Efraín Juárez, former coach of the UNAM Pumas, left behind his time in the feline team when he began the preseason this Saturday with his new team, the Gyori ETO FC of Hungarian soccer, just a few days after being announced in this new European adventure for the Mexican coach.

Juárez practically went from the plane to the field to put on his work gear and lead his new squad in the preseason duel in search of injecting his playing philosophy that has given him many dividends in Colombian soccer with Atlético Nacional and in the Liga MX with the UNAM Pumas.

The controversial coach comes to this squad after two tournaments where he tried to regain prominence for the university squad and almost succeeded by losing the final of the Clausura 2026 tournament in a thrilling final with Cruz Azul 2-1 in two intense matches.

Juárez is already fully involved in putting together the team and building a project that will allow him to consolidate himself in European football, a goal he has pursued since he began his career on the bench. His arrival at Gyori ETO FC represents Juárez's first challenge as head coach in Europe, although it is not his first experience on the continent.

Before arriving at Pumas, the Mexican lived a successful stage with Atlético Nacional of Colombia, where he won the league and the cup and managed to establish himself as one of the young coaches with the greatest projection in the region.

Later, he took the reins of Pumas, a team he coached for three tournaments and with which he managed to return them to the forefront of Mexican soccer. This is not the first time that Juárez has worked in Europe, as he was already at Standard Liege between 2022 and 2023 and later at Club Brugge between 2023 and 2024, both clubs in Belgium.

Juárez generated a lot of controversy in Mexican soccer, but no one can deny the specific weight it had in Pumas, where it regained its image as the leading team in Mexican soccer, after a 15-year period in which they have not achieved the long-awaited League title.