Mexico, Feb. 22 Mexican football’s Cruz Azul confirmed Brazilian Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti as their new coach this Wednesday, with the aim of pulling the team out of the crisis of poor results in the Clausura 2023 tournament.
“We know you come to give your all, caghajo! Welcome Tuca!”, wrote the board on her Twitter account in a message in which she imitated the way of speaking Spanish of South Americans.
Ferretti celebrated his 69th birthday this Wednesday with the signing of the contract with the sky blue team, one of the most emblematic in Mexico with nine titles, but which is penultimate in the table of the Clausura 2023 tournament.
The Brazilian is Mexico’s most successful coach in the past 30 years with seven league titles, five of them with Tigres UANL, one with Pumas UNAM and the other with Chivas de Guadalajara.
Renowned for applying military discipline to his teams, the strategist won the Concacaf Champions League with Toluca in 2003 and with the Tigers in 2020, the year he reached the final of the Club World Cup, disputed at the start of the 2021 season.
When announcing the signing of “Tuca”, Cruz Azul inserted a video of the strategist in which he appears wearing the light blue shirt. “Hello, how are you; we’re already blue, a hug,” the coach said.
Cruz Azul appears in 16th place in the Clausura rankings with a win, a draw and four defeats, a consequence of his poor attacking performance, with only seven goals. Moreover, the team put in a terrible performance at their home stadium, Azteca, with two defeats in just a few outings.
This Wednesday, the team from the capital will host Atlas, thirteenth in the table, then play Saturday at their stadium with Juárez FC, eighth in the table.
After 23 years without a title, the celestes conquered the crown in the Clausura 2021, led by the Peruvian Juan Reynoso, but, from there, they were eliminated in the playoffs by Monterrey in the Apertura 2021 and in the quarters final of the Clausura 2022, for Tigres, and Apertura 2022, for Monterrey. EFE
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