Miguel Herrera

Miguel Ernesto Herrera Aguirre (born in Cuautepec, Hidalgo; March 18, 1968), popularly referred to by his nickname "Piojo" (Spanish for "louse"), is a Mexican professional football manager and former player. He is the current head coach of Liga MX club Atlante.

As a player, Herrera represented six different clubs in Mexican football. He is primarily remembered for his time at Atlante, where he won a Primera División title, and Toros Neza, where he accumulated more than 100 appearances. On the international stage, he earned 14 caps for the Mexico national team and took part in the 1993 Copa América, where Mexico finished as runners-up.

As a manager, Herrera has led seven clubs in Mexico, most notably Club América. Across two separate spells with the team, he guided them to two league championships. On the international stage, he managed Mexico at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and later took charge of Costa Rica's national team.

Club career Herrera made his debut in 1985 with Segunda División side Deportivo Neza. Originally a forward, he switched to playing as a defender after his move to Tecos UAG in 1987. Herrera made his debut in the Primera División on May 22, 1988, in a 2–0 victory over Atlas. He was transferred to Santos Laguna in 1988, making 30 appearances and scoring four goals. He had his first stint with Atlante in 1989, making 36 appearances and scoring four goals before moving to Querétaro in 1990. He again transferred to Atlante in 1991, and won his first league title during the 1992–93 season after defeating Monterrey in the finals by a 4–0 aggregate score after winning the first-leg 1–0 and the second 4–0. He would remain at the club until 1995, making 125 appearances and scoring nine goals. Herrera was then sold to Toros Neza, with whom he would play in his second league final during the "Verano '97" season, ultimately losing to Guadalajara by an aggregate score of 7–2. In 1999, Herrera returned to Atlante for a third time before officially retiring in 2000.

International career Herrera participated with Mexico's national team in the 1993 Copa América tournament held in Ecuador. Mexico went on to reach the final against Argentina, losing 1–2.

Herrera played in all of Mexico's matches during the qualifying stages for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, though he was omitted from the final squad list by coach Miguel Mejía Barón.

Veracruz Prior to the Clausura 2008, Herrera was hired as manager of Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz after the resignation of Antonio Mohamed. A stand-out victory for Herrera was a 4–0 home victory over Club América on March 29, 2008. He was in charge of preventing Veracruz from being relegated to the Primera División 'A' de México, though Veracruz was inevitably relegated to the level. Herrera parted ways with the club in May 2008.

Estudiantes Tecos Shortly after leaving Veracruz, Herrera was hired to manage a struggling Estudiantes Tecos midway into the Apertura 2008 tournament to replace José Luis Trejo. He was fired on September 6, 2010 after Tecos suffered a 0–3 defeat against Guadalajara during a league match of the Apertura tournament.

Second spell with Atlante In November 2010, it was announced that Herrera was hired as the new Atlante manager, returning to his former club following his first managerial stint in 2002. Under his reign, Atlante finished in fourth place in the Clausura 2011, though they would be eliminated in the quarterfinals by Cruz Azul. Atlante failed to qualify for the playoffs of the Apertura 2011, and Herrera did not renew his contract with the club. There were reports linking him with Club América as their new manager for the following season.

América On November 16, 2011, Herrera was officially named the new manager of Club América. In his first press conference, Herrera revealed he had signed a six-month contract, saying, "f in six months I don't give results, I'll leave." On January 7, 2012, América defeated Querétaro 2–0, which was Herrera's first official victory with América. América finished the Clausura in third place and reached the semifinals, being eliminated by Monterrey by an aggregate score of 0–2. On May 14, Miguel Herrera was ratified as manager. He led the club to a fourth-place finish the following Apertura, once again being eliminated at the semifinals stage following a 2–3 aggregate loss to Toluca.

On May 26, 2013, América won the eleventh league title in its history by defeating Cruz Azul 4–2 on penalties after a dramatic comeback from a 0–1 first leg loss to tie 2–2 on aggregate, and playing the second leg with ten men for over 105 minutes. It was Herrera's first title in his managerial career after losing his two previous finals while at Monterrey.

The following Apertura, Herrera led América to another league final after topping the league table with 37 points, however they were defeated by León. Midway through the tournament, Herrera was named interim coach of Mexico's national team; his assistant Álvaro Galindo coached América until Herrera's return in November. It was later announced that Herrera would take over as head coach of the Mexican team on a permanent basis.

Mexico national team Herrera with former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto in 2014. On October 18, 2013, Herrera was appointed interim head coach of Mexico, replacing Víctor Manuel Vucetich to become the fourth national team coach within the span of a month. He led El Tri to a 9–3 aggregate victory over New Zealand in the inter-confederation play-off to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. On December 2, it was announced that Herrera would remain national team coach at least through the World Cup.

At the World Cup, Mexico finished in second place in their group with 7 points, obtaining wins against Cameroon and Croatia and securing a scoreless draw against the host nation. They faced the Netherlands in the round-of-16, where Mexico was controversially eliminated after succumbing to a 2–1 defeat. On December 3, he declared that his contract with the national team was renewed. His performances for 2014 had the IFFHS rank him as the 7th best manager of the year.

Mexico failed to make it past the group stage of the 2015 Copa América, only attaining two draws and one loss and no victories. On July 26, 2015, Mexico won the CONCACAF Gold Cup after defeating Jamaica 3–1 in the final. Two days later, Herrera was released as coach of the Mexico national team after an alleged physical altercation with TV Azteca announcer Christian Martinoli – who had been critical of Herrera – while the two waited in the TSA line at the Philadelphia International Airport.

Tijuana

On November 2, 2015, Herrera was named as the new manager of Club Tijuana. He managed the club until May 2017, qualifying to the play-offs twice.

Return to América On May 26, 2017, Club América announced Herrera as their new manager. He lost in his first official game as the club's manager, a 1–2 defeat to Querétaro in the Supercopa MX. Six days later, América lost to Querétaro again, this time by a 0–1 scoreline, in their opening match of the Apertura tournament. The following week, Herrera won his first league match in his second spell with América, defeating Pachuca 2–0 at the Estadio Hidalgo. Herrera led América to a third-place finish during the regular phase of the Apertura, however they were eliminated in the semifinals by Tigres UANL. América also went out of the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League to Toronto FC in the semifinals. The club finished the following Clausura tournament in second-place, and was again eliminated at the semifinal stage, this time losing to Santos Laguna by a 6–3 aggregate score.

Herrera led América to another second-place finish in the 2018 Apertura, only suffering two defeats throughout the regular phase of the tournament, and went undefeated in the playoffs. On December 16, Herrera won his second league title – both with Club América – following a 2–0 aggregate victory over Cruz Azul in the finals. He also led the team on a 17-game unbeaten streak en route to winning the championship, equaling the record set by the club under Mario Carrillo in 2005 when it won that year's Clausura.

On February 5, 2019, Herrera reached 100 wins in charge of Club América following a 3–1 victory over Necaxa in the Copa MX, becoming the third manager in the club's history after Jose Antonio Roca and Carlos Reinoso to reach that milestone. On April 11, América defeated Juárez 1–0 in the Clausura final of the Copa MX. This was Herrera's first cup title in his career, and his third title overall with Club América.

On December 21, 2020, Herrera was dismissed from his position following the club's exit from the CONCACAF Champions League.

Tigres UANL On May 20, 2021, Herrera was appointed as the new manager of Tigres UANL, replacing Ricardo Ferretti. On 9 November 2022, Herrera was dismissed from his job.

Return to Tijuana On February 10, 2023, Club Tijuana announced Herrera as their new manager. On April 30, 2024, Tijuana and Herrera parted ways.

Costa Rica On January 7, 2025, the Costa Rican Football Federation announced Herrera as the new manager of Costa Rica's national team. On November 20, 2025, Herrera was dismissed from his role following Costa Rica's failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Third spell with Atlante On April 28, 2026, Herrera was appointed head coach of Atlante once more, tasked with guiding the club in their return to the top flight.

Managerial style

Herrera is a known "Lavolpista", a term used to describe coaches that follow the style and philosophy of Ricardo La Volpe, although Herrera has stated he isn't, arguing he incorporates footballing styles from various other coaches he has trained with. Most of them use the 5–3–2 formation with fast wing-backs.

Managerial statistics

Team Nat From To Record Atlante February 20, 2002 May 30, 2004 Monterrey June 2, 2004 September 26, 2007 Veracruz January 30, 2008 May 3, 2008 Estudiantes Tecos September 2, 2008 September 6, 2010 Atlante November 23, 2010 November 15, 2011 América November 16, 2011 December 15, 2013 Mexico October 18, 2013 July 28, 2015 Tijuana November 2, 2015 May 21, 2017 América May 30, 2017 December 21, 2020 Tigres UANL May 20, 2021 November 9, 2022 Tijuana February 10, 2023 April 30, 2024 Costa Rica January 7, 2025 November 20, 2025 Atlante April 28, 2026 Present Total

Honours Player Atlante Mexican Primera División: 1992–93

Mexico Copa América runner-up: 1993

Manager América Liga MX: Clausura 2013, Apertura 2018 Copa MX: Clausura 2019 Campeón de Campeones: 2019

Mexico CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2015

Individual Mexican Primera División Best Manager: Apertura 2002 CONCACAF Men's Best Coach of the Year: 2013 (second), 2015 (third) The Best of America Best Liga MX Manager: 2019