Victor Vucetich to be replaced by Fernando Ortiz at Monterrey

Rayados de Monterrey have pulled the plug on gaffer Victor Manuel Vucetich earlier than expected after a tough loss to Tigre UANL in the Liga MX Clausura playoffs a week ago.

Vucetich, who was in charge of the team from 2009–13, and most recently since 2022, previously held managerial postings with the Mexican National Team and Tigres, among others.

In a statement released on their social media accounts, the club wrote:

“We inform our fans and the media that the club has made the decision to end Víctor Manuel Vucetich’s tenure as the head coach of the Rayados first team. We acknowledge and greatly value the historic legacy that Víctor has left us, in terms of titles won, international recognition and records set during his time at the club.”

In the last week it was known that Vucetich had held conversations with Sporting Chairman José Antonio Noriega and members of the board, but Noriega had stated that no decisions would be made until Monday.

“I hope to be able to have something to tell you on Monday. We have to be responsible and think things through carefully. We are already ahead of schedule in terms of planning the pre-season and reinforcements and so on. We are now concentrating on some of the decisions that have been made,” he said.

However, the situation changed, and the 67-year-old manager was let go this past Saturday evening, with the 2–1 aggregate loss to Tigres cited as a reason.

Monterrey, a historic team out of Nuevo León state in northeastern Mexico, has a long rivalry with Tigres who also make their home in the Monterrey Metropolitan area.

Former center back and ex-Club América coach Fernando Ortiz points as Vucetich's replacement in Monterrey. Ortiz left his post this past May 22nd with the historic residents of the Estadio Azteca after a Clausura semi finals loss to Chivas.