Cruz Azul Hidalgo

Cruz Azul Hidalgo
Full nameClub de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V. Hidalgo
NicknameLa Maquinita (The Little Machine)
Founded1993 (1993)
GroundEstadio Refundación
Capacity7,761[1]
OwnerCooperativa La Cruz Azul
PresidentVíctor Velázquez
Head coachEsteban Landazábal
LeagueLiga de Expansión MX
2026–27Pre–season

Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V. Hidalgo, also known as Cruz Azul Hidalgo, is a Mexican professional football club based in Ciudad Cooperativa Cruz Azul, Hidalgo. The club competes in Liga de Expansión MX, the second level division of Mexican football, and play its home matches at Estadio Refundación. It serves as an affiliate team of Cruz Azul.

Founded in 1993, the club competed at various levels of the Mexican football pyramid. In 2014, the original second-division franchise was sold, prompting the affiliate team Cruz Azul Jasso to adopt the Cruz Azul Hidalgo identity to continue competing in the Liga Premier. The team operated until its dissolution in 2021. Ahead of the 2026–27 season, the club was reestablished to return to the Liga de Expansión MX.[2]

History

Early years

The team began its professional activity in the Tercera División, in 1990 it achieved the runner-up in the category and managed to be promoted to Second Division "B". In 1994 the team won its promotion to the Segunda Division 'A', however, that year a remodeling of Mexican football was presented with the creation of the Primera División 'A', so Cruz Azul Hidalgo was invited to the new Segunda División, which became the third tier of the Mexican league system. In the first season in the Second Division, Cruz Azul Hidalgo won the championship of the season and the promotion to Primera 'A' after defeating Bachilleres.

Ascenso MX

In the Verano 1999 and Verano 2000 tournaments of the Primera División A, the club finished as runner-up in the league, being defeated by Unión de Curtidores and Irapuato respectively.

In 2003, the team was moved to the city of Oaxaca, Oaxaca and renamed Cruz Azul Oaxaca, in this location the team was runner-up in the 2005 Apertura Tournament, being defeated by Puebla, in 2006 the team was moved back to Hidalgo. In 2006, Cruz Azul Jasso was created as the institution's third team, participating in the Segunda División.

After 2006 the team consolidated itself in the league, qualifying for the play–offs on a regular basis, and continuing its participation even when the league eliminated the reserve teams from Liga MX. As of 2012 the team began to have problems in the relegation table, ensuring its permanence in the final part of the seasons.

In 2014, the team was bought by the owners of Zacatepec 1948, who used the franchise to give continuity to their team in the Ascenso MX.[3]

Liga Premier de México

After the relocation of the Cruz Azul Hidalgo franchise to Zacatepec, Morelos and Zacatepec 1948 bought the team's rights and license to join the Ascenso MX, Cruz Azul Jasso, which played in the Liga Premier de Ascenso, was renamed Cruz Azul Hidalgo to ensure the team's permanence in a category below the one it was active in until that year. The club was runner-up in the division in the Clausura 2015 and 2020–21 tournaments.

At the end of 2020, Cruz Azul had changes in its board of directors, so an austerity policy was initiated with the aim of eliminating the club's debts, for this reason, the continuity of the Cruz Azul Hidalgo team began to be questioned,[4] on June 26, 2021 it was announced that the team would be put on hiatus for the 2021–22 season.[5]

The team was not reactivated for the 2022–23 season, which, combined with the difficulties in operating in the Ciudad Cooperativa due to internal problems of the Cooperativa La Cruz Azul, meant the dissolution of Cruz Azul Hidalgo.[6]

Liga de Expansión MX

In April 2026, it was reported that Cruz Azul's management had plans to revive its reserves team with a view to competing from the 2026-27 season, so it requested its registration in the Liga de Expansión MX, the second division of Mexican football.[2] In July, the team's return to football was confirmed after a five-year hiatus.[7]

Stadium

Estadio Refundación, home of Cruz Azul Hidalgo.

Estadio Refundación, formerly known as Estadio 10 de Diciembre, originally served as the home ground for Cruz Azul from their promotion to the top flight in 1964 until the senior team relocated to Mexico City in 1971. Following the move, the venue transitioned into the primary sporting base for the organization's reserve and youth development system. Most notably, it served as the longtime home for the affiliate club Cruz Azul Hidalgo across more than two decades of competition in the Primera División 'A' / Ascenso MX and the Liga Premier, while also hosting matches for Cruz Azul Jasso and other developmental categories.

Personnel

Coaching staff

Position Staff
Head coachColombia Esteban Landazábal
Assistant coachesMexico Francisco González
Mexico Rafael Rojano
Goalkeeper coachMexico Aldo Paredes
Fitness coachMexico Jose Puga
PhysiotherapistMexico Raúl Ramírez
Team doctorMexico Josué Ramos

Source: Liga de Expansión MX

Management

Position Staff
PresidentMexico Víctor Velázquez
Administrative directorMexico Antonio Reynoso
Director of footballUruguay Iván Alonso

Source: Récord

Players

First-team squad

As of 6 August 2026[8]

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
41 MF  MEX Louis Víctor Derbez
42 MF  MEX Jorge García
44 MF  MEX Cristhian León
45 DF  MEX Leonardo Sámano
47 MF  MEX Sergio de los Ríos
48 GK  MEX Nicolás Calixto
49 DF  MEX Josué Díaz
50 MF  MEX Kenneth González
51 MF  MEX Luis de Jesús
53 MF  MEX Víctor Taboada
55 MF  MEX Rogelio González
56 MF  MEX Jesús Lara
57 MF  MEX Diego Valdéz
No. Pos. Nation Player
58 MF  MEX Emmanuel Sánchez
59 DF  MEX Diego Ramírez
60 MF  MEX Ariel Castro
61 GK  MEX Bruno Salgado
62 MF  MEX Emanuel Rodríguez
63 MF  MEX Ángel Saavedra
64 FW  MEX Fabrizzio Orozco
66 DF  VEN Javier Suárez
67 DF  MEX Jaziel Mendoza
68 MF  MEX Christian Valdivia
69 DF  MEX André Cubillas
70 DF  MEX Iván Silva
71 MF  MEX Víctor Velázquez

Players listed in bold have made at least one senior first-team appearance.

Former players

Honours

References

  1. ↑ "Estadio 10 de diciembre" (in Spanish). Liga BBVA. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Cruz Azul Hidalgo, Veracruz y Tampico regresan a Liga Expansión". ESPN México (in Spanish). 22 April 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  3. ↑ García, Vito (15 May 2014). "Exclusiva: Cruz Azul Hidalgo desaparece para convertirse en Zacatepec". Goal (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  4. ↑ Parra, Abigail (18 June 2021). "¡Cruz Azul Hidalgo desaparece! La crisis pegó en la cementera". mediotiempo.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  5. ↑ @CruzAzulHidalg (26 June 2021). "No es un adiós es un hasta luego..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ↑ "¡Cruz Azul Hidalgo desaparece! La crisis pegó en la cementera". Mediotiempo.com (in Spanish). 18 June 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  7. ↑ "Liga de Expansión MX presenta calendario del Apertura 2026; habrá 16 equipos y tres nuevos clubes". Claro Sports (in Spanish). 3 July 2026. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "Cruz Azul Hidalgo" (in Spanish). Liga BBVA Expansión MX. Retrieved 6 August 2026.

"Exclusiva: Cruz Azul Hidalgo Desaparece Para Convertirse En Zacatepec." Goal.com. Goal, 15 May 2014. Web. 15 May 2014.

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