Santos Laguna confirmed this Tuesday the hiring of Portuguese coach Renato Paiva as the new technical director for the Apertura 2026 tournament of Liga MX.

The arrival of the European strategist is part of a profound sporting restructuring in the La Laguna club, which seeks to leave behind one of its worst recent seasons after finishing in last place in Clausura 2026.

Santos Laguna makes the arrival of Renato Paiva official

Through a statement, Santos Laguna explained the reasons behind hiring the Portuguese coach.

“The incorporation of Renato Manuel Alves Paiva is part of the sports restructuring that the institution is experiencing, which is focused on promoting a change that allows it to strengthen its work methodology and enhance sports performance.”

Renato Paiva arrives with international experience and knowledge of Mexican soccer, factors that were decisive in taking on the new Santos Laguna project.

Renato Paiva already knows the MX League

The Portuguese coach, 56, has previously coached in Mexican soccer with clubs such as León and Toluca.

In addition, he built a large part of his career in Latin America after starting his career at Benfica B in Portugal.

Among his most notable experiences is his time at Independiente del Valle in Ecuador, where he won a championship, in addition to directing Esporte Clube Bahia, Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas and Fortaleza Esporte Clube in Brazil.

The great challenge: lifting Santos after a Clausura to be forgotten

Renato Paiva's main mission will be to return competitiveness to Santos Laguna after a Clausura 2026 marked by poor results.

The team finished at the bottom of the standings with just 12 points, in a campaign where neither Francisco Rodríguez nor Omar Tapia managed to get the club out of the sporting crisis.

The board hopes that Paiva's work style and international experience will allow the La Laguna team to regain its prominence in Liga MX.