History
2016–2017: Foundation and first league tournament
Cruz Azul Femenil was founded on 5 December 2016, following the formal creation of the Liga MX Femenil. [6] In its initial years, the team was based in Ciudad Cooperativa Cruz Azul (formerly Jasso, Hidalgo), the location of the parent company and the club's birthplace. The squad played its home games at the Estadio 10 de Diciembre, the first major stadium of the men's club. [7] Former Cruz Azul player and youth manager, Eduardo Calderón, was appointed as the first manager of the team in 2017. The club's debut came in the 2017 Copa MX Femenil, a preparation tournament held ahead of the league's inaugural season. The team's first official match was played on 3 May 2017 against Tijuana, resulting in a 2–0 loss. [8] Following the conclusion of the Copa MX Femenil, Calderón was dismissed as manager. Pablo Bocco was subsequently named the new head coach of the team in June 2017. [9]
Cruz Azul's first league match in history was a 2–1 away defeat against Toluca. [10] The team began competing in the league's inaugural season, the Apertura 2017 tournament, where Cruz Azul ended the regular phase of the tournament 14th-place, eventually not qualifying for the playoffs. [11]
2018–2020: Managerial changes and relocation
The club underwent significant managerial and structural changes following the inaugural season. After Bocco's departure, former Mexico national football team goalkeeper coach Alberto Aguilar was appointed as manager on 9 November 2017 for the Clausura 2018 tournament, [12] with the team achieving a 11th-place finish. [13] In the Apertura 2018 tournament, Cruz Azul ended at 16th-place, the clubs lowest-ever league finish and a club-record twelve losses in the regular season. On 23 September 2018, the club announced the departure of Aguilar, with Hugo Santana initially taking charge as interim head coach. [14] Santana was subsequently ratified as the permanent manager, overseeing the team for the remainder of the Apertura 2018 and the Clausura 2019 tournament. [15] Santana was succeeded by Rogelio Martínez in June 2019, ahead of the Apertura 2019 tournament. [16] Under Martínez, the team achieved its largest league victory at the time, a 4–0 away win against Veracruz. [17]
In December 2020, following the conclusion of the Guardianes 2020 tournament, Martínez was sacked as manager. [18] Concurrently, the club's management decided to relocate the women's team from Ciudad Cooperativa Cruz Azul to Mexico City, ending the team's three-year tenure at Estadio 10 de Diciembre as it's home ground. The club relocated its base of operations and home matches to the training facilities at Instalaciones La Noria. [3]
2021–2025: First playoffs qualifications
On 22 December 2020, Cruz Azul announced the appointment head coach Roberto Pérez. [19] The club qualified for the liguilla for the first time in the club's history during the Apertura 2021 tournament, after finishing in 8th-place in the regular phase, but the team was eventually eliminated in the quarter-finals of the playoffs by Tigres UANL. [20] A year later, the team secured their second playoff in the Apertura 2022 tournament, where they were again eliminated in the quarter-finals. [21] Following the Apertura 2022, between the Clausura 2023 and Clausura 2025 tournaments, Cruz Azul failed to qualify for the liguilla playoffs for five consecutive seasons. [22]
On 18 December 2024, Diego Testas was appointed by the club as new head coach of the team. [23] Testas's first season was the Clausura 2025 tournament, which saw the team finish 10th-place. In the Apertura 2025 tournament, the team finished the regular phase in 7th-place, setting a new club-record for their highest historical league position with 28 points. [24] In the playoffs, Cruz Azul made their first-ever advancement to the semi-finals by eliminating the defending champions, Pachuca, with a 5–0 victory in the second-leg of the quarter-finals. [25] The team's playoff run concluded in the semi-finals, where they were defeated by Tigres UANL with a 3–2 aggregate score (1–1 in the first-leg at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario and 2–1 in the return leg at the Estadio Universitario). [26]
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