Ignacio Ambríz

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ambrizand the second or maternal family name is Espinoza.

Ignacio Ambriz

Ambriz as América manager in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Marcos Ignacio Ambriz Espinoza
Date of birth	(1965-02-07) 7 February 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth	Mexico City, Mexico
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Santos Laguna (head coach)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1983–1986	Necaxa	33	(0)
1986–1987	Petroleros
1987–1989	León
1989–1996	Necaxa	193	(16)
1996–1997	Atlante	22	(3)
1998	Puebla	19	(0)
1998	Celaya	7	(0)
1999–2001	Necaxa	57	(1)
Total		331	(20)
International career
1992–1995	Mexico	64	(5)
Managerial career
2002	Mexico (assistant)
2003	Puebla
2003–2006	Osasuna (assistant)
2006–2009	Atlético Madrid (assistant)
2009–2011	San Luis
2012	Guadalajara
2013–2015	Querétaro
2015–2016	América
2017–2018	Necaxa
2018–2021	León
2021	Huesca
2022–2023	Toluca
2024–	Santos Laguna
Medal record Representing   Mexico Runner-up Copa America 1993
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Marcos Ignacio "Nacho" Ambriz Espinoza (born 7 February 1965) is a Mexican professional manager and former footballer. He is the current head coach of Liga MX club Santos Laguna.

Playing career

Playing for various clubs in Mexico, Ambríz is closely associated with Club Necaxa, a club he had three spells with, and was part of two championship-winning seasons in 1994–95 and 1995–96.

Ambríz earned 64 caps and scored 6 goals for the Mexico national team between 1992 and 1995, ^[1] and captained the squad at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where he played in all four games. He also formed part of the national squad that won the 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Managerial career

Early career

Ambríz with San Luis in 2011

Following his retirement from the playing field, Ambríz began his coaching career in 2002 with the Mexico national team, where he was the assistant to Javier Aguirre, taking part in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. ^[2] Following his participation with the national team, he joined Puebla, managing only seven matches. In 2003, he was once again the assistant to Javier Aguirre at Spanish clubs Osasuna and Atlético de Madrid. They parted company when Aguirre was sacked from the Madrid position in 2009. ^[3] He also had spells with San Luis – from 2009 to 2011 – and Guadalajara in 2012, only in charge for twelve matches. ^[4]

Querétaro

On 4 February 2013 Adolfo Ríos, President of Querétaro, announced Ambríz as their new manager after the club sacked Sergio Bueno after a 3–0 loss to Club América at Estadio Azteca. He managed the club up until February 2015, where Ambríz was sacked after a string of bad results during the Clausura tournament. ^[5]

Club América

On 26 May 2015, Ambríz was confirmed as the new manager at Club América, signing a two-year contract. ^[6] He led América to a disappointing run at the FIFA Club World Cup, losing the quarter-final match to Chinese team Guangzhou Evergrande, and defeating Congolese club TP Mazembe to claim a fifth-place finish in the competition. ^[7] The following year, Ambríz led América to the CONCACAF Champions League finals, defeating Tigres UANL 4–1 on aggregate, thus earning their qualification to the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup. ^[8] In September, he was ranked as the 10th best coach according to Football Coach World Ranking. ^[9] On 17 September, after suffering a 2–0 home defeat to León, Ambríz was sacked as manager the following day. ^[10]

Necaxa

In August 2017, Ambríz was appointed manager of Necaxa, staying with the club for a year; he won the Clausura 2018 Copa MX with Necaxa, beating Toluca 1–0 in the final to end a 19-year trophy-less drought for the club. ^[11]

Club León

"We are all conscious that at any moment we can be at full-back, at any moment we can be holding midfielders, forwards, and we have to take on the roles and play as the position demands, and that is something that "Nacho" likes."

—Club León footballer Fernando Navarro Morán ^[12]

On 18 September 2018, Ambríz was named manager of Club León, replacing Gustavo Díaz. ^[13] During the 2019 Clausura, he helped León attain the records of most consecutive wins with eleven ^[14] and the most points attained during the current 17-match tournament format with 41 points and a first-place finish. ^[15] They faced Tigres UANL in the Clausura championship final but lost following an aggregate score of 1–0. ^[16] Despite the loss, his feats with the club contributed to him being named best manager at the conclusion of the season. ^[17] After a first-place finish in the Guardianes 2020 general table, on 13 December, León won the league title defeating Club Universidad Nacional with an aggregate score of 3–1, becoming Mexico's joint fourth most successful team with eight titles in total alongside Cruz Azul. ^[18]

Following León's championship win, Ambríz and Club León were unable to reach an agreement for Ambríz's contractual renewal. Ambríz opted to not renew the contract, citing his desire to manage a European club. ^[19]

Huesca

On 28 June 2021, Ambríz was named the new manager of Spanish club Huesca. ^[20] On 25 October, he was dismissed from his position following a disappointing start. ^[21]

Toluca

On 1 December 2021, Toluca appointed Ambríz as their new manager. ^[22] On 25 October 2023, Ambríz and Toluca parted ways by mutual consent. ^[23]

Santos Laguna

On 12 February 2024, Santos Laguna appointed Ambriz as their new manager. ^[24]

Career statistics

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	April 11, 1993	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	Honduras	3–0	3–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	April 18, 1993	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	El Salvador	1–0	3–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	July 22, 1993	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	Jamaica	5–1	6–1	1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup
4	July 25, 1993	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	United States	1–0	4–0	1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup
5	November 3, 1993	Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, United States	China	1–0	3–0	Friendly

Managerial statistics

As of match played 20 April 2024 ^[25]

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Puebla		1 April 2003	30 June 2003	7	2	2	3	7	11	−4	028.57
San Luis		10 December 2009	9 November 2011	78	22	25	31	90	103	−13	028.21
Guadalajara		25 January 2012	19 April 2012	18	5	4	9	12	23	−11	027.78
Querétaro		4 February 2013	23 February 2015	98	37	24	37	114	111	+3	037.76
América		26 May 2015	18 September 2016	68	37	12	19	126	83	+43	054.41
Necaxa		15 May 2017	9 May 2018	47	18	18	11	62	42	+20	038.30
León		19 September 2018	11 May 2021	114	60	27	27	195	125	+70	052.63
Huesca		28 June 2021	25 October 2021	12	4	3	5	15	13	+2	033.33
Toluca		1 December 2021	25 October 2023	77	33	23	21	133	117	+16	042.86
Santos Laguna		12 February 2024	present	10	3	2	5	9	13	−4	030.00
Total				529	221	140	168	763	636	+127	041.78

Honours

Player

Necaxa

• Mexican Primera División: 1994–95, 1995–96
• Copa México: 1994–95
• Campeón de Campeones: 1995
• CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup: 1994
• FIFA Club World Cup third place: 2000 ^[26]

Mexico

• CONCACAF Gold Cup: 1993

Manager

América

• CONCACAF Champions League: 2015–16

Necaxa

• Copa MX: Clausura 2018

León

• Liga MX: Guardianes 2020

Individual

• Liga MX Best Manager: 2018–19 ^[17]
• Liga MX Best XI Manager: Guardianes 2020 ^[27]

References

1. rsssf: Mexico record international footballers
2. "Los grandes momentos que no sabías de "Nacho" Ambriz" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2020-07-06. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
3. "Ignacio Ambriz, decidido a debutar como técnico". Informador. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
4. "Ignacio Ambriz, fuera de Chivas". Medio Tiempo. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
5. "Ignacio Ambriz deja de ser DT de Querétaro". Informador. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
6. "Ignacio Ambriz presentado como nuevo técnico del Club América". ClubAmérica.com.mx. Club América. Retrieved 26 May 2015.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
7. "Club América claim fifth place". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
8. "Cronica: América 2-1 Tigres". Club América – Sitio Oficial. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
9. "Ignacio Ambriz, entre los 10 mejores técnicos del mundo" (in Spanish).
10. "América no aguantó; Ambriz fue cesado" (in Spanish). Medio Tiempo. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
11. "Necaxa, campeón de la Copa MX Clausura 2018" (in Spanish).
12. Marshall, Tom (24 November 2020). "Leon are Liga MX's most exciting team; can they bring home a first league title since 2014?". ESPN.
13. "Leon hires Nacho Ambriz to replace Gustavo Diaz as manager".
14. "León impone récord de más victorias consecutivas en Liga MX" (in Spanish).
15. "León impone récord de puntos en torneos de 17 jornadas" (in Spanish).
16. Marshall, Tom (21 May 2019). "Tigres edge Leon to win Liga MX Clausura". ESPN.
17. Bernal, Jaime (13 July 2019). "Ignacio Ambriz: ganador del Balón de Oro al Mejor Director Técnico". TUDN.
18. Marshall, Tom (13 December 2020). "Club Leon sink Pumas to win 2020 Liga MX title". ESPN.
19. Serrano, Rodrigo (28 June 2021). "Ignacio Ambriz will be announced as Huesca's new manager". AS. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
20. "Nacho Ambríz, nuevo entrenador de la SD Huesca" (in Spanish). SD Huesca. 28 June 2021.
21. "Ignacio Ambriz fue cesado como técnico del Huesca" (in Spanish). ESPN México. 25 October 2021.
22. "Nacho Ambriz es, oficialmente, el nuevo técnico de Toluca" (in Spanish). Fox Deportes. 1 December 2021.
23. "Toluca anuncia salida del técnico Ignacio Ambriz" (in Spanish). ESPN México. 25 October 2023.
24. "Oficial: Ignacio Ambriz es nuevo técnico de Santos Laguna" (in Spanish). ESPN México. 12 February 2024.
25. Ignacio Ambríz coach profile at Soccerway
26. "Necaxa". FIFA. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
27. De la Cruz, Luis (16 December 2020). "Liga MX: León, Pumas y Cruz Azul se 'roban' el 11 ideal del Guardianes 2020". SoyFutbol.com (in Spanish).

External links

• Ignacio Ambríz – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Ignacio Ambríz at National-Football-Teams.com