2025–26 Cruz Azul season

Cruz Azul
2025–26 season
Owner	Cooperativa La Cruz Azul
Sporting director	Iván Alonso
Head coach	Nicolás Larcamón ; (until 22 April 2026) ; Joel Huiqui (interim) ; (from 22 April 2026)
Stadium	Estadio Olímpico Universitario ; (until December 2025) ; Estadio Cuauhtémoc ; (from January 2026) ; Estadio Azteca ; (from April 2026)
Liga MX	Apertura: 3rd (Semi-finals) ; Clausura: 3rd (Winners)
Leagues Cup	League phase
CONCACAF Champions Cup	Quarter-finals
FIFA Intercontinental Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Gabriel Fernández (14); All: ; Gabriel Fernández (15)
Highest home attendance	43,134 ; (v. Guadalajara, Liga MX Clausura, 21 February 2026)
Lowest home attendance	4,647 ; (v. Vancouver FC, CONCACAF Champions Cup, 12 February 2026)
Average home league attendance	20,032
Biggest win	5–0 v. Vancouver FC (H) ; CONCACAF Champions Cup, 12 February 2026
Biggest defeat	0–7 v. Seattle Sounders FC (A) ; Leagues Cup, 31 July 2025
	← 2024–25 2026–27 →

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

OwnerCooperativa La Cruz Azul

Sporting directorIván Alonso

Head coachNicolás Larcamón
(until 22 April 2026)
Joel Huiqui (interim)
(from 22 April 2026)

StadiumEstadio Olímpico Universitario
(until December 2025)
Estadio Cuauhtémoc
(from January 2026)
Estadio Azteca
(from April 2026)

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This was 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]

On 8 January 2026, before the start of the Clausura 2026 tournament, Cruz Azul relocated to Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla.^[2]^[3] The relocation followed a notification from UNAM on 6 January 2026 that the club's contract at Estadio Olímpico Universitario would not be renewed due to logistical and academic scheduling conflicts.^[4]

The winter transfer window brought significant squad turnover, with several long-serving players departing the club: captain Ignacio Rivero, who had been at the club since the 2020–21 season, Carlos Vargas, who had joined in 2022–23, Ángel Sepúlveda and Lorenzo Faravelli, both of whom had arrived in the 2023–24 season, and Mateusz Bogusz and Jorge Sánchez, both of whom had joined the previous season. Following Rivero's departure, Érik Lira was appointed the new club captain.

Larcamón was dismissed on 22 April 2026 following a nine-match winless streak,^[5] with Joel Huiqui appointed as interim manager for the remainder of the season.^[6] Huiqui took charge for the final matchday of the regular season before guiding the team through the playoffs. Cruz Azul reached the final, where they defeated Pumas UNAM 2–1 to secure the club's tenth league title and Huiqui's first as a manager.^[7]

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[7]

No.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Since	Signed from
Goalkeepers
1	Andrés Gudiño (3rd captain)	(1997-01-26)26 January 1997 (aged 29)	2019	Venados
23	Kevin Mier	(2000-05-18)18 May 2000 (aged 26)	2024	Atlético Nacional
30	Emmanuel Ochoa	(2005-05-05)5 May 2005 (aged 21)	2025	San Jose Earthquakes
Defenders
3	Omar Campos	(2002-07-20)20 July 2002 (aged 23)	2025	Los Angeles FC
4	Willer Ditta (4th captain)	(1997-01-23)23 January 1997 (aged 29)	2023	Newell's Old Boys
5	Jesús Orozco	(2002-02-19)19 February 2002 (aged 24)	2025	Guadalajara
22	Jorge Rodarte	(2004-04-23)23 April 2004 (aged 22)	2025	Zacatecas
33	Gonzalo Piovi	(1994-09-08)8 September 1994 (aged 31)	2024	Racing Club
Midfielders
6	Érik Lira (captain)	(2000-05-08)8 May 2000 (aged 26)	2022	Pumas UNAM
8	Agustín Palavecino	(1996-11-09)9 November 1996 (aged 29)	2026	Necaxa
10	Andrés Montaño	(2002-05-22)22 May 2002 (aged 24)	2024	Mazatlán
16	Jeremy Márquez	(2000-06-21)21 June 2000 (aged 26)	2025	Atlas
17	Amaury García	(2001-12-19)19 December 2001 (aged 24)	2024	Pumas UNAM
18	Luka Romero	(2004-11-18)18 November 2004 (aged 21)	2025	AC Milan
19	Carlos Rodríguez (vice-captain)	(1997-01-03)3 January 1997 (aged 29)	2022	Monterrey
20	José Paradela	(1998-12-15)15 December 1998 (aged 27)	2025	Necaxa
29	Carlos Rotondi	(1997-03-02)2 March 1997 (aged 29)	2022	Defensa y Justicia
32	Cristian Jiménez	(2002-07-18)18 July 2002 (aged 23)	2021	Cruz Azul Academy
Forwards
7	Nicolás Ibáñez	(1994-08-23)23 August 1994 (aged 31)	2026	Tigres UANL
11	Christian Ebere	(1998-04-04)4 April 1998 (aged 28)	2026	Nacional
21	Gabriel Fernández	(1994-05-13)13 May 1994 (aged 32)	2024	Pumas UNAM
27	Bryan Gamboa	(2002-03-13)13 March 2002 (aged 24)	2025	Cruz Azul Academy

Date	Pos.	No.	Player	Until	Ref.
First team
19 August 2025	MF	19	Carlos Rodríguez	2029	^[10]
26 August 2025	MF	8	Lorenzo Faravelli	2026	^[11]
2 October 2025	DF	33	Gonzalo Piovi	2028	^[12]
16 October 2025	MF	6	Érik Lira	2029	^[13]
24 October 2025	MF	29	Carlos Rotondi	2028	^[14]
29 October 2025	DF	2	Jorge Sánchez	2028	^[15]
Academy
11 July 2025	FW	27	Bryan Gamboa	Undisclosed^[a]	^[16]
11 July 2025	MF	25	Fernando Sámano	Undisclosed^[a]	^[16]
11 July 2025	MF	28	Mauro Zaleta	Undisclosed^[a]	^[16]

Date	Pos.	No.	Player	From	Fee	Ref.
10 July 2025	MF	16	Jeremy Márquez	Atlas	$4,500,000	^[17]
11 July 2025	MF	20	José Paradela	Necaxa	$10,000,000	^[18]
17 July 2025	FW	163	Alex Gutiérrez^[a]	Necaxa	Undisclosed	^[19]^[20]
6 January 2026	MF	8	Agustín Palavecino	Necaxa	$5,500,000	^[21]^[22]
6 February 2026	FW	11	Christian Ebere	Nacional	$1,800,000	^[23]^[24]
10 February 2026	FW	7	Nicolás Ibáñez	Tigres UANL	$2,500,000	^[25]^[26]
Spending: $24,300,000

Date	Pos.	No.	Player	To	Fee	Ref.
25 June 2025	MF	14	Alexis Gutiérrez	América	$5,000,000	^[27]
18 July 2025	FW	35	Luis Gutiérrez	Querétaro	Undisclosed	^[28]
18 December 2025	FW	9	Ángel Sepúlveda	Guadalajara	$3,500,000	^[29]
6 January 2026	MF	15	Ignacio Rivero	Tijuana	Undisclosed	^[30]
8 January 2026	MF	8	Lorenzo Faravelli	Necaxa	Undisclosed	^[31]
16 January 2026	DF	26	Carlos Vargas	—	Released	^[32]^[33]
29 January 2026	MF	7	Mateusz Bogusz	Houston Dynamo	$10,000,000	^[34]
5 February 2026	DF	2	Jorge Sánchez	PAOK	$4,000,000	^[35]
6 February 2026	DF	13	Camilo Cándido	Nacional	Released	^[36]^[37]
Income: $22,500,000

Date	Pos.	No.	Player	To	Date until	Ref.
2 June 2025	MF	34	Leonardo Sámano	Tepatitlán	End of season	^[41]
4 July 2025	DF	196	Javier Suárez	Atlético San Luis	End of season	^[42]^[43]
8 July 2025	MF	–	Jorge García	Mazatlán	End of season	^[44]
13 August 2025	FW	11	Giorgos Giakoumakis	PAOK	End of season	^[45]^[46]
27 August 2025	MF	28	Mauro Zaleta	Mazatlán	End of season	^[47]
11 December 2025	DF	22	Raymundo Rubio	Correcaminos UAT	31 December 2026	^[48]
18 December 2025	MF	25	Fernando Sámano	Tepatitlán	31 December 2026	^[49]

20 June 2025 Copa Morelos	Cruz Azul	1–2	León	Zacatepec, Mexico
18:30 CST	García 47'	Report	Ramírez 29' Santos 68' Ayón 90+3'	Stadium: Estadio Agustín "Coruco" Díaz

22 June 2025 Copa Morelos	Atlante	1–0	Cruz Azul	Zacatepec, Mexico
17:00 CST	Mejía 28' Coubert 31' Huerto 40'	Report	J. García 53' A. García 69'	Stadium: Estadio Agustín "Coruco" Díaz

27 June 2025 Copa por el Bienestar	Zacatecas	2–2 (5–4 p)	Cruz Azul	Zacatecas, Mexico
18:00 CST	Villacorta 21' Mendoza 54' Padilla 90+2'	Report	Rivero 14' Piovi 42', 82'	Stadium: Estadio Carlos Vega Villalba
	Penalties
	Padilla de los Rios Ríos Mendoza Trejo Preciado		Bogusz Piovi Derbez Mendoza Morales Zaleta

29 June 2025 Copa por el Bienestar	Cruz Azul	2–0	Santos Laguna	Zacatecas, Mexico
16:00 CST	Bogusz 26' García 32' Rivero 60'	Report	Tejeda 43' Ocejo 49'	Stadium: Estadio Carlos Vega Villalba

3 July 2025 Denso International Football Cup	Cruz Azul	1–0	Once Caldas	Boca del Río, Mexico
20:43 CST	Rivero 66' Mendoza 78' Piovi 80' Ditta 84'	Report	Sánchez 7' Riquett 84'	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	1–2	Mazatlán	Boca del Río, Mexico
18:30 CST	Bogusz 33' (pen.), 64' Ditta 48' Mendoza 61' Piovi 86'	Report	Meraz 3' Benedetti 58' Sierra 66'	Stadium: Estadio Luis "Pirata" Fuente

10 October 2025 Friendly	Cruz Azul	2–0	Pumas UNAM	Sacramento, United States
20:05 PDT	Márquez 30' Bogusz 37' Faravelli 51' Paradela 79'	Report		Stadium: Heart Health Park

12 October 2025 Friendly	Cruz Azul	Cancelled	León	Fresno, United States
14:00 PDT		Report		Stadium: Chukchansi Park

4 January 2026 Copa DIF Altamira	Jaiba Brava	2–1	Cruz Azul	Ciudad Madero, Mexico
18:00 CST	Clemente 54' Torres 59'	Report	Márquez 46'	Stadium: Estadio Tamaulipas

25 January 2026 Friendly	Cruz Azul	1–1	Atlas	Carson, United States
15:30 PST	Paradela 53'	Report	Mora 50'	Stadium: Dignity Health Sports Park

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Toluca (C)	17	11	4	2	43	18	+25	37	Qualification for the quarter–finals^[a]
2	Tigres UANL	17	10	6	1	35	16	+19	36
3	Cruz Azul	17	10	5	2	32	20	+12	35
4	América	17	10	4	3	33	18	+15	34
5	Monterrey	17	9	4	4	33	29	+4	31

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
21	11	8	2	37	24	+13	41	7	3	1	23	14	+9	4	5	1	14	10	+4

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A
Result	D	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	L	D	W	D	W	W	L	D	W	D	D
Position	10	13	5	5	3	3	3	2	1	1	4	4	2	5	3	1	3	QF	QF	SF	SF
Points	1	2	5	8	11	14	17	20	23	24	24	25	28	29	32	35	35	–	–	–	–

12 July 2025 1	Cruz Azul	0–0	Mazatlán	Mexico City
21:05 CST	Rivero 24' Bogusz 45+2'	Report	Herrera 44' Colula 66' Samir 78' Fierro 90+6'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario Attendance: 20,098 Referee: Maximiliano Quintero Hernández

25 March 2026 Friendly	Cruz Azul	3–0	Atlético Nacional	San Jose, United States
20:00 PST	Ibañez 51' Romero 61' Levy 79'	Report		Stadium: PayPal Park

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Liga MX Apertura	12 July 2025	6 December 2025	Matchday 1	Semi-finals	21	11	8	2	37	24	+13	052.38
Liga MX Clausura	10 January 2026	24 May 2026	Matchday 1	Winners	23	13	8	2	41	24	+17	056.52
Leagues Cup	31 July 2025	7 August 2025	League phase	League phase	3	0	2	1	3	10	−7	000.00
CONCACAF Champions Cup	4 February 2026	14 April 2026	Round one	Quarter-finals	6	3	2	1	13	7	+6	050.00
FIFA Intercontinental Cup	10 December 2025	10 December 2025	Second round	Second round	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Total					54	27	20	7	95	67	+28	050.00

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
21	11	8	2	37	24	+13	41	7	3	1	23	14	+9	4	5	1	14	10	+4

19 July 2025 2	Atlas	3–3	Cruz Azul	Guadalajara
21:05 CST	Aguirre 17' González 31' Sánchez 44' Dória 60' Rocha 90+4'	Report	Lira 22' Sepúlveda 55' (pen.), 58', 90' Paradela 82'	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	Rodríguez 34', 66', 87' Sepúlveda 62' Márquez 90+3'	Report	Ayón 51' Orozco 78' (o.g.)	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario Attendance: 20,094 Referee: Daniel Quintero Huitrón

11 August 2025 4	Atlético San Luis	1–2	Cruz Azul	San Luis Potosí
21:05 CST	Dourado 7' Pedro 60' Torres 85'	Report	Orozco 10' 90+4' Lira 38' Rotondi 52' Sepúlveda 57' (pen.) Piovi 90+7'	Stadium: Estadio Alfonso Lastras Attendance: 19,335 Referee: Vicente Jassiel Reynoso Arce

16 August 2025 5	Cruz Azul	3–2	Santos Laguna	Mexico City
19:00 CST	Rodríguez 16' Rivero 34' Mendoza 49' Fernández 82'	Report	Barticciotto 32' Sordo 40' Dájome 47'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario Attendance: 14,101 Referee: Fernando Hernández Gómez

23 August 2025 6	Cruz Azul	1–0	Toluca	Mexico City
21:45 CST	Piovi 56' Rodríguez 66' Rotondi 77' Romero 78'	Report	Domínguez 77' Barbosa 77' Castro 90+2'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario Attendance: 22,867 Referee: César Arturo Ramos Palazuelos
Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for a 21:05 kick-off, but was moved due to weather conditions in Mexico City.^[62]

30 August 2025 7	Guadalajara	1–2	Cruz Azul	Zapopan
19:07 CST	Sepúlveda 6' Campillo 11' González 70' Gutiérrez 80' Cowell 90+2' Romo 90+4'	Report	Paradela 2' Rotondi 45' Sánchez 55'	Stadium: Estadio Akron Attendance: 40,170 Referee: Víctor Alfonso Cáceres Hernández

13 September 2025 8	Pachuca	0–1	Cruz Azul	Pachuca
17:00 CST	Quiñones 45+3' 56' Aceves 62' Bauermann 63' Cádiz 63'	Report	Orozco 19' Rivero 20' Fernández 65' (pen.)	Stadium: Estadio Hidalgo Attendance: 19,479 Referee: Joaquín Alberto Vizcarra Armenta

New contracts

In

Out

Loans in

Loans out

Overall record

Liga MX Apertura

League table

Results summary

Results by round

Matches

Regular phase

Final phase

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Liga MX Clausura

League table

Results summary

Results by round

Matches

Regular phase

Final phase

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Finals

Leagues Cup

League phase

CONCACAF Champions Cup

Round one

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

FIFA Intercontinental Cup

Second round

Appearances

Goals

Assists

Clean sheets

Disciplinary record

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
21	11	8	2	37	24	+13	41	7	3	1	23	14	+9	4	5	1	14	10	+4

19 September 2025 9	Cruz Azul	3–2	Juárez	Mexico City
19:00 CST	Romero 2' Fernández 23' Paradela 32', 36'	Report	Pizarro 14' Fulgencio 19' Estupiñán 24' Murillo 48'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario Attendance: 15,815 Referee: Ismael Rosario Lopez Penuelas

24 September 2025 10	Cruz Azul	2–2	Querétaro	Mexico City
18:00 CST	Paradela 14' Ditta 27' Piovi 51' Romero 75' Bogusz 79' Fernández 83'	Report	Homenchenko 20', 35' Perlaza 25' Carcelén 27' Julio 62' Allison 86'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario Attendance: 16,783 Referee: Karen Hernández Andrade

28 September 2025 11	Tijuana	2–0	Cruz Azul	Tijuana
21:05 PDT	Vega 28' Blanco 38', 45+4' Gómez 55' Mourad 72'	Report	Rodarte 5' Piovi 19'	Stadium: Estadio Caliente Attendance: 29,333 Referee: Jorge Abraham Camacho Peregrina

4 October 2025 12	Tigres UANL	1–1	Cruz Azul	San Nicolás
19:00 CST	Farfan 43' Brunetta 51' Guzmán 90+6' Henrique 90+7' Aquino 90+11'	Report	Rodríguez 50' Piovi 57' Sepúlveda 90+8' (pen.)	Stadium: Estadio Universitario Attendance: 41,615 Referee: Ismael Rosario Lopez Penuelas

18 October 2025 13	Cruz Azul	2–1	América	Mexico City
21:05 CST	Fernández 33' Rodarte 40' Rivero 67', 76'	Report	Rodríguez 31' Cáceres 51'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario Attendance: 40,237 Referee: Jesús Rafael López Valle

21 October 2025 14	Necaxa	1–1	Cruz Azul	Aguascalientes
19:00 CST	Palavecino 86'	Report	Márquez 59' Morales 65' Ditta 79' Rivero 90+5'	Stadium: Estadio Victoria Attendance: 17,523 Referee: Vicente Reynoso Arce

25 October 2025 15	Cruz Azul	2–0	Monterrey	Mexico City
21:05 CST	Rotondi 29' Orozco 44' Faravelli 49' Márquez 79' García 89' Sepúlveda 90+6'	Report	Torres 24' Ramos 90+1'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Universitario Attendance: 18,406 Referee: Daniel Quintero Huitrón

31 October 2025 16	Puebla	0–3	Cruz Azul	Puebla
21:05 CST	Navarro 50' Gamarra 66'	Report	Bogusz 33' Márquez 57' Campos 84'	Stadium: Estadio Cuauhtémoc Attendance: 25,644 Referee: Guillermo Pacheco Larios

8 November 2025 17	Cruz Azul	2–3	Pumas UNAM	Puebla
21:05 CST	Fernández 14', 19' Ditta 45+1' Faravelli 66' Lira 67' Sepúlveda 90+4'	Report	Ruvalcaba 4', 90+5' Carrasquilla 45+1' Angulo 80' (pen.) Duarte 84' Medina 85' López 90+1'	Stadium: Estadio Cuauhtémoc Attendance: 36,025 Referee: Fernando Hernández Gómez
Note: Due to a contractual agreement between Cruz Azul and Pumas UNAM, Cruz Azul is not allowed to play as the home team against Pumas UNAM at Estadio Olímpico Universitario. Therefore, this match was relocated to Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla.^[63]^[64]