The Mexican football calendar for 2025 kickstarts today as all 18 clubs focus towards the 2025 Clausura.
Following last month's conclusion of the Apertura, teams are handed a fresh start at reviving their title hopes. Whilst Cruz Azul won the regular season campaign, it was Club América who won a record-breaking 16th Liga MX title, earning a third consecutive piece of silverware.
Anticipation has started to heat up with eye-catching transfers being made, but also through key managerial moves.
Which are the key changes you need to know about?
Toluca
Renato Paiva: OUT
Antonio Mohamed: IN
The first major managerial change ahead of the upcoming Clausura saw Renato Paiva leave his post at Toluca. Los Diablos Rojos finished the Apertura in second place, but a quarterfinal exit from the playoffs to eventual winners Club América raised question marks. Despite Toluca's exciting blend of promising young stars and experience, the Portuguese manager decided to step down.
Paiva's decision to leave shocked the league, but the club acted swiftly in prying Antonio Mohamed to be his successor. The 54-year-old Argentine is no stranger to Mexican football, having previously managed Zacatepec, Morelia, Querétaro, Veracruz, Tijuana, Club América, Monterrey (twice) and most recently Pumas.
Across his 22 years as a manager, Mohamed is a three-time Liga MX champion. Titles with América and Monterrey came after one of his biggest achievements which came in 2012, guided Los Xolos to their first and only title by beating his new club - Toluca.
Querétaro
Mauro Gerk: OUT
Benjamín Mora: IN
Mauro Genk's tenure as Querétaro manager ended after the 2024 Apertura. Los Gallos failed to win any of their opening nine games and ended the season in 17th place, only worsened by Santos Laguna.
Replacing the Argentine is Benjamín Mora. The Mexican manager began his career with the Tijuana Reserves team before taking the assistant role at Querétaro in 2012. His journey has since seen Mora manage Atlético Chiapas before a six year spell in Malaysia with Johor Darul Ta'zim, guiding them to a Malaysian Super League title in 2021.
In more recent years, Mora returned to Mexico to manage Atlas before a string of poor results saw him sacked in 2023. Prior to his newest role back in the Mexican top flight, Mora spent 2024 in Canada, managing York United but 9 wins from 22 saw him dismissed.
Life as Querétaro manager does not start easy as Mora will lead his players to face reigning champions Club América on Friday night.
FC Juárez
Maurício Barbieri: OUT
Martín Varini: IN
Maurício Barbieri was relieved of his duties in October as FC Juárez found themselves towards the foot of the table. Since his departure, the club went on a three-game unbeaten run to end the Apertura, including wins against Pachuca and Querétaro.
The end-of-season run saw Los Bravos climb to commendable 12th place, albeit not enough for a postseason run.
Their early exit from the Apertura saw the announcement that Martín Varini would become the new head coach. A 33-year-old who is making his first steps into Mexican football this year after spells with Athletico Paranaense, Defensor Sporting Club of his native Uruguay and an assistant manager position with Real Vallecano in Spain. In an interesting twist, Varini's former club announced last month that Barbieri would become their new manager.
Regardless, Varini opens his account in Mexican football this week as Juárez travel to Mazatlán on the opening weekend of the Clausura.
Santos Laguna
Ignacio Ambriz: OUT
Fernando Ortiz: IN
Santos Laguna was the bottom team from the Apertura, recording two wins from 17 matches. The club have gone eight games without a win, stretching back to a 2-0 victory against Toluca. As a result of their poor campaign, Ignacio Ambriz was released from duties after joining the club in February 2024.
The club opted to replace Ambriz with another familiar name Fernando Ortiz. Returning to Mexican football after three months away, Ortiz was most recently in charge of Monterrey but was sacked in August 2024 when the club failed to reach the knock-out stages of the Leagues Cup.
Ortiz takes on the Santos Laguna job after two high-profile moves to Club América and Monterrey. Despite those moves, the Argentine is still searching for his first piece of managerial silverware.
Atlas
Beñat San José: OUT
Gonzalo Pineda: IN
Atlas failed to reach the playoffs in either the Apertura or Clausura during the 2023/24 campaign, which made their 10th place finish during the most recent tournament a sign of improvement. Whilst they lost to Tijuana in the Play-In competition, Beñat San José decided to call time on his 12 months as Atlas manager.
Los Rojinegros replaced the Spanaird with Gonzalo Pineda. Calling an end to his three years as Atlanta United manager, Pineda won 38 out of 110 games in the MLS before losing his job in June 2024.
The former defensive midfielder now leads a side that is desperate to qualify for the Liguilla but his tenure starts with the difficult trip to the capital to face the Apertura league winners Cruz Azul.
Puebla
José Manuel de la Torre: OUT
Pablo Guede: IN
Puebla joined the list of clubs to make a managerial switch midseason as they opted to sack José Manuel de la Torre in December. The Mexican joined the club at the end of the previous Clausura and won four games from 17 in the Apertura as the side failed to make an impression.
Ultimately, Puebla decided that they had seen enough during de la Torre's seven months with the club and appointed former Chilean Super Cup winner Pable Guede. Formerly of Morelia, Tijuana and Necaxa, Guede is familiar with Mexican football but has found his greatest achievements to be with Chilean side Colo Colo, where he won four trophies in his two years at the club.
Guede makes his debut for the club this weekend as Puebla open its Clausura account with a visit north to meet Monterrey.
Necaxa
Eduardo Fentanes: OUT
Nicolás Larcamón: IN
Necaxa ended the Apertura with a 10-games winless streak, ultimately dropping out of the Liguilla contention for a 13th placed finish. Upon discovering their fate, Eduardo Fentanes saw his year-long spell as manager cut short as the club searched for alternative options ahead of the Clausura.
In November, the club announced that they would appoint Nicolás Larcamón as the man to take them forward into 2025. The 40-year-old joins a list of Argentine managers in the league having previous experience in the league having represented Puebla and León.
His most recent job was with Brazilian side Cruzeiro but lasted four months after suffering a Campeonato Mineiro final loss to rivals Atlético Mineiro.
First up for Larcamón's Necaxa is a visit to the capital as they face Pumas on the opening weekend of the Clausura.
Chivas
Arturo Ortega: OUT
Óscar García Junyent: IN
The biggest news during the off-season came from the other half of Guadalajara as Chivas announced a long-term replacement for Fernando Gago.
Gago left Chivas in October after a 3-2 loss to Atlas. The decision saw the former Real Madrid star return to his boyhood club Boca Juniors. Leaving Chivas stranded midseason, the club handed the managerial position to Reserves manager Arturo Ortega until the end of the Apertura campaign.
Clearly impacted by the sudden departure of Gago, Chivas finished the regular season in 9th and lost to Atlas in the Play-In to suffer an early exit.
Chivas acted quickly after being dumped from the Apertura contention to sign Óscar García Junyent. The 51-year-old is making his first steps in Mexican football who has previously coached teams including Barcelona's youth team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Brighton & Hove Albion, Watford, Celta Vigo, Stade de Reims, RB Salzburg, Olympiakos, and OH Leuven.
Óscar García Junyent has won the Ligat ha'Al with Maccabi Tel Aviv (2013) and achieved a domestic double with Red Bull Salzburg, winning the Austrian Bundesliga and the Austrian Cup in both 2016 and 2017.
García will make his debut as Chivas manager this weekend as his side host Fernando Ortiz's Santos Laguna.
Can García end the club's eight year wait for a league title?
Which manager will have the biggest impact on their new club? Let us know!