Tano Ortiz leaves the Santos Laguna bench after a tournament to forget.

Fernando Ortiz will not continue as Santos Laguna 's manager. Although initial reports suggested the Argentine coach would resign, a source close to the club revealed that the decision to terminate his employment was made by the board.

According to the information obtained, there was no agreement to continue the project, since Ortiz did not accept responsibility for the poor results obtained during the 2025 Clausura , a tournament in which the Warriors finished in last place in the general table.

Ortiz managed all 17 matches in the tournament, with a record of two wins (against León and Atlas ), one draw, and 14 losses, leaving the team with just 7 points. This record not only marked Santos ' worst tournament in the era of short tournaments, but also kept them at the bottom of the percentage table, close to paying the fine for poor performance.

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Tano 's tenure was brief and unproductive. His arrival generated expectations after his time with Rayados , but he never managed to fulfill his initial objective: to improve on his performance in the 2024 Apertura, when Santos managed just 10 points. On the contrary, the numbers dwindled, and the football crisis deepened.

WHO COULD REPLACE HIM?

With Ortiz 's departure, the Laguna leadership is in search of a new helmsman. Among the names that sound are two coaches with experience and titles in the Liga MX : Diego Cocca and Robert Dante Siboldi . The latter is remembered in the Comarca for being the champion coach in the 2018 Clausura , in addition to having achieved another title with Tigres in 2023. Cocca , for his part, maintains a good relationship with Grupo Orlegi , after his historic two-time championship with Atlas in 2021 and 2022. However, it has also been speculated that this is false and the club has no candidates or clear ideas about what would come next for the club.

Since Guillermo Almada 's departure in 2021, Santos has had a series of coaches without achieving stability. Pedro Caixinha, Eduardo Fentanes, Pablo Repetto, Ignacio Ambriz , and now Fernando Ortiz have all passed through the dugout without sustained success. In all cases, the team has had ups and downs, especially in defense, and has never found a clear playing identity.

The club's management now faces the challenge of making a decision that will allow it to rebuild its sporting project. Meanwhile, fans hope the next manager will be able to return the club to the forefront of Mexican soccer.

With information from Mediotiempo and Telediario Laguna

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