The Mexican National Team may have its new manager and Atlanta United may be the team providing him.
According to Azteca Deportes, current Atlanta United head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino will be hired as Mexico’s new boss once their MLS campaign comes to a close.
¡Atención! ⚠
El 'Tata' dirigirá a la #SelecciónAzteca 🇲🇽https://t.co/WC9lLN1Or6
— TV Azteca Deportes (@AztecaDeportes) October 16, 2018
The report indicates he will be officially hired on December 8, which is the same day as the MLS Cup Final. He will take over for Juan Carlos Osorio, who resigned from the job after the World Cup last summer and took over managing the Paraguay National Team.
Martino was Atlanta’s first-ever coach and he led them to the playoffs in its inaugural season last year. It was the first time an expansion team made the playoffs since the Seattle Sounders did back in 2008.
He has international managing experience, too. He took Paraguay to the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup and the Final of the 2011 Copa America. In 2014, he took over at Argentina following their run to the World Cup Final. Over the next two years, Martino led them to the Copa America Final twice, losing to Chile on penalties both times. He resigned from that job in July of 2016 and took over Atlanta United shortly thereafter.
Atlanta is currently leading in the MLS Supporters Shield standings with two games left in the season. The Five Stripes are guaranteed one of the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference once the playoffs begin at the end of the month.