Javier Aguirre hired as Japan manager

Japan have a new manager, and they have gone to Mexico for him. The Samurai Blue have hired Javier Aguirre, who most recently managed Espanyol and has led Mexico on two occasions.

Japan have been in need of a new manager ever since Alberto Zaccheroni was jettisoned after a poor World Cup. Japan only managed one point, and that came against a 10-man Greece side. They tallied just two goals and conceded six, leaving them in 29th out of 32 teams. It was a massive disappointment for a country that had advanced to the round of 16 just four years earlier.

This will be Aguirre's first job outside of Mexico or Spain after spending the last 19 years managing in the two countries. He was successful in Liga MX before getting the Mexico gig, where he led El Tri to the round of 16 at the 2002 World Cup. That earned him jobs with Osasuna and Atletico Madrid, but he returned to manage Mexico in 2009 when they were in need of a manager after a disastrous start to qualifying. Once again, he turned his country around, getting them into the World Cup and then the knockout stages. Since then, he has been coaching in La Liga, where he held the top posts at Real Zaragoza and Espanyol.

Aguirre takes over a team that is in a bit of transition. Keisuke Honda, Shinji Okazaki, Atsuto Uchida and Yuto Nagatomo will all be on the wrong side of 30 by the next World Cup, while Yashuhito Endo and Makoto Hasebe are already there. Aguirre should be able to mount a defense of Japan's Asian Cup title next summer in Australia, but after that he will have to blood in new players if they want to find themselves back in the knockout stages come the 2018 World Cup.