A few disappointed Mexican fans have given Argentina national team coach Gerardo Martino a rather awkward welcome upon arrival in Mexico City.

As Argentinian newspapers unanimously reported, the 60-year-old was also insulted by the supporters.

Here and there, shouts from the small group can be heard in a video that the newspaper La Nacion also published online.

Pressed by camera teams and fans, Martino tried to get out of the airport building but remained relatively calm.

Martino's coaching staff tried to shield the coach from the waiting reporters and cameramen.

A fan who complained to the coach accused Norberto Scoponi, one of Martino's assistants, of slapping him several times.

"Biggest Joke"

Others called the coach "the biggest joke in Mexico" and "the biggest thief of them all."

The soccer coach's contract with the Mexican association expired at the end of the World Cup in Qatar.

Martino had taken responsibility for the World Cup disappointment.

"I am primarily responsible for the frustration and disappointment that we are experiencing.

I feel great sadness.

I take full responsibility for this failure," he said at his last press conference in Qatar.

"You stole our success.

That's the only thing you came for," a fan complained at the airport in the direction of the Argentine coach, who has been very controversial in the Latin American country for some time.

He had taken over the Mexican national team in early 2019, and at the World Cup in Qatar the team was eliminated in the group stage after a 2-0 loss to Martino's home country Argentina.

That also ended his contract.

"He knows that the negative environment and the failure make it impossible for him to continue," association president Yon de Luisa said in the World Cup quarter in al-Khour near Doha.

"We value him as a capable coach," said sporting director Jaime Ordiales.

"But in football it's the results that count."

This ended a run of seven appearances by Mexico in the round of 16 since 1994.

Martino has been the Mexico national team coach since 2019 and won the Gold Cup that same year.

However, he has been under criticism for several months.

According to media reports, the Mexican association offered him a contract extension, which he declined.