From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Dec 2026
Cruz Azul say no — this time
The offer from Flamengo for Nicolás Ibáñez was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market14 Dec 2026
Amaury García hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Cruz Azul can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Marked 9.04 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match12 Dec 2026
Three points for Cruz Azul, 2‑1 the final word against Morelia in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.63, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Marked 8.42 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Dec 2026
No hiding place for Emi Ochoa
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Emi Ochoa, and the manager let it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
One booking too many, and Jesús Orozco Chiquete sits out. Cruz Azul lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match5 Dec 2026
Christian Ebere scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Pachuca, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Willer Ditta, and the manager let it.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Marked 8.63 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Luka Romero in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cruz Azul this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Amaury Morales and Cruz Azul agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Shots: 11, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Carlos Rotondi knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Carlos Rotondi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market7 Dec 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nicolás Ibáñez signs something — a contract at Cruz Azul or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match28 Nov 2026
Still nobody has beaten Cruz Azul
The unbeaten run reaches 19. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market30 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Cruz Azul can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 178% of everything Cruz Azul earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Luka Romero was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Omar Campos gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.70 on the card, and the Cruz Azul support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Shots: 12. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match21 Nov 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 18 matches without defeat is a foundation Cruz Azul did not have in the autumn.
Market23 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Cruz Azul, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match23 Nov 2026
Cruz Azul refuse to drop out of the race
Position 3, 31 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Match21 Nov 2026
Tijuana made Cruz Azul work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.22, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Marked 8.96 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Luka Romero commits to Cruz Azul for another 5 years.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Defences have started doubling up on Agustín Palavecino
6 goals and a season average of 7.41 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match14 Nov 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 17 matches without defeat is a foundation Cruz Azul did not have in the autumn.
Squad16 Nov 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cruz Azul this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match14 Nov 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The terraces16 Nov 2026
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A booking nobody needed, on a night the game was already won. Cruz Azul lose a player for the most avoidable reason there is.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match7 Nov 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 16 matches without defeat is a foundation Cruz Azul did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 36. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
A defender's afternoon for Iván Tona
Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market9 Nov 2026
Erik Lira wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Cruz Azul hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
A defender's afternoon for Erik Lira
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Luka Romero in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cruz Azul this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Defences have started doubling up on Agustín Palavecino
4 goals and a season average of 7.34 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Cruz Azul, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match28 Oct 2026
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Christian Ebere obliged against Atlas. 1‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Cruz Azul.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
A defender's afternoon for Omar Campos
Defensive actions: 31. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market2 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Cruz Azul can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 27 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
A defender's afternoon for Erik Lira
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market2 Nov 2026
Carlos Rodríguez wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Cruz Azul hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Match31 Oct 2026
Nobody wants to play Cruz Azul right now
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages eat 178% of everything Cruz Azul earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market26 Oct 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Cruz Azul, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match24 Oct 2026
Still nobody has beaten Cruz Azul
The unbeaten run reaches 13. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
A defender's afternoon for Erik Lira
Defensive actions: 28. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Marked 9.05 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match24 Oct 2026
Three points for Cruz Azul, 2‑0 the final word against Tigres in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.75, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Luka Romero in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cruz Azul this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match17 Oct 2026
Still nobody has beaten Cruz Azul
The unbeaten run reaches 12. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cruz Azul this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Luka Romero is the real thing at 21
A season average of 7.02 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Cruz Azul know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Marked 8.87 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Amaury García and Cruz Azul agree another 3 years.
Match17 Oct 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Shots: 7, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Market19 Oct 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Nicolás Ibáñez’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match10 Oct 2026
Still nobody has beaten Cruz Azul
The unbeaten run reaches 11. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Marked 9.06 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.07, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad12 Oct 2026
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Andrés Gudiño knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Shots: 11. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A season average of 7.26 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match10 Oct 2026
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Omar Campos knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Omar Campos trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Oct 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Cruz Azul, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match3 Oct 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Cruz Azul did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad5 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cruz Azul this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
284% of the income goes out in wages at Cruz Azul
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.82 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Marked 8.17 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Cruz Azul have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
Match3 Oct 2026
It needed Agustín Palavecino to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Veracruz, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 38. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market28 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 28 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match26 Sep 2026
Still nobody has beaten Cruz Azul
The unbeaten run reaches 9. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Nicolás Ibáñez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A performance of 8.94 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match26 Sep 2026
Queretaro made Cruz Azul work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A performance of 8.72 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market28 Sep 2026
The name of Willer Ditta keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Cruz Azul say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match19 Sep 2026
Still nobody has beaten Cruz Azul
The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad21 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cruz Azul this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Marked 9.09 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match19 Sep 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Nicolás Ibáñez’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Cruz Azul.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.53, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market21 Sep 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Nicolás Ibáñez’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad21 Sep 2026
At 29 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Cruz Azul are won quietly and lost loudly.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Sep 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Erik Lira was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match12 Sep 2026
Still nobody has beaten Cruz Azul
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Íñigo Cuesta commits to Cruz Azul for another 3 years.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.27, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match12 Sep 2026
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The terraces14 Sep 2026
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Sep 2026
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Nicolás Ibáñez reports back to Cruz Azul with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market7 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Cruz Azul, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 28 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Market7 Sep 2026
The phone has started ringing about José Paradela again, and this time the name on the line is Leon. Cruz Azul are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Erik Lira in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cruz Azul this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match5 Sep 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Cruz Azul did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Marked 9.11 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
342% of the income goes out in wages at Cruz Azul
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Cruz Azul, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market31 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Nicolás Ibáñez again, and this time the name on the line is Mainz 05. Cruz Azul are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market31 Aug 2026
The chase for Iván Tona ended with $1.2M changing hands and Tijuana out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Nicolás Ibáñez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.82 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.54, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A mark of 2.20 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Match29 Aug 2026
3‑3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Aug 2026
Cruz Azul say no — this time
The offer from Atlético Madrid for Nicolás Ibáñez was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad24 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cruz Azul this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A performance of 9.35 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match22 Aug 2026
Three points for Cruz Azul, 3‑1 the final word against Chiapas in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.38 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market24 Aug 2026
The Emi Ochoa conversation is coming
Everyone has stopped pretending: FC Dallas will make the call about Emi Ochoa this week. Cruz Azul have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Luka Romero
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 49. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Erik Lira was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Erik Lira stands above it all
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.75 on the card, and the Cruz Azul support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Shots: 11, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Match15 Aug 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Morelia came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market17 Aug 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Carlos Rodríguez’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market10 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Cruz Azul, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market10 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market10 Aug 2026
Erik Lira wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Cruz Azul hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Agustín Palavecino and Cruz Azul agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Nicolás Ibáñez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nicolás Ibáñez, and the manager let it.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.39 on the card, and the Cruz Azul support went home talking about one name.
Squad10 Aug 2026
José Paradela knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and José Paradela trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 38. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market3 Aug 2026
The bid was some way short and Cruz Azul did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market3 Aug 2026
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Cruz Azul heard it as anything else.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Willer Ditta and Cruz Azul agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cruz Azul this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Carlos Rodríguez, and the manager let it.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.83 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market3 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.