GUADALAJARA, MEXICO – MAYO 14: Jose Manuel de la Torre, Director Tecnico del Chivas durante el juego de ida de los cuartos de final del torneo Clausura 2015 de la Liga MX en el estadio Onmilife el 14 de Mayo de 2015 en Guadalajara, Mexico (Foto: Stringer/JAM MEDIA)
It looks as though Santos Laguna’s streak of bad luck is up. The club announced on Monday night – after having recently lost to Chivas in its 11th straight game without a win – that head coach Luis Zubeldia would step down after only seven months in charge.
12 hours later, the official announcement came from the club that Jose Manuel “Chepo” de la Torre would take over, alongside former Santos player and manager Benjamin Galindo, who won titles with the club as both a player and coach.
Official announcement from the Club:
“Santos Laguna is proud to welcome Jose Manuel de la Torre Menchaca, who will serve as the new head coach of the first team. Joining him will be assistant coaches Benjamin Galindo Marentes and Alvaro de la Torre, with Guillermo Hernandez Gracián as the team’s new physical fitness trainer. Institutional goalkeeper coach Nicolas Navarro and institutional fitness trainer Juan Manuel Rodriguez will remain with the team.
“Chepo” de la Torre arrives at Santos Laguna with a rich history leading in Mexican football. He began his career as an assistant in 2006 with Chivas of Guadalajara, where he won the Apertura title. From Chivas he moved on to Toluca in 2008 where he won titles during the 2008 Apertura and 2010 Bicentennial. In October 2010, he assumed the head coaching position of the Mexican national team, where he won the 2011 Gold Cup, booking a ticket to the Confederations Cup.
He returned to assume the reigns at Chivas from the 2014 Apertura to the 2015 Apertura.
Benjamin Galindo will make his return to the Laguna region as De la Torre’s technical assistant. “El Maestro” is the only coach in Santos’ history to have garnered a championship as a player (Winter tournament 1996) and as a head coach (Clausura 2012).
Galindo has a history with Santos which included two eras: one in the Clausura 2006 and the other from the 2011 Apertura to the 2012 Apertura. Previously he also managed Chivas, Atlas and Cruz Azul, where he served as the assistant coach to Sergio Markarian.
Alvaro de la Torre will join Chepo’s coaching staff after having last assisted during his time with Chivas, with his main focus being rival analysis and development of various activities during training.
Guillermo Hernandez also makes a return to Santos Laguna, having previously worked with Fernando Quirarte when Santos’ second title was achieved in the Summer of 2001. He later went on to work with Eduardo de la Torre.
His extensive experience includes 700 matches in the first division (Chivas, Atlas, Santos, Leon, Tecos, America, and Tapatio) and work with Mexico’s youth national teams, where he was a physical trainer.”
The change comes after Santos finished its fifth game in the 2016 Apertura without a single victory in League or Copa MX. With its chances of finishing this tournament far out of the top eight, Santos Laguna president Alejandro Irarragorri – a smart and savvy businessman – and his colleagues decided a change was in order.
The club is expected to announce the new staff at 6:00 pm local time to Torreon at its stadium, five days before Santos takes on Cruz Azul for week six in Liga MX.
What do you think? Can Santos turn things around under “Chepo” and make the top eight?
