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| Full name | Club de Futbol Cruz Azul | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | La Máquina (The Machine) Los Celestes (The Sky-Blues) Los Cementeros (The Cement Makers) Las Liebres (The Hares) Los de La Noria (The Men from La Noria) | ||
| Short name | CAZ | ||
| Founded | 22 May 1927 | ||
| Ground | Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes | ||
| Capacity | 34,253[1] | ||
| Owner | Cooperativa La Cruz Azul, S.C.L. | ||
| President | Víctor Velázquez | ||
| Manager | Martín Anselmi | ||
| League | Liga MX | ||
| Clausura 2024 | Regular phase: 2nd Final phase: Runners-up | ||
| Website | cfcruzazul.com | ||
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Club de Futbol Cruz Azul, commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football. Founded in 1927 in Jasso, Hidalgo, the club officially moved to Mexico City in 1971, where it had already registered a great presence and activity since its beginnings. Estadio Azteca, the nation's largest sports venue, served as their home venue until 1996, when they moved to the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes, which was renamed Estadio Azul. After 22 years, the team returned to the Azteca following the conclusion of the 2017–18 Liga MX season. Its headquarters are in La Noria, a suburb within Xochimilco in the southern part of Mexico City.[2]
Cruz Azul has been the Primera División champion nine times, trailing Toluca's 10, C.D. Guadalajara's 12, and Club América's 15. Cruz Azul's six titles makes it the second-most successful club in the history of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the most prestigious international club competition in North American football, trailing intracity rival Club América. Cruz Azul was also the first CONCACAF team to reach the final of the Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious club competition in South American football (which invited top Liga MX clubs from 1998 to 2017), losing on penalties to Argentine football giants Boca Juniors in 2001. In the 1968–69 season, Cruz Azul became the first CONCACAF club (and third worldwide) to complete a rare continental treble, winning the Mexican Primera División, Copa México and the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.
In its 2014 Club World Ranking, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics placed Cruz Azul as the 99th-best club in the world and the third-best club in CONCACAF.[3] According to several polls published, Cruz Azul is the third-most popular team in Mexico, behind only C.D. Guadalajara and Club América.[4] It is also the second most supported team in its hometown, Mexico City, behind América and ahead of Pumas UNAM.
- ^ "Estadio Ciudad De Los Deportes". ligamx.net (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "Mexico City: Cruz Azul to relocate to Azteca – StadiumDB.com". stadiumdb.com.
- ^ "World Club Ranking 2014". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. 2015-01-13. Archived from the original on 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2015-03-25.
- ^ "Esmas.com". Esmas.com. 2008-02-12. Archived from the original on 2012-01-18. Retrieved 2012-01-10.