¡Gracias Diego!
To honour Diego Mejía, and in lieu of a conventional farewell article for a decidedly unconventional manager, CCSG has decided to compile six tributes from various past and present contributors to The Forward Press. Without further ado, here they are!
Patrick Gibson - What Ottawa Was Missing
Professional sporting success in the city of Ottawa has been fleeting at best. Bar the successes of the Senators pre-Original Six, and the Rough Riders of the late 60s to mid 70s, Canada’s capital has been bereft of ultimate, professional, glory. This context is what elevates the meaning of the 2025 CPL Championship for those of us who grew up in this city over the last 30 or so years. We’ve seen team after team, barring the 2016 Grey Cup victory, fall just short of the finish line. But unlike that miracle run, last year’s Atlético Ottawa side was the culmination of a dominant season: one in which they went undefeated at home, reached the semi-final of the Voyageur’s Cup, crushed club goal-scoring records at both individual and team level, and ultimately won the most iconic game in league history to bring home a championship.
The responsibility for this lies at the feet of Diego Mejía, a manager who completely flipped the script on what it meant to play for Atlético Ottawa in terms of style and attitude. A manager who motivated and had confidence in young players to carry the bulk of the minutes across the back line. A manager who showed that confidence in every moment on the touchline, with the media, and in public. His confidence allowed our players to be confident and play confident even when we’d concede early in games. It allowed us to be confident in the stands after a few seasons of uncertainty and late-game collapses, and allowed us to believe that this would be different. And it was.
That we were able to keep Diego through the off-season after rumours swirled regarding interest from his hometown club Quéretaro in LigaMX seemed too good to be true. Even in and amongst the turmoil of roster turnover and poor results to begin the 2026 season, there was still confidence emanating from our manager, and hope amongst supporters that it would turn around, even if the ghosts of old still lingered in our minds. Off the back of a humiliating 4-1 defeat away to Inter Toronto, Diego conjured up some magic and led us to a thrilling 3-1 victory against Toronto FC to mark our first-ever win against an MLS opponent, in our first-ever attempt. It is, by my account, the second-biggest victory in club history, and, regardless of how these last few games go, emblematic of the success Diego has brought us.
Success at this level generally means great things for those who achieve it, but for the fans, it means saying goodbye far too soon to those who brought us glory. For Diego, it means a return to Mexico with our sister club Atlético San Luis. For us, it ends an era early, but it gives us the grace of seeing our manager triumphant and leaving on a high, and it is in that way that Diego Mejía’s tenure fits well into the fabric of Ottawa sports history, while still standing out in its brilliance. A brief moment forever heralded by those who were there to experience it. Buena suerte, Diego.
Alina Kassam - His Legacy Remains
From the first whistle of the season to the final chant, Diego Mejía created a special bond with the supporters that will not be forgotten anytime soon. As Chief Capo for the supporters, you always hope for a coach who understands what the badge means not only to the players, but to the people chanting for 90 minutes every matchday. Diego brought passion, belief, and identity to this club. He gave supporters something to rally behind — a team that fought for every ball, played with confidence, and represented the city with pride. Whether it was celebrating after a massive result or standing together during difficult moments, he always showed appreciation to the supporters and the community that backs this club week in and week out.
On behalf of the supporters’ section, thank you, Diego, for helping build unforgettable memories at Atlético Ottawa. Thank you for your help in growing this club in this city and for understanding the importance of the energy that the supporters bring to every match. Coaches come and go in football, but the ones who truly embrace the club leave a lasting mark. Your time in Ottawa gave fans moments of belief, noise, and unity that won’t be forgotten anytime soon. You are, and will always be, a part of our family.
Gracias, Diego.
C.D. Girard - The Leader We Needed
“Now all the teams around the league accept we are better than them.” Diego Mejía spoke these words at a recent press conference, a bold statement he had earned the right to make. I think back to the gaffer’s first meeting with the media after his appointment, his promise to develop young players and bring attacking, possession-based football to the club. Many fans were sceptical after enduring years of defensive football and painfully late collapses that had come to define the team under the previous regime, but Mejía proved to be a man of his word, and both the players and we the fans reaped the rewards.
Under his leadership, Atlético Ottawa shattered expectations and delivered the greatest season in club history. In one year under Mejía’s lead, the team set over 20 club and league records, hoisted the North Star Cup in a viral football final, and secured its first continental berth. He also recently led the team to its first win against an MLS side. Mejía brought consistency, not just in performances, but in identity and results, and it may be a long time before Ottawa witnesses a season quite like this again.
True to his word, Mejía created an environment where young talent could grow and chase bigger ambitions. We’ve seen players under his leadership earn national team appearances, and others move to higher leagues. Now it’s his turn to move on to bigger opportunities and new challenges.
I think back to my first impression of him walking into a packed pub with an infant strapped to his chest. He wasn’t the loudest person there, nor the one demanding attention, yet his presence was undeniable. You could sense the confidence, the drive, and the quiet belief of someone who already knew what was possible. I had the opportunity to speak with the gaffer on a handful of occasions, and every conversation revealed his passion for the sport was undeniable, as was his belief in each of his players. (He also couldn’t keep roster updates a secret if you asked him directly, but I didn’t mind). More than anything, what stood out was the genuine care and love he expressed for the city, the team, the players, and the fans. The gratitude supporters feel towards him, for his passion, his leadership, and his brilliance, goes beyond words. Diego Mejía leaves behind big cleats to fill, and we wish him nothing but success.
Joseph Huneault - Happy, Privileged, and Honoured
Atlético Ottawa has experienced a gamut of coaches and emotions in their less-than-a-decade-long life, but none have been more powerful or more impactful than the era of Diego Mejía. Mejía’s footballing journey thus far has been one marked by second lives. He turned a below-average playing career into a young, upstart coaching portfolio that would make any silverware-minded club owner’s mouth water.
Our club has always had a penchant for green coaches, and on paper Diego was no exception. In practice, he was unlike anything Ottawa, or the CPL as a whole, had ever encountered. Like his predecessors, Mista and CarGo, Mejía sought to forge a team he had limited control in assembling into a style of football that fit his own philosophy. Unlike the previous duo, however, Mejía paired his efforts with an unbridled enthusiasm and determination. A constant complaint of the past, particularly of his immediate predecessor, was the lack of man management. It took very little time for us fans to forget those problems of old under the guiding hand of our new gaffer.
Something else Mejía brought, and something I personally fear will be harder to replace, was a real personality that positively impacted everything and everyone around him. He built a team so responsive to his persona that we became excited to be a second-half team, and press conferences became something to look forward to. At a time when the Canadian Prem is beginning to reach more screens across the country and the world, Mejía has been able to provide Canada with a media-friendly and focused club that can balance virality and success. His delicate tightrope walk of snappy quotes and provable success is something difficult to achieve, and while he may not have perfected his talents yet, he's still many steps above his peers in the league.
It takes a particular fortitude to create a goal for oneself and then to never waver. I have no doubt, nor should any of us, that Mejía is one of those special, once-in-a-generation types of people who will never step off the pathway to his dream. While his time with us may likely end up just an early footnote in a monumental career, I couldn't have been more happy, privileged, or honoured, than to have gotten to experience the early rise of Diego Mejía.
Alexander Brazier Rymek - Thank You
We, as supporters, are obliged to remain loyal to our teams no matter what. Whether we were born into them, chose them later in life, or if they magically appeared out of the blue in the winter of 2019, like a marriage, we are required to stand steadfast behind our clubs in sickness and in health–until death do us part. However, I think I speak for us all that, until that one snowy night in November, before David Rodríguez changed our lives and led us to our first-ever North Star Cup, it had been difficult to be a fan of Atlético Ottawa. Aside from a standout season in 2022, it was mostly disappointment and unfulfilled promise. Seventh. Eighth. A title in ‘22, then sixth following a late-season collapse, and then third after leading the league for months and disaster in the playoffs. Until Rodríguez. Until Mejía.
I’ll admit, I was just as sceptical as the next guy when Diego Mejía was announced as Atlético Ottawa’s newest gaffer in January of 2025. A manager with only two seasons under his belt, and two fairly mediocre ones at that? Here we go again, I thought. But then 2025 happened. We won the league despite leading the division in U21 minutes. We won the league despite rarely ever leading at the half. We won the league despite playing the final in a snowstorm that would have precluded any other sane league from kicking off. Or, maybe it was because of those things that we won the league. Because we led the league in U21 minutes, and let our young stars tear apart an unprepared league. Because we rarely led at halftime, controlling the game and then breaking it open by exploiting the littlest advantage gained from our relentless pressure. Because we showed more grit, determination, and courage than any other league, than any other team, in the world. We won the league because of Mejía. And for that, we believed again. For that, we thank you.
C.J. Steele - Puzzlemaster
Atlético Ottawa had long seemed to be a case of the parts being more than the sum. We've been blessed with a plethora of individual talents and some key depth cogs, and the squad assembled the year before Mejía’s arrival was even branded “Galacticos” by the league's Buzzfeed-style media outlet, which declared that anything less than a title was a failure. When that side failed to meet its lofty expectations and lost a few of its stars, it felt like the North Star Cup was out of reach as the club faced yet another off-season of turnover on the pitch and on the touchline.
Diego Mejía was the man chosen to try and finally deliver on the promise that had been untapped since the league title in 2022, and deliver, he did. The man from Quaretaro did just that. He brought a battler's mentality to a side that had let numerous leads slip the year prior, and this fortitude saw career years from a number of veterans from the ill-fated “superteam”, finally getting the best out of so many of the men in red and white. This strong mentality, and the fiery personality of the man in charge, allowed him to absorb criticisms and shield the players when the season seemed to have stalled, and he regularly espoused his firm belief in the players and his desire to have them play with expressive freedom and the ability to make mistakes without being stapled to the bench.
While he was blessed with one of the greatest talents this league has ever seen in CPL Final brace-scorer David Rodriguez, a coming-out party for elite goalscorer Sam Salter, and a solid team all around, we’ve seen players of similar stature wear the badge before and still fall short. I will be forever grateful to Diego Mejía for instilling a structure, a tenacious spirit, and a fighter's mentality that allowed the players under his watch to unlock their full potential, and to finally put all the pieces together to allow Ottawa to lift the ultimate prize in that famous blizzard. Not to mention, showing Toronto FC who the real Kings of Ontario are. Vamos Diego!
For all of us at The Forward Press, CCSG, and of course, on behalf of all Atleti fans, we thank you, Diego Mejía, and wish you nothing but the best!
