve Clarke and they would eventually turn to Pepe Mel, who also had experience of working in the Spanish top-flight. That’s not a move that worked out well for the Baggies though, with the new boss enduring a tough spell that saw him win just three of 17 league games, although they did manage to stay in the Premier League.
Nevertheless, he left at the end of the season and was replaced by Alan Irvine. As for Aguirre, he faces a battle to keep Leganes in La Liga if the campaign does resume, with his side 19th in the table prior to the enforced break.
