While pen has not been put to paper, Juan Carlos Osorio intends to take over as the next Mexico national team head coach.
In a press conference on Wednesday in Brazil, where he had been coaching famed club Sao Paulo, Osorio read from a statement announcing his departure.
"I made a difficult decision between continuing at a great club or taking over a prestigious national team," Osorio stated during the press conference, according to El Universal. "Beginning now, I want to formalize my move to join the Mexican national team and begin the pursuit of the major objective of qualifying for the next World Cup."
Osorio did not take questions at the press conference, but before departing, he had a message for Sao Paulo supporters.
"I regret not being here to see the progress of the young players. I also regret not being here to complete in the finals of the championships,
After weeks of rumors of El Tri being interested in hiring Osorio, Sao Paulo announced Tuesday that the Colombian manager has left the club to take the opening in Mexico. Osorio, 53, had been coaching Sao Paulo since May.
"I deeply regret Osorio's decision," said Sao Paulo president Carlos Miguel Aidar. "He was doing a good job."
Osorio, who has a bevy of coaching expeience but has never led a national team, admitted earlier this week that the Mexico post was "a dream job." He previously managed the Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls.
El Tri are currently being led by interim coach Ricardo "Tuca" Ferretti, who will be at the helm in Saturday's CONCACAF Cup clash with the United States (9 pm ET; Fox Sports 1, Univision, UDN), but have been without a full-time manager since Miguel Herrera was fired in July because of an altercation with a reporter following the capture of the 2015 CONACAF Gold Cup.
There has been no official word from the Mexican Football Federation. Mexico begin World Cup qualifying in November with matches against El Salvador and Honduras.
