Liga MX giants Club America have hired 43-year-old Brazilian coach Andre Jardine, the team announced on Friday.
Jardine, who was still managing Atletico San Luis on Friday during a 5-1 preseason friendly win over Mineros de Zacatecas, has now left the midtable Mexican side after over a year in charge.
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The hiring of Jardine ends Club America’s nearly month-long search for a coach that began in late May after Fernando Ortiz resigned from his position. Following a disappointing loss to rivals Chivas in the semifinal round of the 2023 Clausura playoffs, Ortiz announced his exit during a post-game press conference.
Since then, there has been a long list of options for the America coaching job. Names like Diego Alonso, Javier Aguirre, Eduardo “Chacho” Coudet, and also recent U.S. men’s national team rehire Gregg Berhalter, were all reportedly in the mix.
Berhalter, who was announced as the returning USMNT head coach on Friday, confirmed he held preliminary talks with Club America.
Bienvenido al América, André. 🇧🇷🦅 #SomosAmérica pic.twitter.com/yagk6VHA2W
— Club América (@ClubAmerica) June 17, 2023
Jardine will now have a quick turnaround before the start of Liga MX’s 2023 Apertura season. On June 30, Club America will kick-off Week 1 with a home game against FC Juarez. Next month, he’ll then need to prepare for Leagues Cup matches against MLS’ St. Louis CITY SC on July 27 and the Columbus Crew on July 30.
According to ESPN Mexico’s Cesar Caballero, the current plan is for Jardine to first step onto the sideline as coach for Club America during an upcoming June 20 friendly at H-E-B Park in Edinburg, Texas, against Monterrey.
With Atletico San Luis, Jardine was able to surpass expectations through quarterfinal appearances in two of the three seasons he managed. In May’s Clausura playoffs, heavy favorites Club America narrowly sneaked past Jardine and his roster through a narrow 4-3 aggregate result in the quarterfinal stage.