Cruz Azul Reserves and Academy

This article is about the reserves and academy of Cruz Azul. For the men's association football club, see Cruz Azul.

Cruz Azul Reserves and Academy

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)
Founded	22 May 1927;97 years ago (1927-05-22)
Ground	Instalaciones La Noria
Capacity	2,000 [1]
Owner	Cooperativa La Cruz Azul, S.C.L.
President	Víctor Velázquez
Manager	Vicente Sánchez (U23) Héctor Gutiérrez (U19) Antonio Taboada (U17) Álan Villegas (U15)
League	Liga MX Youth League
Website	cfcruzazul.com
Home colours Away colours

Cruz Azul Reserves and Academy represents the youth development and reserve team system of Cruz Azul. The reserve teams have historically provided a critical platform for players transitioning to professional football, competing in various levels of Mexican football. Over the years, Cruz Azul's reserves have been a cornerstone for developing young talent and ensuring continuity between youth and senior football.

The current active reserve team is Cruz Azul Lagunas , which competes in the Liga TDP (Group II), the fourth tier of the Mexican football league system. Former reserve teams include Cruz Azul Hidalgo , which played in the Primera División "A" and later the Liga Premier, as well as Cruz Azul Oaxaca , Cruz Azul Jasso, and Cruz Azul Premier , which competed in various leagues before being disbanded.

Cruz Azul Academy is the youth training system of the club, nurturing players from the U11 level to the U23 squad. The academy focuses on skill development, tactical training, and mental preparation for professional football. Joaquín Moreno serves as the Academy Director, overseeing all age groups and ensuring alignment with the club's philosophy. ^[2]

Since its formation, the academy has achieved notable success, including winning the U15 league championship during the Apertura 2018 tournament. Several players have graduated from the academy to become prominent figures in Mexican football, including Fernando Bustos, Ignacio Flores, Octavio Muciño, Luis Hernández, Óscar Pérez, Francisco Palencia, Ricardo Osorio, Santiago Giménez, and Rodrigo Huescas, among others. ^[3]

Reserve teams

Cruz Azul Hidalgo

Main article: Cruz Azul Hidalgo

Cruz Azul Hidalgo was established in 1930 as one of the most prominent reserve teams, which competed in the Primera División "A" from 1992 to 2003 and again from 2006 to 2014. The team was based in Ciudad Cooperativa Cruz Azul but briefly relocated to Oaxaca, adopting the name Cruz Azul Oaxaca. Cruz Azul Hidalgo encountered challenges in the Ascenso MX during the 2012–13 season due to its low performance but managed to avoid relegation by securing its position and relegating Pumas Morelos instead, ensuring its continuity in the league. On 15 May 2014, the club's board finalized the sale of Cruz Azul Hidalgo, which became the new Zacatepec team for the Apertura 2014 tournament. Following the dissolution of Cruz Azul Hidalgo in its original form, Cruz Azul Jasso from the Segunda División was renamed Cruz Azul Hidalgo. This restructured team continued to exist and competed in the Liga Premier de Ascenso of the Segunda División, preserving the legacy of the original club until it was disbanded in 2021. ^[4]

Cruz Azul Oaxaca

Main article: Cruz Azul Oaxaca

Cruz Azul Oaxaca functioned as a reserve team from 2003 to 2006. At the end of the Verano 2003 tournament, the club's management decided to relocate Cruz Azul Hidalgo to Oaxaca, adopting the name Cruz Azul Oaxaca. The team played its home matches at the Estadio Benito Juárez. During its three-year tenure in Primera División "A", Cruz Azul Oaxaca achieved its best result in the Apertura 2005 tournament, where it reached the final but lost to Puebla, narrowly missing promotion to the Primera División. Following the Clausura 2006 tournament, the franchise returned to Hidalgo and resumed its previous name, Cruz Azul Hidalgo, in the Apertura 2006.

Cruz Azul Jasso

Cruz Azul Jasso played in the Segunda División from 2006 to 2015. Cruz Azul Jasso began participating in the Apertura 2006 tournament in the Segunda División Zona Bajío under the name Cruz Azul Hidalgo. Its name was later changed to Cruz Azul Jasso due to the relocation of the now-defunct Cruz Azul Oaxaca back to Hidalgo, which adopted the Cruz Azul Hidalgo name. Cruz Azul Jasso achieved significant success, becoming champions of the Segunda División in the Clausura 2007 tournament. By the Apertura 2014 tournament, the club reverted to the Cruz Azul Hidalgo name following the sale of the Ascenso MX franchise to Zacatepec. Meanwhile, Cruz Azul Dublán, another reserve team, of the Tercera División adopted the name Cruz Azul Jasso, ensuring the club's continuity in the Tercera División. However, it lasted only one season before transforming into Cruz Azul Premier, which rejoined the Segunda División.

Cruz Azul Premier

Main article: Cruz Azul Premier

Cruz Azul Premier participated in the Segunda División/Liga Premier from 2015 to 2018. Cruz Azul Premier began participating in the Liga Premier de Ascenso as the official reserve team of Cruz Azul, without the right to promotion. This team was entirely separate from Cruz Azul Hidalgo. In 2015, the league made it mandatory for all Liga MX clubs to have a reserve team in the Liga Premier to keep players who exceeded the age limit for the U20 active, as well as those who had not yet consolidated in the first team. This led to the establishment of Cruz Azul Premier by the club. However, in 2018, this requirement was abolished, and the club decided to withdraw Cruz Azul Premier from the competition. ^[5]

Cruz Azul Lagunas

Main article: Cruz Azul Lagunas

Cruz Azul Lagunas currently competes in the Liga TDP (Group II) as the active reserve team of Cruz Azul. This team transitioned from competing in the Segunda División to its current position in the Tercera División as part of a restructuring process. Cruz Azul Lagunas plays its home matches at the Deportivo La Laguna, located in the city of Lagunas, Oaxaca. The team continues to provide development opportunities for young talents and acts as a feeder team for the senior squad, ensuring the continuity of Cruz Azul's legacy in player development. ^[6]

The Academy

Facilities

Instalaciones La Noria Sports Complex

Main article: Instalaciones La Noria

The complex for the Cruz Azul academy, Instalaciones La Noria is the club's high-performance center and main headquarters, located in the La Noria neighborhood in the Xochimilco borough of Mexico City. Its history dates back to 1986 when Cooperativa La Cruz Azul acquired a 46,600-square-meter piece of land with the goal of constructing its own facilities to replace the Seminario Menor de Acoxpa, where the team had been training while renting the property. ^[7]

After four years of planning and construction, the complex was inaugurated on 10 October 1990. Since then, La Noria has been the home of Cruz Azul, becoming one of the most important high-performance centers in Latin America. ^[8]

The complex was designed with an ecological focus and includes various facilities aimed at the comprehensive development of players, such as 3 professional football fields (two with natural grass and one with synthetic turf), locker rooms, gymnasium, kitchen, clubhouse, auditorium, and other facilities. ^[7]

Seminario Menor de Acoxpa

The Seminario Menor de Acoxpa complex served as the primary training facility for Cruz Azul for nine years before the inauguration of the La Noria complex in 1990. Located in the Acoxpa area of Mexico City, these facilities were utilized by the club's first team and youth divisions. After transitioning to La Noria, Cruz Azul continued to use the Seminario Menor de Acoxpa for various activities, including youth team tryouts and training sessions. For instance, in December 2022, official tryouts for the Under-15 and Under-13 categories were held at these facilities. ^[9] Similarly, in August 2023, tryouts for the Under-11 and Under-12 categories took place at the same venue. ^[10]

Players

Under-23s

As of 1 September 2024 ^{[11] [12]}

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 181 GK   MEX Roberto Moreno 182 GK   MEX Heldrich Noguera 183 FW   MEX Fabrizzio Orozso 185 MF   MEX Cristopher Benítez 186 DF   MEX Brandón Espinosa 188 DF   MEX Diego Ramírez 189 FW   MEX Álvaro Vidales 191 MF   MEX Luis De Jesús 192 MF   MEX Brayan Moctezuma 193 DF   MEX Jorge Nuncio 194 MF   MEX Amaury Morales 196 DF   MEX José Suarez 198 MF   MEX Kenneth González

No. Pos. Nation Player 200 MF   MEX Jorge García 203 MF   MEX Rogelio González 204 MF   MEX Mauro Zaleta 205 MF   MEX César Martínez 208 MF   MEX Louis Estrada 209 DF   MEX Josué Díaz 210 FW   MEX Bryan Gamboa 212 MF   MEX Víctor Taboada 213 DF   MEX André Cubillas 214 FW   MEX Mateo Levy 215 MF   MEX Fernando Sámano 216 MF   MEX Ian Castañeda 217 FW   MEX Samuel Espinosa

Under-19s

As of 1 September 2024 ^{[13] [14]}

These players can also play with the Under-23s and the senior squad.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 231 GK   MEX Bruno Salgado 232 GK   MEX Kevin Hernández 234 DF   MEX Emilio Dávila 236 DF   MEX Javier Vilalta 237 DF   MEX Rogelio Esparza 238 DF   MEX Zadiel Pineda 239 DF   MEX Adrián Martínez 240 DF   MEX David Herrera 241 DF   MEX Iván Silva 242 MF   MEX Karol Velázquez 243 MF   MEX Cristhian León 244 MF   MEX Kevin Hernández 246 DF   MEX Carlos Hernández 247 MF   MEX Emmanuel Sánchez

No. Pos. Nation Player 248 FW   MEX Osvaldo Basurto 249 DF   MEX Emilio Rivero 250 MF   MEX Jeyson Durán 251 DF   MEX Alejandro González 252 MF   MEX Christian Valdivia 253 MF   MEX Isaac Antuna 254 FW   MEX Humberto Montañez 255 FW   MEX Diego Vera 256 FW   MEX Jesús Nieto 257 MF   MEX Jacobo Ramírez 258 FW   MEX Emiliano Castañeda 259 DF   MEX Luiszael Gómez 260 FW   MEX Víctor Velázquez

Under-17s

As of 1 September 2024 ^{[15] [16]}

These players can also play with the Under-23s, Under-19s and the senior squad.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 282 GK   MEX Santiago Coutiño 283 GK   MEX Mateo Velázquez 284 DF   MEX Marcio Araujo 285 FW   MEX Francisco Araujo 286 DF   MEX Michael Montoya 287 DF   MEX Yazziel Cuenca 288 DF   MEX Víctor Márquez 289 DF   MEX Luis Alva 290 DF   MEX Santiago López 291 MF   MEX Abel Ruiz 292 MF   MEX Iker Salinas 293 MF   MEX Aldo Cravioto 294 MF   MEX Alexis Malagón

No. Pos. Nation Player 295 MF   MEX Jorge Solís 296 MF   MEX Juan Bernal 297 MF   MEX Iker Ramos 298 MF   MEX Rubén Pacheco 299 MF   MEX Josue Nuñez 300 MF   MEX Ian Ramírez 301 FW   MEX Jonathan Meza 303 DF   MEX Geudiel Jiménez 304 DF   MEX Axel López 305 DF   MEX Carlos Calvillo 306 DF   MEX Tadeo Izarraras 307 MF   MEX Juan Velarde 308 DF   MEX Carlos Mendoza

Under-15s

As of 1 September 2024 ^{[17] [18]}

These players can also play with the Under-23s, Under-19s, Under-17s and the senior squad.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 331 GK   MEX Dilan Salinas 332 DF   MEX Germán Arizmendi 333 DF   MEX José Sánchez 334 DF   MEX Mauricio Ramírez 335 DF   MEX Alfredo López 337 DF   MEX Santiago Martín 338 DF   MEX Eduardo Castillo 339 FW   MEX Diego Vargas 340 MF   MEX Israel Cedillo 341 GK   MEX Kevin Barrón 342 GK   MEX Omar Perez 343 MF   MEX Brayan Vargas 344 MF   MEX Dustyn Sosa 345 MF   MEX Jose Villanueva 346 MF   MEX César Villaluz

No. Pos. Nation Player 347 DF   MEX Joan Valles 349 MF   MEX José Tapia 350 MF   MEX Carlo Ramos 351 MF   MEX Fernando Sotres 352 MF   MEX Maximiliano García 353 FW   MEX Ángel Miranda 354 FW   MEX Yosgar Mayen 355 DF   MEX Alberto Méndez 356 DF   MEX Darío Fuentes 357 FW   MEX Ian Reyes 358 DF   MEX Paulo García 359 MF   MEX Santiago Madrid 360 GK   MEX Kenneth Martínez 361 MF   MEX Dante Cruz

Current staff

Managers

Position	Staff
Director of academy	Joaquín Moreno
U23 Manager	Vicente Sánchez
U19 Manager	Héctor Gutiérrez
U17 Manager	Antonio Taboada
U15 Manager	Álan Villegas

Staff

Position	Staff
U23 Assistant managers	Francisco González
	Joel Huiqui
U23 Fitness coach	Jorge Martínez
U23 Team doctors	Juan Martínez
	Ramsés Quinto
U23 Utility worker	Oscar Candia
U19 Assistant manager	Marco Calvillo
U19 Fitness coach	Germán García
U19 Team doctor	Josué Ramos
U19 Utility worker	Erick Bautista
U17 Assistant manager	Fidel González
U17 Fitness coach	Carlos Rojas
U17 Team doctor	Yurik Romero
U17 Utility worker	Hugo Ruiz
U15 Assistant manager	Roberto Hernández
	Juan Rosales
U15 Team doctor	Carlos Olguín
U15 Utility workers	Marco Guillen
	Juan Rossello

Honours

Cruz Azul Reserves and Academy honours

Type	Competition	Titles	Seasons
Domestic	Liga MX Under-15	1	Apertura 2018
	Segunda División	2	1994–95, Clausura 2007
	Copa de la Segunda División	1	Apertura 2013
	Campeón de Campeones de la Liga Premier de Ascenso	1	Clausura 2014

References

1. "Instalaciones La Noria Cancha 1". soccerway.com. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
2. "Básicas". Club de Futbol Cruz Azul (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 December 2024.
3. "Los 25 canteranos más emblemáticos de Cruz Azul". Vamos Azul (in Spanish). 15 November 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
4. Parra, Abigail. "Cruz Azul Hidalgo desaparece! La crisis pegó en la cementera". mediotiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 December 2024.
5. "Cambios en la FMF y LIGA Bancomer MX". Liga MX (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 December 2024.
6. "Cruz Azul Lagunas". Liga TDP (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 December 2024.
7. "La Noria, la casa y centro de alto rendimiento del Cruz Azul". debate (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 December 2024.
8. "Cruz Azul: La Noria, cuna de jóvenes cementeros, cumple 33 años de existencia". RÉCORD (in Spanish). 10 October 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
9. "Visorías Oficiales - Acoxpa, Ciudad de México". HappeningNext (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 December 2024.
10. "Visorías Sub11 y Sub12 - Varonil - Ciudad de México". HappeningNext (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 December 2024.
11. "Sub 23". Club de Futbol Cruz Azul. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
12. "Cruz Azul Sub 23 Plantilla". Liga MX. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
13. "Sub 19". Club de Futbol Cruz Azul. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
14. "Cruz Azul Sub 19 Plantilla". Liga MX. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
15. "Sub 17". Club de Futbol Cruz Azul. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
16. "Cruz Azul Sub 17 Plantilla". Liga MX. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
17. "Sub 15". Club de Futbol Cruz Azul. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
18. "Cruz Azul Sub 15 Plantilla". Liga MX. Retrieved 13 December 2024.

External links

• Official website