Cruz Azul turned to Joel Huiqui as its interim head coach after Víctor Velázquez decided to dismiss Nicolás Larcamón following matchday 16. Huiqui will lead the first team for the rest of the season, including the Liguilla.
The change came after Cruz Azul snapped a nine-match winless run with a 4-1 win over Necaxa in Huiqui’s presentation at Estadio Banorte, a result that gave the club a jolt after a difficult stretch. The team also secured recognition as the side that earned the most points in the 2025/26 season for the second consecutive year.
For Huiqui, the appointment marks a new stage in a career that had already taken him through Cruz Azul’s bench when Ricardo Ferretti was head coach and later as Vicente Sánchez’s assistant during the club’s seventh Concacaf title. He is also the first person known for “la Muertihna” to be put in charge of the first team.
The task now is straightforward and heavy: keep Cruz Azul steady through the rest of the season and into the Liguilla after a stretch that had pushed the club into a crisis before Larcamón was removed. Huiqui inherits a team that has already shown a response, but his first real test will be whether that reaction lasts beyond one win.