🚂 La Maquina reaches the top
From meme to manager, Huiqui once again establishes his place in Cruz Azul history
It seemed like the type of moment that would change a game. After several physical moments that saw the referee lose control, the man in the middle had to try to wrest that control back.
He showed a yellow card to Uriel Antuna, but the call was coming. Go to the monitor. Check the video. It was obvious the Pumas winger had stomped on the ankle of Cruz Azul’s Jeremy Marquez.
As extra time to decide which Mexico City team would snap its title drought drew closer, Pumas would play with 10 men.
That extra time would never come.
Carlos Rotondi swiveled around to surprise Keylor Navas with a shot that hit the back of the net and gave Cruz Azul its first title since 2021.
That title was the one that broke the longest title drought for a grande, but the ongoing Covid pandemic meant fans couldn’t take the streets to celebrate.
This time, there were no such restrictions or concerns. Fans flocked to the Angel de la Independencia, stretching blocks from the monument in each direction as they celebrated Cruz Azul’s 10th title.
It was won by a team that had been among the most balanced for most of the year, with former manager Nicolas Larcamon starting the year off with a lengthy unbeaten streak. But he was fired after a series of poor results just before the start of the playoffs, with club legend and former Mexican soccer meme Joel Huiqui stepping in as the interim boss the final weekend of the regular season.
“I’m happy first of all because the fans deserve it. The team deserves it. Honestly, it was an incredible semester. The whole year was incredible,” he said after. “I think this game was tough, it was difficult against a great team that played a great game, but the reality is the quality of Cruz Azul’s players was excellent.”
That it was. The much maligned midfielder Charly Rodriguez, eliminated from the national team picture, had a strong game, setting up Rotondi for the pass that would lead to an own goal that leveled the score for Cruz Azul after Robert Morales’ first-half opener.
Willer Ditta, the center back who dealt with more pressure with Erik Lira out and who follows Huiqui in a long line of competent Cruz Azul center backs.
Agustín Palavecino, picking up the slack for chance creation after running buddy José Paradela suffered a hip injury in the first half that he couldn’t overcome.
Winner stays
After casting doubt upon Huiqui’s continuity leading up to the final, Cruz Azul president Víctor Velázquez is now ready to give him the job.
“Joel Huiqui is from the club. He’s homegrown. In fact, yesterday I was chatting with him making a plan about how we’re going to approach the next tournament and he’ll stay in charge,” Velázquez told reporters in Mexico City.
The director is likely looking to avoid the mistake he made at this time last year, parting ways with Vicente Sanchez despite a Concacaf Champions Cup title.
Huiqui is better-liked by club staff than Sanchez, who is back on the job market after a turbulent stretch with Emelec in Ecuador, but despite Cruz Azul’s title win, the Apertura will be a new challenge. Never has Huiqui had to face top teams with their best players, winning this Liguilla that may always have an asterisk by it because of the Mexico national team players missing out on the postseason, hamstringing Chivas, who Cruz Azul got past in the semifinals thanks in part to the Guadalajara club missing five players while La Maquina missed only Erik Lira.
Meanwhile, Efrain Juarez’s failure to win a trophy in Mexico may not slow his rise as a manager. In his first coaching job, he led Atlético Nacional to league and cup titles. His time with Pumas showed plenty of skill but less hardware.
Officially, he’s still with the team and has six months left on his contract, but reports indicate Juarez will leave this summer to take a job in Europe. Already with experience as an assistant in Belgium, Anderlecht reportedly are looking at Juarez to lead a staff as they move Jeremy Taravel to an assistant role.
I know I’ve been teasing a Conca-catch-up only for it not to arrive in your inbox, but I’ll get one to you this week.
We can talk World Cup, pre-tournament friendlies, league championships and…whatever just happened in Costa Rica that led three players (and counting?) to get suspended from the national team, with two of them also separated from their club.