Former Bangor City head coach embarks on new adventure in Mexico’s top football league

Former Bangor City head coach Hugo Colace is excited about a new challenge working on the management team at one of Mexico’s biggest clubs.

Señor Colace, 38, has become assistant to manager Eduardo Fentanes at Liga MX club Santos Laguna.

The Liga MX is the top professional football division in Mexico, with Saints (Santos) having been crowned champions six times.

Liga MX uses a single table of 18 teams that play two annual tournaments resulting in two champions per season.

The season opens with the apertura (opening tournament – running from July to December) followed by the clausura (closing – held from January to May).

Argentinian Señor Colace, who played for Football League Championship outfit Barnsley from 2008-11, initially joined Bangor as a player and head of youth development in January 2020 before becoming first-team manager six months later.

The 2020-21 season was cancelled at all levels in Wales except Tier 1 due to Covid.

With City playing in the Tier 2 Cymru North, they did not kick a competitive ball that campaign except in a Nathaniel MG Cup tie against Gresford, which they won 3-0, before the competition was cancelled.

The 2021-22 season was fraught with problems from the start for the Citizens.

In October 2021, Señor Colace’s contract was terminated.

Last month came a new start for the Argentine, when Santos Laguna announced he would join technical director Fentanes’ crew, which also includes assistants Omar Tapia and Rafael Figueroa, plus trainer Nicolás Maidana and Manuel Corona as goalkeeping coach.

Laguna are based in Torreón, a city in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2021, the city’s population was 735,340.

Santos play at the 30,000 capacity Estadio Corona.

Señor Colace reported on Twitter today that preparations for the Apertura, which starts next month, are going well.

“Pre-season games start, we’re ready!,” he said, adding he is settling in well to his new role working under highly-qualified coach and fluent English speaker Fentanes.