Necaxa vs Puebla: A Night in Aguascalientes

Photographing the game that marked the end of Martín Varini’s time at Necaxa.

Martín Varini in the press conference after the match

As part of my recent assignment for L’Équipe, I spent a night in Aguascalientes documenting Club Necaxa, the Mexican football club co-owned by Eva Longoria and a group of international investors.

The assignment explored the club, its ambitions and the realities behind the project. With the publication of L’Équipe’s feature, including an interview with Eva Longoria, I can now share a selection of photographs made during the match between Necaxa and Puebla at Estadio Victoria.

Football has its own rhythm, but the story is never limited to what happens with the ball. There are gestures, expressions, moments of tension and silences that become meaningful only when the game is over.

Necaxa lost 1–0 to Puebla on September 11, 2026. Less than twenty-four hours later, the club announced the departure of head coach Martín Varini. What had been a disappointing home defeat became a turning point for the team and its coaching staff.

For me, the photographs are also a record of that particular night in Aguascalientes. Not simply the result, but the atmosphere surrounding a club facing a difficult moment in its season.

This is part of the work I do for L’Équipe: documenting football not only as a sporting event, but also as a human and social environment, with all its contradictions, expectations and uncertainties.

Selected photographs from Necaxa vs Puebla, Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Photographs © Alex Coghe