Valencia CF have appointed Javier Aguirre as first-team head coach.
The club confirmed the agreement in an official statement on Wednesday, 23 September 2026. The Mexican coach joins until the end of the current season, and Valencia CF hold an option to extend his contract for one additional season.
Aguirre was born in Mexico City on 1 December 1958. He arrives at Mestalla after managing Mexico at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where El Tri reached the Round of 16. It was his third spell as Mexico head coach at a World Cup, following the 2002 Korea and Japan finals and the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
His LaLiga résumé already spans CA Osasuna, Atlético de Madrid, Real Zaragoza, RCD Espanyol, CD Leganés and RCD Mallorca. Beyond Spain, he has managed clubs and national teams in Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Mexico — a career path Valencia CF set out alongside his Spanish jobs in the same announcement.
Valencia CF highlighted several of the main achievements from that career. In Spain, they pointed to UEFA Champions League qualification with Osasuna. With Mexico, Aguirre won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2009 and 2025 and the CONCACAF Nations League in 2024-25. In Mexican club football, he won the Liga title with Pachuca in 1999 and the CONCACAF Champions League with CF Monterrey in 2021.
That mix of domestic LaLiga experience and recent international silverware is the profile the club put forward. Aguirre now takes charge at Mestalla through the rest of this season, with Valencia retaining the right to keep him for one further campaign if they take up the option.
He will be presented to the media as Valencia CF’s new first-team head coach on Monday, 28 September, in the press room at Mestalla. The appointment statement did not name his coaching staff or identify his first competitive match in charge.