Ignacio Ambríz
Mexican footballer and manager (born 1965)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marcos Ignacio "Nacho" Ambriz Espinoza (born 7 February 1965) is a Mexican professional manager and former footballer.
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Ambriz as América manager in 2015 | |||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marcos Ignacio Ambriz Espinoza | ||||||||||
| Date of birth | 7 February 1965 | ||||||||||
| Place of birth | Mexico City, Mexico | ||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||
| Position | Centre-back | ||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||
| 2025–2026 | León | ||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||
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
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."
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 became the manager of La Liga 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 agreement.[23]
Santos Laguna
On 12 February 2024, Santos Laguna announced Ambríz as their new manager.[24] On 11 November 2024, Ambríz resigned from his role following the club's last-place finish in the Apertura 2024 tournament.[25]
Return to León
On 29 September 2025, Ambríz took on the position of head coach at León, starting his second spell with the club.[26] On 14 March 2026, he stepped down from his role.[27]
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 14 March 2026[28]
| 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 | 28.57 |
| San Luis | |
10 December 2009 | 9 November 2011 | 78 | 22 | 25 | 31 | 90 | 103 | −13 | 28.21 |
| Guadalajara | |
25 January 2012 | 19 April 2012 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 23 | −11 | 27.78 |
| Querétaro | |
4 February 2013 | 23 February 2015 | 98 | 37 | 24 | 37 | 114 | 111 | +3 | 37.76 |
| América | |
26 May 2015 | 18 September 2016 | 68 | 37 | 12 | 19 | 126 | 83 | +43 | 54.41 |
| Necaxa | |
15 May 2017 | 9 May 2018 | 47 | 18 | 18 | 11 | 62 | 42 | +20 | 38.30 |
| León | |
19 September 2018 | 11 May 2021 | 114 | 60 | 27 | 27 | 195 | 125 | +70 | 52.63 |
| Huesca |  |
28 June 2021 | 25 October 2021 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 13 | +2 | 33.33 |
| Toluca | |
1 December 2021 | 25 October 2023 | 77 | 33 | 23 | 21 | 133 | 117 | +16 | 42.86 |
| Santos Laguna | |
12 February 2024 | 12 November 2024 | 31 | 5 | 8 | 18 | 22 | 50 | −28 | 16.13 |
| León | |
29 September 2025 | 14 March 2026 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 31 | −16 | 18.75 |
| Total | 565 | 226 | 148 | 191 | 791 | 704 | +87 | 40.00 | |||
Honours
Player
Necaxa
- Mexican Primera División: 1994–95, 1995–96
- Copa México: 1994–95
- Campeón de Campeones: 1995
- CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup: 1994
Mexico
Manager
América
Necaxa
León
Individual
- Liga MX Best Manager: 2018–19[17]
- Liga MX Best XI Manager: Guardianes 2020[29]
- The Best of America Best Liga MX Manager: 2020