Ignacio Trelles

Biographical information

RolesCoach
SexMale
Full nameIgnacio•Trelles Campos
Used nameIgnacio•Trelles
Nick/petnamesNacho, Don Nacho
Born31 July 1916 in Guadalajara, Jalisco (MEX)
Died24 March 2020 in Ciudad de México (Mexico City), Ciudad de México (MEX)
NOC Mexico

Biography

One of five children Nacho Trelles was the son of an electrical mechanical engineer and wanted to follow in his father’s profession. He started to study at the Higher School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of the National Polytechnic Institute, but as he said in his own words: “I was a resounding failure”. Consequently, he went to work in a factory while paying part-time football with Necaxa, whose first team he broke into in 1940. After around 10 years playing part-time he became a full-time professional but his career was ended after seven years, in 1949. following a bad leg injury. He then embarked on a 40-year coaching career, starting at Zacatepec and ending at Club Puebla in 1991.

In those 40 years as a coach, Trelles went on to become a Mexican footballing legend. He captured 15 Mexican trophies, including the Mexican League title seven times with four different teams: Marte (1954), Zacatepec (1955, 1958), Toluca (1967-68), and Cruz Azul (1979-80). Trelles was manager for a total of 1,083 matches, with a win percentage of 42.75%. He also managed the Mexican national team 117 times, winning 53 matches, and led them to the 1962 and 1966 FIFA World Cup finals. His first game in charge was against Costa Rica in 1957, and his last was at the age of nearly 75, against Canada in 1991. After a near 60-years career in Mexican football, it was little surprise that he was one of the inaugural inductees into the Mexican Football Hall of Fame in 2011. Nacho Trelles died in 2020, at the age of 103.

Coaching results

Games Sport (Discipline) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1964 Summer Olympics Football (Football) MEX Ignacio Trelles
Football, Men (Olympic) Mexico =9
1968 Summer Olympics Football (Football) MEX Ignacio Trelles
Football, Men (Olympic) Mexico 4

Special Notes