At Mestalla, where Valencia’s season has already taken on the uneasy feel of a rescue mission, Javier Aguirre arrived with a familiar mixture of bluntness and humour. The Mexican coach was officially unveiled as the club’s new head coach with the immediate task of lifting a side sitting 19th in LaLiga after seven matches, but his first meeting with the media also brought back an unlikely World Cup memory involving Anthony Gordon.
Valencia have collected only four points so far and remain in the relegation places, leaving Aguirre little time to settle into his new surroundings. Results will be demanded quickly in the city, including ahead of the meeting with Barcelona on 31 January 2027, a fixture that could bring him face to face again with the English forward.
A World Cup moment revisited
Aguirre’s exchange with Gordon dates from Mexico’s last World Cup, when England beat the Mexican national team 3-2 in a round-of-16 tie at the Estadio Azteca. During a particularly charged spell of the match, Aguirre was heard directing an expletive at Gordon from the technical area, an incident that became one of the most widely discussed images from the game.
Asked about the prospect of seeing Gordon again during his Valencia presentation, Aguirre laughed and covered his mouth before playing down the episode. He described it as a foolish, spontaneous remark made amid the intensity of a World Cup match rather than a lasting dispute.
“It was nonsense, something that came out in the heat of the World Cup,” Aguirre said. “Those things happen on the pitch and I do not think about them any more. I greeted him very warmly. There is a very nice photograph from that moment and perhaps I will ask him to sign it for my children. He speaks Spanish well.”
The lighter recollection will soon give way to more pressing concerns. Aguirre has taken charge of a Valencia side in urgent need of momentum, with the early league table offering no comfort and every upcoming match carrying added weight for a club trying to climb clear of danger.
