Antonio Mohamed · Biography

The first trophy of Antonio Ricardo Mohamed Matijevich's career came in the 1989-90 season, when he won the Primera B Nacional, Argentina's second tier, with Huracán, the club where he came through. He was born in Buenos Aires on 2 April 1970 and has Lebanese, Syrian and Croatian ancestry. That is where the nickname «Turco» comes from: across Latin America it is commonly given to people of Arab descent. He played as a striker in Argentina and Mexico until 2003 and then spent most of his coaching career in Mexican football. He holds both Argentine and Mexican nationality.

Huracán, Boca and Independiente

He made his Huracán debut in the Primera B Nacional. After promotion he played his first top-flight match on 19 August 1990, a 2-2 draw with Deportivo Mandiyú. In all he made 109 league appearances for the Buenos Aires club and scored 41 goals. Fiorentina signed him in 1991, but he never played for the Italian side. He was first loaned to Boca Juniors, where he won the 1992 Supercopa Masters, and then to Independiente, for whom he played 26 games in 1992-93.

Argentina national team

At youth level he played in the 1988 South American U-20 Championship, held in Argentina, and the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship in Saudi Arabia. Alfio Basile gave him his senior debut on 19 February 1991 in a 2-0 win over Hungary. Later that year he was part of the squad that won the 1991 Copa América in Chile. He finished with 4 caps and 1 goal for the senior side.

A decade in Mexico

In 1993 he moved to Mexico to join Toros Neza. He stayed for five seasons and scored 50 goals in 180 league games. In 1998 he had a brief spell at Club América and joined Monterrey the same year, scoring 12 goals in 58 games before leaving in 2000. Short stints followed at Marte (2000), Irapuato (2001), Atlante (2001-02) and Celaya (2002) before he retired at Zacatepec in 2003. His playing career ended with 481 league appearances and 126 goals.

Early coaching years

He began coaching at Zacatepec in July 2003. Over the next two years he took charge of Morelia, Querétaro and Jaguares de Chiapas, and in 2005 he returned to Huracán, managing the club in two spells until 2007. In June 2006, during the World Cup in Germany, he was in a car crash that killed his nine-year-old son; he suffered a serious leg injury. After a short spell at Veracruz he took over Colón in March 2008 and stayed until September 2010. He joined Independiente that October and won the 2010 Copa Sudamericana, beating Brazil's Goiás 5-3 on penalties in the final.

Tijuana, América and Monterrey

In September 2011 he was appointed at Tijuana, and in the 2012 Apertura he won his first Liga MX title, beating Toluca 4-1 on aggregate in the final. After a brief return to Huracán in 2013 he coached Club América through 2014 and led them to the 2014 Apertura title against Tigres (3-1 on aggregate). He joined Monterrey in February 2015 and won the Copa MX in the 2017 Apertura. In May 2018 he moved to Celta Vigo in Spain, where he stayed until November, and between December 2018 and April 2019 he had a fourth spell at Huracán. He went back to Monterrey in October 2019 and in December won the 2019 Apertura against América: the final ended 3-3 on aggregate and was settled on penalties at the Estadio Azteca. He also won the 2019-20 Copa MX with Monterrey before leaving in November 2020.

Atlético Mineiro, Pumas and Toluca

In January 2022 he took over Atlético Mineiro. With the Brazilian club he won the Supercopa do Brasil, on penalties against Flamengo, and that year's Campeonato Mineiro, and he left in July. From March to December 2023 he coached Pumas UNAM. He joined Toluca in December 2024 and in May 2025 won the Clausura, beating América 2-0 on aggregate for the club's first league title in fifteen years. In December 2025 Toluca won the Apertura as well, against Tigres in a shootout that finished 9-8, which drew the club level with Chivas on 12 league titles. It was Mohamed's fifth Liga MX title, won with four different clubs. That year he also added the Campeón de Campeones, with a 3-1 win over América, and the Campeones Cup.

The 2026 titles

In May 2026 Toluca won the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the third in the club's history, drawing 1-1 with Tigres at the Nemesio Díez and winning the shootout 6-5. On 6 September 2026 they won the Leagues Cup, beating Monterrey 2-0 at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston with goals from Alexis Vega and Helinho.