The Costa Rican Football Federation (FCRF) announced that Dismissal of Ignacio Hierro As sports director of the national teams, he ended a cycle that lasted less than a year.
The Wednesday December 10thIn an extraordinary meeting, the Executive Committee made the already expected decision. In an official statement, they thanked the Mexican manager for his work in filling the most influential position after Federal President.
This news comes just a few days after Departure of Miguel HerreraCoach of the senior national team, who was also fired after failing in the qualifying round World Cup 2026.
Both layoffs come amid a deep internal restructuring. With this measure the federation completely completes the sports project led by the Mexican duo, a plan that had raised expectations of modernization but which failed due to lack of results.
When the former player was hired late last year to take over his duties in January, the FCRF I was looking for a profile capable of renewing the structure of the national team. His experience in sports management and his previous experiences in Costa Rican football seemed to fit the vision of professionalization that the association wanted to promote.
In this context iron Bet on Miguel Herreraa coach with an international career who came with the promise of revitalizing the team. Although the country ranked both during his tenure U-17 World Cup For both men and women, this success could not compensate for the decline in the main target World Cup 2026.
The duo represented a change of direction Costa Ricawho wanted to become competitive again after years of ups and downs. However, the project never managed to establish itself and, in view of the major event, it ended with irreversible negative effects in the sporting, economic and reputational areas.
The defeat in the qualifying round against World Cup 2026 It was the final blow. Costa Rica They finished third in their group without making the ticket or the playoffs, a result that caused frustration among fans and criticism in the local media.
After various statements from the strategist, the departure of Herrera was immediate and thus the continuity of ironnoted as directly responsible for your hiring and the sporting orientation of the team.
The pressure increased as the days went by and the Executive Committee finally decided to end cooperation with the Mexican. The association thanked them for their work, but made it clear that it was time to rethink the project from the ground up.
With the departure of both leaders, the immediate future of Costa Rica It will depend on the decisions made by the FCRF in the coming weeks, in a scenario where the urgency to reshape the path is as great as the need to learn from recent mistakes.
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