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2025–26 Cruz Azul season

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Cruz Azul
2025–26 season
OwnerCooperativa La Cruz Azul, S.C.L.
Sporting directorIván Alonso
ManagerNicolás Larcamón
StadiumEstadio Olímpico Universitario
Liga MXApertura: 5th
Clausura: Pre-season
Leagues CupLeague phase
CONCACAF Champions CupRound one
FIFA Intercontinental CupSecond round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Ángel Sepúlveda (4)

All:
Ángel Sepúlveda (4)
Highest home attendance20,098
(v. Mazatlán, Liga MX Apertura, 12 July 2025)
Lowest home attendance20,094
(v. León, Liga MX Apertura, 26 July 2025)
Average home league attendance20,096
Biggest win4–1 vs vs León (H)
Liga MX Apertura, 26 July 2025
Biggest defeat0–7 vs Seattle Sounders (A)
Leagues Cup, 31 July 2025
2026–27 →

The 2025–26 season is Club de Futbol Cruz Azul's 99th season in their history and their 61th consecutive season in the top flight of Mexican football. In addition to the domestic league, the club will also participate in the Leagues Cup, the CONCACAF Champions Cup, and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.

This will be Cruz Azul's first season under new head coach Nicolás Larcamón, who was announced as Vicente Sánchez's replacement on 16 June 2025. This season is the first since 2018–19 without Alexis Gutiérrez.[1]

Squad

[edit]
As of 11 July 2025[2][3]
No. Player Nationality Date of birth (age) Since Signed from
Goalkeepers
1 Andrés Gudiño Mexico (1997-01-26) 26 January 1997 (age 28) 2019 Mexico Venados
23 Kevin Mier Colombia (2000-05-18) 18 May 2000 (age 25) 2024 Colombia Atlético Nacional
30 Emmanuel Ochoa Mexico (2005-05-05) 5 May 2005 (age 20) 2025 United States San Jose Earthquakes
Defenders
2 Jorge Sánchez Mexico (1997-12-10) 10 December 1997 (age 27) 2024 Netherlands Ajax
3 Omar Campos Mexico (2002-07-20) 20 July 2002 (age 23) 2025 United States Los Angeles FC
4 Willer Ditta Colombia (1997-01-23) 23 January 1997 (age 28) 2023 Argentina Newell's Old Boys
5 Jesús Orozco Mexico (2002-02-19) 19 February 2002 (age 23) 2025 Mexico Guadalajara
22 Raymundo Rubio Mexico (2001-02-13) 13 February 2001 (age 24) 2023 Academy
26 Carlos Vargas Mexico (1999-02-14) 14 February 1999 (age 26) 2023 Mexico Mazatlán
33 Gonzalo Piovi Argentina (1994-09-08) 8 September 1994 (age 30) 2024 Argentina Racing Club
Midfielders
6 Érik Lira Mexico (2000-05-08) 8 May 2000 (age 25) 2022 Mexico UNAM
7 Mateusz Bogusz Poland (2001-08-22) 22 August 2001 (age 23) 2025 United States Los Angeles FC
8 Lorenzo Faravelli Argentina (1993-03-29) 29 March 1993 (age 32) 2024 Ecuador Independiente del Valle
10 Andrés Montaño Mexico (2002-05-22) 22 May 2002 (age 23) 2024 Mexico Mazatlán
15 Ignacio Rivero (captain) Uruguay (1992-04-10) 10 April 1992 (age 33) 2021 Mexico Tijuana
16 Jeremy Márquez Mexico (2000-06-21) 21 June 2000 (age 25) 2025 Mexico Atlas
17 Amaury García Mexico (2001-12-19) 19 December 2001 (age 23) 2024 Mexico UNAM
18 Luka Romero Argentina (2004-11-18) 18 November 2004 (age 20) 2025 Italy AC Milan
19 Carlos Rodríguez (vice-captain) Mexico (1997-01-03) 3 January 1997 (age 28) 2022 Mexico Monterrey
20 José Paradela Argentina (1998-12-15) 15 December 1998 (age 26) 2025 Mexico Necaxa
25 Fernando Sámano Mexico (2002-09-04) 4 September 2002 (age 22) 2025 Academy
28 Mauro Zaleta Mexico (2002-04-02) 2 April 2002 (age 23) 2025 Academy
29 Carlos Rotondi Argentina (1997-03-02) 2 March 1997 (age 28) 2022 Argentina Defensa y Justicia
32 Cristian Jiménez Mexico (2002-07-18) 18 July 2002 (age 23) 2021 Academy
Forwards
9 Ángel Sepúlveda Mexico (1991-02-15) 15 February 1991 (age 34) 2023 Mexico Querétaro
11 Giorgos Giakoumakis Greece (1994-12-11) 11 December 1994 (age 30) 2024 United States Atlanta United
21 Gabriel Fernández Uruguay (1994-05-13) 13 May 1994 (age 31) 2024 Mexico UNAM
27 Bryan Gamboa Mexico (2002-03-13) 13 March 2002 (age 23) 2025 Academy

Transfers

[edit]

In

[edit]
Date Pos. No. Player From Fee Ref.
10 July 2025 MF 16 Mexico Jeremy Márquez Mexico Atlas $4,500,000 [4]
11 July 2025 MF 20 Argentina José Paradela Mexico Necaxa $10,000,000 [5]
17 July 2025 FW 163 Mexico Alex Gutiérrez[a] Mexico Necaxa Undisclosed [6][7]
Decrease Spending: $14,500,000
  1. ^ Player was registered with Cruz Azul Lagunas.

Out

[edit]
Date Pos. No. Player To Fee Ref.
25 June 2025 MF 14 Mexico Alexis Gutiérrez Mexico América $5,000,000 [8]
18 July 2025 FW 35 Mexico Luis Gutiérrez Mexico Querétaro Undisclosed [9]
Increase Income: $5,000,000

Loans in

[edit]
Date Pos. No. Player From Date until Ref.
17 July 2025 DF 161 Mexico Jorge Rodarte[a] Mexico Zacatecas End of season [10][11]
  1. ^ Player was registered with Cruz Azul Lagunas.

Loans out

[edit]
Date Pos. No. Player To Date until Ref.
2 June 2025 MF 34 Mexico Leonardo Sámano Mexico Tepatitlán End of season [12]
4 July 2025 DF 196 Venezuela Javier Suárez Mexico Atlético San Luis End of season [13][14]
8 July 2025 MF Mexico Jorge García Mexico Mazatlán End of season [15]

Pre-season and friendlies

[edit]

On 9 June 2025, Cruz Azul announced their plans to head to Morelos for a pre-season tournament held in Zacatepec. This competition would include two confirmed friendly matches against León and either Atlante or Guadalajara, depending on their performance in the initial tournament rounds (either the final or a third-place playoff).[16][17] A week later, a second friendly competition was confirmed, commencing with a match against Zacatepec, followed by a fixture against either Guadalajara or Santos Laguna.[18] Subsequently, a third preparatory cup was announced, with Cruz Azul facing Once Caldas, and then either Mazatlán or Newell's Old Boys.[19]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

20 June 2025 Copa Morelos Cruz Azul Mexico 1–2 Mexico León Zacatepec
18:30 CST
  • García 47'
Report
Stadium: Estadio Agustín "Coruco" Díaz
22 June 2025 Copa Morelos Atlante Mexico 1–0 Mexico Cruz Azul Zacatepec
17:00 CST
Report
Stadium: Estadio Agustín "Coruco" Díaz
29 June 2025 Copa por el Bienestar Cruz Azul Mexico 2–0 Mexico Santos Laguna Zacatecas
16:00 CST
Report
Stadium: Estadio Carlos Vega Villalba
3 July 2025 Denso International Football Cup Cruz Azul Mexico 1–0 Colombia Once Caldas Boca del Río
20:43 CST
Report
Stadium: Estadio Luis "Pirata" Fuente
Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for a 20:00 kick-off.
6 July 2025 Denso International Football Cup Cruz Azul Mexico 1–2 Mexico Mazatlán Boca del Río
18:30 CST
Report
Stadium: Estadio Luis "Pirata" Fuente

Competitions

[edit]

Overall record

[edit]
Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
Liga MX Apertura 12 July 2025 TBD Matchday 1 TBD 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 033.33
Liga MX Clausura January 2026 TBD Matchday 1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !
Leagues Cup 31 July 2025 7 August 2025 League phase League phase 3 0 2 1 3 10 −7 000.00
CONCACAF Champions Cup February 2026 TBD Round one TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !
FIFA Intercontinental Cup 10 December 2025 TBD Second round TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !
Total 6 1 4 1 10 14 −4 016.67

Last updated: 7 August 2025
Source: Soccerway

Liga MX Apertura

[edit]

League table

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
3 UANL 2 2 0 0 5 3 +2 6 Qualification for the quarter–finals[a]
4 Monterrey 3 2 0 1 4 4 0 6
5 Cruz Azul 3 1 2 0 7 4 +3 5
6 América 3 1 2 0 5 3 +2 5
7 Necaxa 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4 Qualification for the play-in round[b]
Updated to match(es) played on 26 July 2025. Source: Liga MX
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results between tied teams; 5) Number of goals scored away; 6) Highest relegation coefficient; 7) Fair Play points
Notes:
  1. ^ The first six places in the table will qualify for the Liguilla quarter-finals.
  2. ^ Teams ranked 7th to 10th will qualify for the play-in round.

Results summary

[edit]
Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
3 1 2 0 7 4  +3 5 1 1 0 4 1  +3 0 1 0 3 3  0

Last updated: 26 July 2025.
Source: Soccerway

Results by round

[edit]
Round1234567891011121314151617
GroundHAHAHHAAHHAAHAHAH
ResultDDW
Position10135
Points125
Source: Liga MX
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed

Matches

[edit]

The league fixtures were announced on 4 June 2025.[20][21]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

Regular phase
[edit]
12 July 2025 1 Cruz Azul 0–0 Mazatlán Mexico City
21:05 CST
Report
Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario
Attendance: 20,098
Referee: Maximiliano Quintero Hernández
19 July 2025 2 Atlas 3–3 Cruz Azul Guadalajara
21:05 CST
Report
Stadium: Estadio Jalisco
Attendance: 25,098
Referee: Luis Enrique Santander Aguirre
26 July 2025 3 Cruz Azul 4–1 León Mexico City
19:00 CST
Report
Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario
Attendance: 20,094
Referee: Daniel Quintero Huitrón
11 August 2025 4 Atlético San Luis v Cruz Azul San Luis Potosí
21:00 CST Report Stadium: Estadio Alfonso Lastras
16 August 2025 5 Cruz Azul v Santos Laguna Mexico City
21:00 CST Report Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario
23 August 2025 6 Cruz Azul v Toluca Mexico City
21:00 CST Report Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario
30 August 2025 7 Guadalajara v Cruz Azul Zapopan
19:00 CST Report Stadium: Estadio Akron
13 September 2025 8 Pachuca v Cruz Azul Pachuca
17:00 CST Report Stadium: Estadio Hidalgo
19 September 2025 9 Cruz Azul v Juárez Mexico City
19:00 CST Report Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario
24 September 2025 10 Cruz Azul v Querétaro Mexico City
18:00 CST Report Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario
28 September 2025 11 Tijuana v Cruz Azul Tijuana
21:00 PDT Report Stadium: Estadio Caliente
4 October 2025 12 UANL v Cruz Azul San Nicolás
19:00 CST Report Stadium: Estadio Universitario
18 October 2025 13 Cruz Azul v América Mexico City
21:00 CST Report Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario
21 October 2025 14 Necaxa v Cruz Azul Aguascalientes
19:00 CST Report Stadium: Estadio Victoria
25 October 2025 15 Cruz Azul v Monterrey Mexico City
21:00 CST Report Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario
31 October 2025 16 Puebla v Cruz Azul Puebla
21:00 CST Report Stadium: Estadio Cuauhtémoc
8 November 2025 17 Cruz Azul v UNAM TBC
21:00 CST Report Stadium: TBC

Leagues Cup

[edit]

As a Liga MX side, Cruz Azul entered the Leagues Cup in the league phase.

League phase

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts
10 América (E) 3 0 2 1 0 6 6 0 5
11 Necaxa (E) 3 1 0 1 1 6 8 −2 4
12 Cruz Azul (E) 3 0 2 0 1 3 10 −7 4
13 Tijuana (E) 3 1 0 0 2 5 8 −3 3
14 Monterrey (E) 3 0 1 0 2 3 6 −3 2
Updated to match(es) played on August 6, 2025. Source: Leagues Cup
(E) Eliminated
Round123
GroundNAN
ResultLDD
Position181412
Points024
Source: Leagues Cup
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

31 July 2025 1 Cruz Azul Mexico 0–7 United States Seattle Sounders FC Seattle, United States
19:30 PDT
Report
Stadium: Lumen Field
Attendance: 22,697
Referee: Víctor Cáceres (Mexico)
3 August 2025 2 LA Galaxy United States 1–1
(7−8 p)
Mexico Cruz Azul Carson, United States
19:30 PDT
Report
Stadium: Dignity Health Sports Park
Attendance: 24,285
Referee: Filiberto Martínez (El Salvador)
Penalties
7 August 2025 3 Cruz Azul Mexico 2–2
(5–4 p)
United States Colorado Rapids Carson, United States
17:30 PDT
Report
Stadium: Dignity Health Sports Park
Referee: Joe Dickerson (United States)
Penalties

CONCACAF Champions Cup

[edit]

As the first-placed team in the 2024–25 aggregate table in the Liga MX, Cruz Azul entered the CONCACAF Champions Cup in round one.

Round one

[edit]

The draw for round one will take place on December 2025.

February 2026 First leg TBC v TBC TBC
TBC Report Stadium: TBC
February 2026 Second leg TBC v TBC TBC
TBC Report Stadium: TBC

FIFA Intercontinental Cup

[edit]

As the CONCACAF Champions Cup winners, Cruz Azul entered the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in the second round.

Second round

[edit]

FIFA Derby of the Americas

10 December 2025 Second round TBC v Mexico Cruz Azul TBC
TBC Stadium: TBC

Statistics

[edit]
As of 7 August 2025

Appearances

[edit]

Players with no appearances are not included on the list.

No. Pos Nat Player Total Liga MX Apertura Liga MX Clausura Leagues Cup Champions Cup FIFA Intercontinental Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2 DF Mexico MEX Jorge Sánchez 3 0 2+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
3 DF Mexico MEX Omar Campos 6 0 1+2 0 0+0 0 1+2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
4 DF Colombia COL Willer Ditta 6 0 3+0 0 0+0 0 3+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
5 DF Mexico MEX Jesús Orozco 3 0 0+1 0 0+0 0 1+1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
6 MF Mexico MEX Érik Lira 6 0 3+0 0 0+0 0 3+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
7 MF Poland POL Mateusz Bogusz 5 0 2+0 0 0+0 0 1+2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
8 MF Argentina ARG Lorenzo Faravelli 6 0 2+1 0 0+0 0 3+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
9 FW Mexico MEX Ángel Sepúlveda 6 4 3+0 4 0+0 0 3+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
15 MF Uruguay URU Ignacio Rivero 5 1 1+1 0 0+0 0 3+0 1 0+0 0 0+0 0
16 MF Mexico MEX Jeremy Márquez 6 1 0+3 1 0+0 0 0+3 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
18 MF Argentina ARG Luka Romero 6 0 3+0 0 0+0 0 1+2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
19 MF Mexico MEX Carlos Rodríguez 6 3 2+1 2 0+0 0 3+0 1 0+0 0 0+0 0
20 MF Argentina ARG José Paradela 6 0 3+0 0 0+0 0 2+1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
23 GK Colombia COL Kevin Mier 6 0 3+0 0 0+0 0 3+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
29 MF Argentina ARG Carlos Rotondi 6 0 2+1 0 0+0 0 2+1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
33 DF Argentina ARG Gonzalo Piovi 5 0 3+0 0 0+0 0 2+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
194 FW Mexico MEX Amaury Morales[a] 2 0 0+1 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
214 FW Mexico MEX Mateo Levy[a] 6 0 0+3 0 0+0 0 0+3 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
  1. ^ a b Player is registered with the under-21 team.

Goals

[edit]
Rank Pos. No. Player Liga MX Apertura Liga MX Clausura Leagues Cup Champions Cup FIFA Intercontinental Cup Total
1 FW 9 Mexico Ángel Sepúlveda 4 0 0 0 0 4
2 MF 19 Mexico Carlos Rodríguez 2 0 1 0 0 3
3 MF 16 Mexico Jeremy Márquez 1 0 0 0 0 1
MF 15 Uruguay Ignacio Rivero 0 0 1 0 0 1
Own goals 0 0 1 0 0 1
Total 7 0 3 0 0 10

Assists

[edit]
Rank Pos. No. Player Liga MX Apertura Liga MX Clausura Leagues Cup Champions Cup FIFA Intercontinental Cup Total
1 MF 20 Argentina José Paradela 3 0 0 0 0 3
2 MF 7 Poland Mateusz Bogusz 1 0 1 0 0 2
3 MF 33 Argentina Gonzalo Piovi 1 0 0 0 0 1
MF 29 Argentina Carlos Rotondi 0 0 1 0 0 1
Total 5 0 2 0 0 7

Clean sheets

[edit]
Rank No. Player Liga MX Apertura Liga MX Clausura Leagues Cup Champions Cup FIFA Intercontinental Cup Total
1 1 Colombia Kevin Mier 1 0 0 0 0 1
Total 1 0 0 0 0 1

Disciplinary record

[edit]
No. Pos. Player Liga MX Apertura Liga MX Clausura Leagues Cup Champions Cup FIFA Intercontinental Cup Total
Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card
4 MF Colombia Willer Ditta 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
6 MF Mexico Érik Lira 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
7 MF Poland Mateusz Bogusz 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
15 MF Uruguay Ignacio Rivero 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
16 MF Mexico Jeremy Márquez 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
19 MF Mexico Carlos Rodríguez 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
20 MF Argentina José Paradela 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
Total 5 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 0 0

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "¡Bienvenido a Cruz Azul, Nicolás Larcamón!" (in Spanish). Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S. A. de C. V. 16 June 2025.
  2. ^ "Primer Equipo Varonil". Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S. A. de C. V. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  3. ^ "Cruz Azul Plantilla". Liga MX. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Llega el primer refuerzo de Cruz Azul rumbo al AP25: Jeremy Márquez" (in Spanish). Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S. A. de C. V. 10 July 2025.
  5. ^ "El segundo refuerzo de Cruz Azul rumbo al AP25: ¡José Paradela!" (in Spanish). Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S. A. de C. V. 11 July 2025.
  6. ^ @CruzAzul (17 July 2025). "¡Bienvenido, Alex! El delantero mexicano de 17 años se incorpora a las filas de La Máquina Cementera. A darlo todo por este escudo" (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "Cruz Azul: Alex Gutiérrez deja a Necaxa y será jugador de la Máquina". am.com.mx (in Spanish). 12 July 2025.
  8. ^ "¡Gracias por todo, Alexis Gutiérrez!" (in Spanish). Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S. A. de C. V. 25 June 2025.
  9. ^ @Club_Queretaro (18 July 2025). "Y el medio campo de los Gallos Blancos tiene más potencial. Te quedan muy bien estos colores, Luis Ángel" (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ @CruzAzul (17 July 2025). "De @MinerosFc a La Máquina. Se incorpora juventud a la defensa Cementera. ¡Bienvenido a Cruz Azul, Jorge Rodarte!" (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "Jorge Rodarte, nuevo jugador de Cruz Azul". am.com.mx (in Spanish). 13 July 2025.
  12. ^ "LEONARDO SÁMANO, REFUERZO EN EL MEDIOCAMPO" (in Spanish). Tepatitlán F.C. 2 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Javier Suárez, nuevo jugador del Atlético de San Luis para el A2025". am.com.mx (in Spanish). 4 July 2025.
  14. ^ "¡BIENVENIDO, JAVIER SUÁREZ!" (in Spanish). Atlético de San Luis. 4 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Jorge García Rivas vuelve a la Liga MX y será rival de Cruz Azul en el Apertura 2025". vamoscruzazul.bolavip.com (in Spanish). 9 July 2025.
  16. ^ @CruzAzul (9 June 2025). "Tendremos dos partidos en Morelos como inicio de nuestra pretemporada, Azules" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 June 2025 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "Oficial: Cruz Azul anunció sede y rivales de primeros partidos de pretemporada". Vamos Azul (in Spanish). 9 June 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  18. ^ @CruzAzul (19 June 2025). "Azules en Zacatecas. Nos vemos el 27 y 29 en el estadio Carlos Vega Villalba" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 June 2025 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ @latamsportmx (17 June 2025). "Los campeones de la Concacaf @CruzAzul estarán en Veracruz, para jugar la Denso International Football Cup" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 June 2025 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ "¡Oficial! Este es el calendario oficial del Apertura 2025". Liga MX (in Spanish). 4 June 2025.
  21. ^ "Nuestro calendario del Apertura 2025, versión Paint" (in Spanish). Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S. A. de C. V. 11 June 2025.