# 2023–24 Cruz Azul season

The 2023–24 Club de Futbol Cruz Azul season was the 97th season in the football club's history and the 59th consecutive season in the top flight of Mexican football. Cruz Azul competed in Liga MX and the Leagues Cup.
This season was the first without captain José de Jesús Corona, who leaved the club after 14 years (since 2009–10 as a first team player). It was also the first season since 2005–06 without the center-back Julio César Domínguez.

## Kits

* Supplier: Pirma
* Sponsors: Cemento Cruz Azul (front), Caliente (back)

## Season overview
### May

On 31 May, Uriel Antuna and Carlos Rodríguez were called up to the Mexico national team squad for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

### June

On 1 June, Rafael Guerrero and Rodrigo Huescas were called up to the Mexico national under-23 team for friendlies in Europe and the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games.
On 27 June, the Leagues Cup announced Cruz Azul's first match against Inter Miami would be rescheduled as the tournament's inaugural match due to Inter Miami's high-profile signings of Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets.

### July

On 5 July, Ivan Morales' contract was rescinded and he became a free agent.
Willer Ditta did not travel with the team to the United States for the first Leagues Cup match due to work visa issues. On 24 July, Cruz Azul announced Ditta obtained his visa and would travel to join the team.
Rodrigo Huescas was subbed out in the 30th minute of the match against Inter Miami due to injury. On 24 July, Cruz Azul announced Huescas had suffered a sprain in his right MCL.

### August

On 7 August, Cruz Azul announced they had parted ways with manager Ricardo Ferretti and would appoint assistant coach Joaquín Moreno as manager for the remainder of the Apertura 2023 season.

### September

On 1 September, Uriel Antuna and Carlos Rodríguez were called up to the Mexico national team squad for friendlies against Australia and Uzbekistan. Érik Lira and Rodrigo Huescas were called up to the Mexico national under-23 team for friendlies against Colombia under-23. Rafael Guerrero was called up to the Mexico national under-20 team for friendlies against Argentine Primera División clubs.

## Coaching staff

Apertura 2023 Rounds 1–3, Leagues Cup :
| Position | Name | Nationality | Year appointed | Last club/team |
| Manager | Ricardo Ferretti | Brazil | 2023 | FC Juárez (as manager) |
| Assistant managers | Guillermo Vázquez | Mexico | 2023 | Necaxa (as manager) |
| Assistant managers | Joaquín Moreno | Mexico | 2023 | Cruz Azul (as interim manager) |
| Assistant managers | Enrique Cruz | Mexico | 2023 | Pachuca (as assistant manager) |
| Medic | Juan José Pérez | Mexico | 2021 | Veracruz |
| Medic | Ernesto Prado | Mexico | 2015 | Cruz Azul Hidalgo |
| Medic | José Morales Ángeles | Mexico | 2023 | None |
| Fitness trainer | Guillermo Orta | Mexico | 2023 | FC Juárez |
| Kinesiologist | Juan Rubio | Mexico | 2009 | |
| Kinesiologist | Paolo Arriaga | Mexico | 2023 | Veracruz |
Apertura 2023 Rounds 4–17 :
| Position | Name | Nationality | Year appointed | Last club/team |
| Manager | Joaquín Moreno | Mexico | 2023 | Cruz Azul (as assistant coach) |
| Assistant managers | Joel Huiqui | Mexico | 2023 | Cruz Azul U23 (as manager) |
| Assistant managers | Enrique Cruz | Mexico | 2023 | Pachuca (as assistant manager) |
| Medic | Juan José Pérez | Mexico | 2021 | Veracruz |
| Medic | Ernesto Prado | Mexico | 2015 | Cruz Azul Hidalgo |
| Medic | José Morales Ángeles | Mexico | 2023 | None |
| Fitness trainer | Fernando Ramos | Mexico | 2023 | Leones Negros |
| Kinesiologist | Juan Rubio | Mexico | 2009 | |
| Kinesiologist | Paolo Arriaga | Mexico | 2023 | Veracruz |
Clausura 2024 :
| Position | Name | Nationality | Year appointed | Last club/team |
| Manager | Martín Anselmi | Argentina | 2024 | Independiente del Valle (as manager) |
| Assistant managers | Facundo Oreja | Argentina | 2024 | Independiente del Valle (as assistant manager) |
| Assistant managers | Luis Pastur | Spain | 2024 | Independiente del Valle (as assistant manager) |
| Goalkeeper coach | Esteban Herrera | Argentina | 2024 | Argentina U17 |
| Medic | Antonio Acevedo | Mexico | 2024 | UNAM |
| Medic | Juan Pérez | Mexico | 2021 | Veracruz |
| Fitness trainer | Diego Bottaioli | Uruguay | 2024 | Independiente del Valle |
| Fitness trainer | Fernando Ramos | Mexico | 2023 | Leones Negros |
| Fitness trainer | Alberto Sciegata | Argentina | 2024 | Independiente del Valle |
| Kinesiologist | Paolo Arriaga | Mexico | 2023 | Veracruz |
| Kinesiologist | Juan Rubio | Mexico | 2009 | |

## Players
### Squad information

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | Signed in | Previous club |
| 3 | DF | Carlos Salcedo (vice-captain) | 31 | 2023 | FC Juárez |
| 4 | DF | Willer Ditta | 27 | 2023 | Newell's Old Boys |
| 5 | MF | Kevin Castaño | 24 | 2023 | Águilas Doradas |
| 6 | MF | Erik Lira | 24 | 2022 (Winter) | Pumas UNAM |
| 7 | MF | Uriel Antuna | 27 | 2022 (Winter) | Guadalajara |
| 8 | MF | Jesús Dueñas | 35 | 2023 | FC Juárez |
| 9 | FW | Ángel Sepúlveda | 33 | 2023 | Querétaro |
| 10 | FW | Moisés Vieira | 28 | 2023 | Fortaleza |
| 14 | MF | Alexis Gutiérrez | 24 | 2023 (Winter) | Tapatío |
| 15 | MF | Ignacio Rivero (vice-captain) | 32 | 2020 | Tijuana |
| 17 | MF | Alonso Escoboza | 31 | 2022 | Necaxa |
| 18 | MF | Rodrigo Huescas | 21 | 2021 | Youth system |
| 19 | MF | Carlos Rodríguez | 27 | 2022 (Winter) | Monterrey |
| 24 | DF | Juan Escobar (captain) | 29 | 2019 | Cerro Porteño |
| 25 | GK | Sebastián Jurado | 27 | 2020 (Winter) | Veracruz |
| 26 | DF | Carlos Vargas | 24 | 2023 (Winter) | Mazatlán |
| 28 | FW | Diber Cambindo | 28 | 2023 | Independiente Medellín |
| 29 | FW | Carlos Rotondi | 27 | 2022 | Defensa y Justicia |
| 30 | GK | Andrés Gudiño | 27 | 2019 | Tepatitlán |
| 31 | DF | Luis Iturbide | 22 | 2023 | Youth system |
| 32 | DF | Cristian Jiménez | 22 | 2023 | Youth system |
| 33 | DF | Rafael Guerrero | 21 | 2023 | Youth system |
* Last updated: 29 August 2023
* Source: ligamx.net and cfcruzazul.com
* Notes: The club can have a maximum of nine foreign players in their squad.

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | No. | Player | From | Type |
| 16 June 2023 | DF | 3 | Carlos Salcedo | Juárez | Transfer |
| 16 June 2023 | MF | 10 | Moisés Vieira | Fortaleza | Transfer |
| 21 June 2023 | FW | 28 | Diber Cambindo | Independiente Medellín | Transfer |
| 27 June 2023 | MF | 5 | Kevin Castaño | Águilas Doradas | Transfer |
| 6 July 2023 | DF | 4 | Willer Ditta | Newell's Old Boys | Transfer |
| 13 July 2023 | MF | 8 | Jesús Dueñas | Juárez | Transfer |
| 29 August 2023 | FW | 9 | Ángel Sepúlveda | Querétaro | Transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | No. | Player | To | Type |
| 10 May 2023 | FW | 13 | Michael Estrada | Toluca | Loan return |
| 10 May 2023 | FW | 8 | Gonzalo Carneiro | Sion | Loan return |
| 11 May 2023 | DF | 12 | José Joaquín Martínez | Free agent | End of contract |
| 17 May 2023 | DF | 25 | Ramiro Funes Mori | River Plate | Released |
| 18 May 2023 | DF | 3 | Jaiber Jiménez | Free agent | End of contract |
| 27 May 2023 | DF | 4 | Julio César Domínguez | Atlético San Luis | Released |
| 10 June 2023 | DF | 28 | Jordan Silva | Atlético San Luis | Loan |
| 12 June 2023 | MF | 22 | Rafael Baca | Monterey Bay FC | Released |
| 20 June 2023 | MF | 23 | Ramiro Carrera | Atlético Tucumán | Loan |
| 23 June 2023 | GK | 1 | José de Jesús Corona | Tijuana | End of contract |
| 5 July 2023 | FW | 20 | Iván Morales | Not registered | Not registered |
| 12 August 2023 | FW | 21 | Augusto Lotti | Lanús | Loan |
| 29 August 2023 | FW | 11 | Christian Tabó | Pumas UNAM | Transfer |

## Pre-season and friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

### Matches
## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Apertura 2023 | 1 July 2023 | 12 November 2023 | Matchday 1 | 16th | 17 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 21 | 29 | −8 | 029.41 |
| Clausura 2024 | 13 January 2024 | 26 May 2024 | Matchday 1 | Runners-up | 23 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 30 | 20 | +10 | 052.17 |
| Leagues Cup | 21 July 2023 | 3 August 2023 | Group stage | Round of 32 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 000.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 43 | 17 | 9 | 17 | 53 | 52 | +1 | 039.53 |
Last updated: 26 May 2024 Source: Mediotiempo.com

### Liga MX
#### Torneo Apertura
##### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 14 | Querétaro | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 29 | −11 | 19 |
| 15 | Juárez | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 24 | 34 | −10 | 18 |
| 16 | Cruz Azul | 17 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 21 | 29 | −8 | 17 |
| 17 | Atlas | 17 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 24 | −10 | 17 |
| 18 | Necaxa | 17 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 27 | −9 | 15 |

##### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 12 November 2023. Source: Mediotiempo.com

##### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | L | L | L | D | L | W | L | D | L | W | W | L | L | W | W | L | L |
| Position | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 16 |
| Points | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 17 |

##### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures
The league fixtures were announced on 8 June 2023.

#### Torneo Clausura
##### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | América (C) | 17 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 30 | 12 | +18 | 35 | Qualification for the quarter-finals |
| 2 | Cruz Azul | 17 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 14 | +9 | 33 | Qualification for the quarter-finals |
| 3 | Toluca | 17 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 38 | 23 | +15 | 32 | Qualification for the quarter-finals |
| 4 | Monterrey | 17 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 32 | 19 | +13 | 32 | Qualification for the quarter-finals |
| 5 | UANL | 17 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 23 | +11 | 31 | Qualification for the quarter-finals |
* ↑ The first four places in the table will qualify for the Liguilla quarter-finals and host the second leg. The fifth and sixth placed teams will host the first leg.

##### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 26 May 2024. Source: Mediotiempo.com

##### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| Ground | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | L | L | D | W | W | D | W |
| Position | 14 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Points | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 26 | 29 | 30 | 33 |

##### Matches
###### Final
### Leagues Cup
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MIA | CAZ | ATL |
| 1 | Inter Miami CF | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage | — | — | 4–0 |
| 2 | Cruz Azul | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | Advance to knockout stage | 1–2 | — | 1–1 |
| 3 | Atlanta United FC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 | | — | — | — |

#### Knockout phase
##### Round of 32
## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

Players with no appearances are not included on the list.
    As of matches played 2 September 2023
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Apertura 2023 | Apertura 2023 | Clausura 2024 | Clausura 2024 | Leagues Cup | Leagues Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 25 | GK | MEX | Sebastián Jurado | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | MEX | Andrés Gudiño | 6 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 3 | DF | MEX | Carlos Salcedo | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | COL | Willer Ditta | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | PAR | Juan Escobar | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | MEX | Luis Iturbide | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | MEX | Rafael Guerrero | 4 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 191 | DF | MEX | Raymundo Rubio | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 205 | DF | MEX | Josué Díaz | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 229 | DF | MEX | Alan Zubiri | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 5 | MF | COL | Kevin Castaño | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | MEX | Érik Lira | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | MEX | Jesús Dueñas | 6 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | MEX | Alexis Gutiérrez | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | URU | Ignacio Rivero | 9 | 1 | 4+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | MEX | Alonso Escoboza | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | MEX | Rodrigo Huescas | 7 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | MEX | Carlos Rodríguez | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | MEX | Cristian Jiménez | 3 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 7 | FW | MEX | Uriel Antuna | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | MEX | Ángel Sepúlveda | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | BRA | Moisés Vieira | 10 | 2 | 5+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 28 | FW | COL | Diber Cambindo | 9 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | ARG | Carlos Rotondi | 10 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
| 11 | FW | URU | Christian Tabó | 8 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | ARG | Augusto Lotti | 6 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
Source: Competitions
* 1 2 3 Player is registered with the under-23 team.

### Goalscorers

Includes all competitive matches.
    As of matches played 2 September 2023
| Rank | Pos. | No. | Player | Liga Apertura | Liga Clausura | Leagues Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | 7 | Uriel Antuna | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | FW | 28 | Diber Cambindo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | FW | 10 | Moisés Vieira | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | MF | 15 | Ignacio Rivero | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | FW | 29 | Carlos Rotondi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 7 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
Sources: Soccerway, Liga MX

### Clean sheets

The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal. Numbers in parentheses represent games where both goalkeepers participated and both kept a clean sheet; the number in parentheses is awarded to the goalkeeper who was substituted on, whilst a full clean sheet is awarded to the goalkeeper who was on the field at the start of play.
| | | | | Clean sheets | Clean sheets | Clean sheets | Clean sheets |
| No. | Player | Games Played | Goals Against | Apertura 2023 | Clausura 2023 | Leagues Cup | Total |
| 30 | Andrés Gudiño | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | Sebastián Jurado | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |

### Disciplinary record

    As of 2 September 2023
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apertura 2023 | Apertura 2023 | Apertura 2023 | Clausura 2024 | Clausura 2024 | Clausura 2024 | Leagues Cup | Leagues Cup | Leagues Cup | Total | Total | Total |
| 3 | DF | | Carlos Salcedo | 2 | | | | | | 1 | | | 3 | | |
| 4 | DF | | Willer Ditta | 3 | | | | | | 1 | | | 4 | | |
| 5 | DF | | Kevin Castaño | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | MF | | Erik Lira | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | FW | | Uriel Antuna | 1 | | | | | | 1 | | | 2 | | |
| 8 | MF | | Jesús Dueñas | | | | | | | 2 | | | 2 | | |
| 10 | FW | | Moisés | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | FW | | Christian Tabó | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | MF | | Alexis Gutiérrez | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | MF | | Ignacio Rivero | 2 | | | | | | | | | 2 | | |
| 17 | MF | | Alonso Escoboza | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 18 | MF | | Rodrigo Huescas | 1 | | | | | | | | | 1 | | |
| 19 | MF | | Carlos Rodríguez | 1 | | 1 | | | | | | | 1 | | 1 |
| 21 | FW | | Augusto Lotti | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 24 | DF | | Juan Escobar | 3 | | | | | | 1 | | | 4 | | |
| 25 | GK | | Sebastián Jurado | 1 | | 1 | | | | | | | 1 | | 1 |
| 26 | DF | | Carlos Vargas | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 28 | FW | | Diber Cambindo | 3 | | | | | | | | | 3 | | |
| 29 | FW | | Carlos Rotondi | 2 | | | | | | | | | 2 | | |
| 30 | GK | | Andrés Gudiño | 2 | | | | | | | | | 2 | | |
| 31 | DF | | Luis Iturbide | 1 | | | | | | | | | 1 | | |
| 32 | DF | | Cristian Jiménez | 1 | | | | | | | | | 1 | | |
| 33 | DF | | Rafael Guerrero | 1 | | | | | | | | | 1 | | |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 2 |
Source: Liga MX Ordered by , and = Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.