Seven games into the new season, Santos Laguna were at the bottom of the table, in 17th place, with six losses and a draw. But over the last month their form has changed everything.
Truth be told, Los Guerreros were written off even before the season started. With eight straight competitions since the club last reached the playoffs, hope seemed to completely disappear. Suddenly, out-of-nowhere, they have become the most in-form team in all of Mexican football, but how long can it last?
Five-game winning streak
At first, Santos’ win against a Toluca side that has won six trophies in two years was seen as a one-off, especially given that Antonio Mohamed’s side went down to 10-men in the first half. However, that result sparked a flame.
Off the pitch, much attention has gone to the club’s president, Alejandro Aleco Irarrigari. At the age of 26, Irarrigari has been compared to “Chava” Iglesias from the hit Netflix show “Club Los Cuervos”. That’s a story about a young president given the keys despite showing limited maturity nor having any real knowledge of running a prestigious Mexican football club.
Nonetheless, he has been visible throughout this glorious run for Los Guerreros, even inspiring the team following a viral rendition of Diego Torres’ ‘Color Esperanza’. At first that action was heavily mocked, then Irarragori used it as a tool to inspire Santos by saying “el color de esperanza es verde’ (‘the color of hope is green’). While he was referencing the club’s abysmal past years on the pitch, he also highlighted that better days are coming.
Somehow, someway, his words seemed to strike a cord, with fans feeling a new sense of belief while the team built on that massive win over Toluca.
Their streak actually started one week prior to Toluca, with a win against an FC Juárez side who had yet to win a single game. After the visit to the Nemesio Diez, Los Guerreros narrowly defeated Pachuca, who reached last season’s Clausura semi-final. Then they came from behind to defeat Atlético San Luis 2-1 away from home.
A dream win over Los Gallos
Santos came into their contest against a high-flying Querétaro side on that winning streak, but many questioned whether they were up to the task of keeping Los Gallos quiet. Querétaro sat in third place, only one point behind the top-spot Club América, knowing that a win at the Estadio Corona could take them to the summit of Mexican football, even if it was momentarily.
Despite all the talk before the game, it was Santos who ran riot in the first half. A missed penalty from Fran Villalba was the only negative for the hosts who led at half-time by two goals courtesy of Eduardo Aguirre and Tahiel Jiménez.
The riot continued through the second half, with two more goals from the 20-year-old forward Jiménez. He walked away with the match ball, a hat-trick and legions of new fans clamoring for a first call-up to the Mexican national team in November.
Is there space for Los Guerreros in the Liguilla?
With five games remaining of the regular season, Santos have forced their way up the table, going from 17th to 9th as a result of five straight wins.
Next up for Santos is a crucial meeting with Pumas, two sides level on 16 points looking up to the playoff positions but whoever can take maximum points from this meeting will feel much more confident about their postseason ambitions.
After Pumas, Renato Paiva’s men will face another playoff hopeful in Tijuana who also find themselves level on positions before have a run of favourable meetings which include Necaxa and Atlante, both of which running out of opportunities to feature beyond the regular season.
There is a possibility that Santos’ fate will be decided on the final day of the season, at the Estadio Corona, where they will meet Club León, who currently sit just inside the Liguilla places, two above Santos in 7th.
If Santos can make it to the Liga MX Apertura 2026 playoffs, it will be the first time the club has done so since 2022, where they reached the 2022 Apertura quarter-finals.
