Joel Huiqui

Joel Huiqui
Huiqui in 2018
Personal information
Full name Joel Adrián Huiqui Andrade
Date of birth (1983-02-18) 18 February 1983
Place of birth Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Cruz Azul (head coach)
Youth career
–2002 Hermosillo Hidalgo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2010 Cruz Azul 135 (4)
2003–2004 → Pachuca (loan) 38 (0)
2011–2012 → Morelia (loan) 57 (2)
2012–2015 Morelia 104 (4)
2016–2017 → Cafetaleros (loan) 26 (1)
2017 → Potros UAEM (loan) 10 (2)
2018 Las Vegas Lights 24 (4)
Total 394 (17)
International career
2003 Mexico U20 3 (0)
2005–2013 Mexico 14 (1)
Managerial career
2019–2021 Cruz Azul Reserves and Academy
2021–2022 Juárez (Liga TDP)
2023 Cruz Azul Reserves and Academy
2023 Cruz Azul (assistant)
2024–2025 Cruz Azul U23 (assistant)
2025 Cruz Azul (assistant)
2026 Cruz Azul U21
2026 Cruz Azul (interim)
2026– Cruz Azul
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Joel Adrián Huiqui Andrade[a] (born 18 February 1983) is a Mexican football manager and former footballer who played as a centre-back. He is the head coach of Liga MX club Cruz Azul.

Playing career

Club

Huiqui came up through the youth academy of Cruz Azul Hidalgo, a second-division team affiliated with Cruz Azul. During the Apertura 2003, he was sent on loan to Pachuca, where he made his top-flight debut in a league match against Tigres UANL. In that tournament, he became a champion with Los Tuzos. However, he only spent one year at Pachuca before Cruz Azul brought him into the main squad, where he went on to play for six years.

He gained notoriety for a controversial handball incident during the Apertura 2009 semi-finals against Morelia, when he deliberately used his hand to block a goal-bound shot from Wilson Tiago. The incident became known as “La Muertinha.”[1]

Following his departure from Cruz Azul, he joined Monarcas Morelia, where he made over 100 appearances, before going on to represent Toros Neza, Cafetaleros de Tapachula, and Potros UAEM. He concluded his playing career with Las Vegas Lights.[2]

International

Huiqui was part of the squad during the qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup but was ultimately not selected by coach Ricardo La Volpe for the final 23-man roster. He captained the Mexico national team during the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Managerial career

Early career

After retiring as a player, Huiqui began his coaching career within the Cruz Azul youth academy, eventually rising to become a head coach for the club's youth squads.[3] In 2021, he left the club to manage Juárez's squad in the Liga TDP, Mexico's fourth division.[4] Two years later, he returned to Cruz Azul to rejoin the academy coaching staff, and on 14 February 2023, he was appointed as an assistant coach to Joaquín Moreno during his interim period with the first team.[5] Following the departure of Ricardo Ferretti, Huiqui continued as an assistant under Moreno for the remainder of the Apertura 2023 tournament before returning to his duties within the club's youth development structure.[6][7]

On 25 January 2025, following the departure of Martín Anselmi, Huiqui rejoined the first team as an assistant to Vicente Sánchez for the remainder of the season,[8] helping the team win their seventh CONCACAF Champions Cup.[9] He subsequently served as an institutional assistant coach under Nicolás Larcamón for the duration of the Apertura 2025 tournament.[10]

Cruz Azul

On 22 April 2026, Huiqui was appointed as Cruz Azul's interim manager following the dismissal of Larcamón.[11] He took charge for the final matchday of the regular season before guiding the team through the playoffs—defeating Atlas in the quarter-finals and eliminating Guadalajara before securing a 2–1 victory against Pumas UNAM in the final. This triumph clinched the club's tenth league title and Huiqui's first as manager.[12] Having secured the Liga MX championship in just seven matches, he became only the second coach in history to win the title within a single-digit match count, trailing only Alberto Jorge, who accomplished the feat in four matches.[13]

On 8 July, Cruz Azul officially announced the appointment of Huiqui as head coach ahead of the 2026–27 season.[14][15]

Personal life

Born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, to Native Mexican parents. Huiqui is ethnic Mayo. His paternal surname is of Mayo descent, comes from Indigenous people of Sonora and Sinaloa.[16]

Career statistics

International

As of match played 25 July 2013[17]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Mexico 200541
200640
201210
201350
Total141

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.14 December 2005Chase Field, Phoenix, United States Hungary2–02–0Friendly

Managerial statistics

As of match played 28 August 2026
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref.
GWDLGFGAGDWin %
Cruz Azul 22 April 2026 Present 1711243222+10064.71 [18]
Total 1711243222+10064.71 —

Honours

Player

Pachuca

Morelia

Manager

Cruz Azul

Notes

  1. ↑ In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Huiqui and the second or maternal family name is Andrade.

References

  1. ↑ "¿Cómo nació la 'Muertinha'? Joel Huiqui lo revela". Mediotiempo (in Mexican Spanish). 18 May 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  2. ↑ Redacción, Por (18 February 2023). "¿Quién es Joel Huiqui, creador de la 'muertinha' y auxiliar técnico interino del Cruz Azul?". El Financiero (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "Joel Huiqui ilusiona en las fuerzas básicas de Cruz Azul". Sports Illustrated (in Spanish). 1 June 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "Joel Huiqui, el excementero autor de la 'muertinha', dirigirá en la liga TDP". TUDN (in Spanish). 4 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Berrios, Édgar (14 February 2023). "Cruz Azul será dirigido por Joaquín Moreno y Joel Huiqui ante Puebla". Excélsior (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "Joel Huiqui seguirá en Cruz Azul; retomará su antiguo cargo en la institución". Vamos Azul (in Spanish). 18 November 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  7. ↑ "Cruz Azul, con Joel Huiqui y Vicente Sánchez, comienza pretemporada rumbo al Clausura 2024". Fox Sports (in Spanish). 5 December 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "Vicente Sánchez y Joel Huiqui, los elegidos por Cruz Azul para dirigir la Jornada 3 ante Puebla". ESTO (in Spanish). 24 January 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Vicente Sánchez deja Cruz Azul por la puerta grande tras título de Concachampions". Milenio (in Spanish). 3 June 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "¡Sonrían, celestes! Joel Huiqui se mantendrá como auxiliar institucional con Larcamón en Cruz Azul". Fox Sports (in Spanish). 16 June 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "¿Quién es Joel Huiqui? El director técnico interino que toma a Cruz Azul rumbo a la Liguilla del Clausura 2026". infobae (in Spanish). 23 April 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "Cruz Azul campeón con un final de película sobre Pumas". ESPN (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Olvera, Marcos; Roche, Calum (25 May 2026). "Joel Huiqui goes second on list of coaches to be champions with the fewest games". AS USA. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "Joel Huiqui: renovado como DT de la Máquina" (in Spanish). Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S. A. de C. V. 8 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "Huiqui: Vamos por el bicampeonato, hay cuatro trofeos por ganar". ESPN (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  16. ↑ Velázquez, Ariel (20 May 2026). "Joel Huiqui: el origen yoreme del técnico que busca el décimo titulo del Cruz Azul". Excélsior (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  17. ↑ Joel Huiqui at National-Football-Teams.com
  18. ↑ "CF Cruz Azul – Results and Fixtures". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
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