Cruz Azul History

Foundation
Cruz Azul was founded under the name Club Deportivo Cruz Azul as an amateur team on 22 March 1927. The founders were the workers of cement maker Cemento Cruz Azul; the team played in the town of Jasso (now part of the "city cooperative"  in the state of Hidalgo). Cemento Cruz Azul was the only official sponsor until 1997, and remains a primary sponsor today. Guillermo Álvarez Marcia and Carlos Garces were the main force behind the effort to organize the club, and the quick success of the team led to frequently representing the state of Hidalgo in national amateur tournaments.

1927–1960[edit]

From 1927 to 1960, the amateur team played many times in Mexico City against the reserve squads of established professional teams such as the América, the Necaxa, the Atlante F.C., the Asturias F.C. and the Club Deportivo Marte. The Cemento Cruz Azul changed its name to the "Cooperativa Cruz Azul", and in 1960 the consistent success of the team caused the new administration of the cement company to build the Estadio 10 de Diciembre in Jasso. The team entered professional competition in the Segunda División de México for the 1960–61 season.

1960s–2000[edit]

Hungarian coach Jorge Marik guided the team to the Segunda División championship for the 1963–64 season, elevating them to the Primera División the following season. That season ended with an eighth-place finish. Four years later, the Cruz Azul won its first Primera División league tournament, under coach Raúl Cárdenas.

Between 1970–1980, the Cruz Azul led the Primera División with six league tournament championships; four under Cárdenas and the last two under Ignacio Trelles. This powerful version of the team earned the nickname La Máquina Celeste (The Blue Machine), which continues as one of the unofficial nicknames of the team.

The team earned its eighth and most recent championship in 1997 under coach Luis Fernando Tena, beating the León 2–1 on a last minute penalty kick scored by Carlos Hermosillo. This was still the quickest a Primera División club had ever won eight championships, achieving the feat within 33 years of entering the Primera División.

2000–2009

Copa Libertadores 2001

In 2001, the Cruz Azul was invited to a tournament between select Mexican and Venezuelan teams that would then compete in the Copa Libertadores, a tournament of the best South American teams. The two best teams of this qualifying tournament earned immediate placement on the roster.

The Cruz Azul was one of the seeded teams and reached the 2001 Copa Libertadores final match. The Cruz Azul started the tournament in Group 7 along with teams such as the Sao Caetano, the Defensor Sporting, and Olmedo. The Cruz Azul finished as leader of the group with 13 points. In round 16 the Cruz Azul faced the Cerro Porteño. The first leg was played in Asunción and the Cruz Azul lost 2–1. The second leg was played in Mexico and the Cruz Azul won the game 3–1. The aggregate score was 4–3 in favor of the Cruz Azul and they moved on to the quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinals the Cruz Azul faced the CA River Plate of Argentina. The first leg of the match was played in Buenos Aires and ended in a 0–0 draw. The second leg was played in Mexico and the Cruz Azul won 3–0. The Cruz Azul was having a great run and played the Rosario Central in the semifinals. The first leg was played in Mexico and the Cruz Azul won the game 2–0. The second leg was played in Rosario in a very exciting match that ended in a 3–3 draw in favor of the Cruz Azul due to the 2–0 victory in the first leg.

In the final match the Cruz Azul played against the Argentinian club the Boca Juniors. The Cruz Azul lost at home the first leg 1–0, but came back to win the second leg with the same score at the Boca's La Bombonera stadium with Paco Palencia scoring the goal. Until then, no team had ever won a Copa Libertadores final match there. After overtime the championship was decided by penalty kicks. The Boca Juniors prevailed. Still, the Cruz Azul surprised everybody with the unprecedented feat of reaching the final and defeating established Argentinian teams such as the Rosario Central and the CA River Plate.

2006–2007
In the 2006 Apertura, the team started off great but in the middle of the season, they had a hard time adding points on the board. The Cruz Azul recovered and finished the regular season as the points leader. They have not won a title since the championship they won against Leon in 1997. For the Apertura 2006, the Cruz Azul made it to the quarterfinals and faced the Chivas in the Estadio Jalisco. In the first leg, the Cruz Azul played a very poor game and lost 2–0. On November 25, 2006 the Cruz Azul played the second leg at Estadio Azul and played a brilliant game. The Cruz Azul started off strong and put the Chivas keeper Oswaldo Sánchez to the test on many occasions. In the middle of the first half, defender Salvador Carmona pushed a Chivas player in the penalty area and cost the Cruz Azul a penalty.Ramón Morales had no problem and put the score 1–0 in favor of the Chivas in the 39th minute. The Cruz Azul kept creating opportunities and at the end of the first half, César Delgado made a great play that Richard Núñez finished with a goal to tie the game right before halftime in the 45th minute. In the second half, the Chivas scored thanks to Ramón Morales again to put the score 2–1 in favor of the Chivas. The Cruz Azul did not give up and Miguel Sabah tied the game 2–2 in the 62nd minute. The Cruz Azul played a great game and ended up tying the game 2–2 but losing 4–2 on aggregate.

In the 2007 Clausura the team had a great start, finishing among the first 8 teams in the league that went to playoffs. The team had a great quarterfinal series against the Tecos of the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, thanks to two magnificent goals from striker Richard Núñez and moved to semifinals against the Pachuca FC, the top team in the league. The Pachuca beat the Cruz Azul in the Estadio Azul in the first leg of the series with a strong 3–1. The Cruz Azul still had a chance to overcome the adverse score, but on that same evening, the Court of Arbitration for Sport communicated that team captain Salvador Carmona was declared ineligible with immediate and lifetime effect, because of a repeated doping indiscipline that occurred back in January 2006. The sanction was dated May 18, 2007, the very day of the first match against the Pachuca. Arguing that player Salvador Carmona did play on that day for the Cruz Azul, the Mexican Football Federation, aka Federacion Mexicana de Futbol sanctioned the Cruz Azul by suspending the team one game from competition, under the argument of aligning an ineligible player. Many legal arguments have been raised by both the player's lawyer and the Cruz Azul, but the sanction stood and the Cruz Azul lost its opportunity to overcome the 3–1 and go to the final series against the America. The Cruz Azul had one of the best seasons of their victory against the Mexiel.