La Volpe leaves Monterrey over financial differences

News
By published

MEXICO CITY - Outspoken former Mexico coach Ricardo La Volpe has left his job with Monterrey because of financial differences, the club said.

The Argentine, who led Mexico to the last 16 at the World Cup in Germany and was third-choice goalkeeper in his own country's World Cup winning squad in 1978, had been in his latest job for almost exactly a year.

"The professional relationship between the club and Ricardo Antonio La Volpe has ended because of some financial differences," said the club in a statement.

The famously grumpy La Volpe, who stands out on the touchline by wearing brightly-coloured ties featuring Chinese dragons, is one of Latin America's most controversial and outspoken coaches.

During his four years in charge of Mexico, he was involved in a continual slanging-match with former striker Hugo Sanchez and caused a storm by leaving Cuauhtemoc Blanco, the country's most naturally gifted player, out of the World Cup squad.

Last year, he stoked the rivalry with Monterrey's arch-rivals Tigres UANL, as he dubbed them boring and said before a derby that he would rather take up baseball or go shopping than watch them play.