Joel Huiqui's Cruz Azul did not come to give a football concert, they came to get the potatoes out of the fire. In a match where they had to put the saint on their back and pray to every virgin left, the Celestial Machine scored a golden 1-0 victory against the Philadelphia Union in the Leagues Cup.
The solitary goal by pampero José Paradela at the dawn of the match was enough to leave Pennsylvania alive, although in the sin they carried out penance and ended up asking for the time with the rosary in hand.
To finish grinding it, there was no shortage of controversy. More than one cement fan was cut short in the second half by Gonzalo Piovi's hands in the area that the VAR, miraculously, decided to forgive. In the end, the ball did not go in and the three points travel to the Ferris Wheel. Breaking spells and the malaria of “Rocky”
Beyond football, this Cruz Azul was already playing its game from the previous one. The board and fans stood in front of the iconic statue of Rocky Balboa to plant a light blue scarf on it. A boldness that many called suicidal, considering the famous “Rocky curse” that haunts the daring. But this time, destiny was dressed in blue and the curse broke into a thousand pieces.
And boy did I need a clean one with egg and basil. The Machine had been dragging a very heavy weight of the 2023, 2024 editions and, especially, the nightmare of 2025. How can we forget that humiliating 7-0 that the Seattle Sounders gave them, a dance that left the cement pride in the pillory and with its reputation dragging on the ground.
With those ghosts roaming the four cardinal points, pride stung pride and they came out to bite.
For this battle, the coaching staff stopped inventing warm water and sent all the meat to the grill. The return to the starting eleven of columns like Kevin Mier, Erik Lira, Paradela himself and “Toro” Gabriel Fernández gave another face to the team.
In the first 45 minutes they competed face to face, but in the second part they had to suffer, endure the rags and defend the fort, even hanging from the lamps. The blue dawn and the suffering in the “Submarine”
The initial whistle was the starting signal for a Machine that came out with the knife between its teeth. Not much time had passed on the stopwatch when José Paradela rubbed the lamp and sent Campos down the left field.
The youth faced his mark with self-confidence, endured the trip and waited for the exact move. As if he knew the script by heart, Paradela himself appeared sweeping across the edge of the area to connect a shot that nestled in the back of the net. Blow of authority!
The celestial inertia was so much that the fans were already celebrating the second of the night. However, the “eye of Big Brother”—that VAR that sometimes gives and sometimes takes away—detected a millimeter offside and drowned out the cry for a goal. That emotional blow revived the Americans, who from minute 25 onwards stoned Cruz Azul's ranch and had them in their fist. San Kevin Mier and the final downpour
For the second half, the court tilted on one side. The Philadelphia Union's monologue was so drastic that the meeting became the San Kevin Mier show. The Colombian goalkeeper dressed as a national hero, taking at least two balls that the locals were already chanting as goals scored. Then came the heart-stopping play: a rebounded ball hit Gonzalo Piovi's hands.
The entire stadium asked for the maximum penalty, but after a few seconds of pure tension where the celestials swallowed saliva, the judges considered that the action was accidental. The Machine was saved from the wall.
Looking for pure oxygen to weather the storm, Huiqui moved his pieces. He sent Luka Romero onto the field for Campos and the Uruguayan Ibáñez for the worn-out “Toro” Fernández. The modifications served to cool the game and withstand the downpour.
Cruz Azul understood that it was no longer time to please, but to be a poacher in defense and stealthy like a cat on its back, sealing a victory that tastes like glory and that finally scares away the old demons of the Leagues Cup.
