Necaxa ran out of patience. The club announced Saturday that Martín Varini is out as head coach, one day after a 1-0 home defeat to Puebla at the Estadio Victoria in the Matchday 8 opener. The Rayos sit 13th in the Apertura 2026 with eight points from eight games.
“Martín Varini deja de ser Director Técnico del primer equipo,” the club said in its official statement, thanking the Uruguayan and his staff for their professionalism and leadership. No successor has been named; the club says it will announce one in the coming days.
Six games without a win sealed it
The numbers tell the story. Necaxa opened the Apertura with back-to-back wins over Atlante and Monterrey, then didn’t win again, going six straight league games without a victory, per Reuters. The Puebla defeat, decided by a late goal from Mathías Tomás, was the fourth loss of the campaign and the one that ended Varini’s tenure.
According to Reuters, Varini’s overall record in Aguascalientes was eight wins, five draws and 14 defeats since taking over in December 2025. The 35-year-old arrived with real momentum after leading FC Juárez to the first Liguilla in that club’s history, but he never reproduced that magic with the Rayos, who finished 15th in the Clausura.
The fourth sacking of the Apertura
Varini is the fourth managerial change of the Apertura, according to reports from Heraldo Deportes and Soy Futbol, a brutal attrition rate just eight rounds in. The others: Diego Cocca, who parted ways with Atlas before the tournament began after contract renewal talks collapsed; Guido Pizarro, who stepped aside at Tigres after a winless start; and Pedro Caixinha, dismissed by FC Juárez after three straight defeats.
That context matters. Necaxa didn’t just fire a struggling coach, it joined a league-wide trend of clubs refusing to wait. With the direct quarterfinal spots (top eight) already pulling away, the Rayos’ board decided the season couldn’t afford more patience.
What comes next
Necaxa travels to Atlético de San Luis on Saturday, September 19 for Matchday 9, a game the club will face without a permanent manager. Whoever takes over inherits a squad that showed early promise and then stalled, sitting five points outside the direct-qualification places.
Varini, meanwhile, goes from one of Mexican soccer’s most exciting young coaches to unemployed at 35. Someone in Liga MX will take another chance on him. It just won’t be Necaxa.
