Ricardo La Volpe began his career as a coach in the Mexican league in 1989, managing several teams such as Oaxtepec, Puebla, Atlante, Guadalajara, Querétaro, América, Atlas, Toluca, and Monterrey.

Also, under his leadership at the 2004 Copa América, Mexico managed to defeat Argentina for the first time in years but lost to Brazil in the quarterfinals.

La Volpe had a bumpy start with Boca Juniors, including a 3–1 loss against arch-rivals River Plate on 8 October.

Boca failed three times to claim the Apertura Championship in the final weeks of the season and then lost a playoff against Estudiantes.

After several days of speculation, the club's official website finally announced that it was replacing former manager Isaac Mizrahi.

Fans of Monterrey spoke highly of La Volpe for helping the team reach the playoffs again after two dismal seasons of not qualifying, including a last-place finish during the last tournament.

In the Apertura 2008, the team would have a pretty good start, but ultimately fell apart towards the end of the tournament, placing Monterrey in the bottom of the table, hence not qualifying to the playoffs.

The Argentine had initially been signed until July 2014,[4] however, poor performance during the 2011 Gold Cup and 2011 Copa América, ended his contract prematurely on 11 August 2011.

Notable managers directly influenced by La Volpe include Miguel Herrera, José Guadalupe Cruz, Rubén Omar Romano, Hernan Cristante, Jose Saturnino Cardozo and Sergio Bueno.

[11][12] During Mexico's first group-stage match in the 2006 World Cup against Iran, La Volpe was seen chain-smoking in the dugout, leading to an official warning from FIFA that he was not allowed to smoke in the competition area.

During a press conference at the 2006 World Cup, La Volpe told a journalist: "¡Fuera de mi vista!

"][1] He has odd superstitions some which include wearing a lucky tie, performing "oriental" rituals and avoiding shaking the opposing manager's hand prior to or after the game.