Cruz Azul lived a golden weekend in Los Angeles, crowning itself as Champion of Champions against León and sweeping the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony.
At the home of LA Galaxy this Sunday, La Maquina beat the Esmeraldas 2-1 with a double from Jonathan ‘Cabecita’ Rodríguez. León discounted with a good combination in which the new reinforcements participated Omar Fernandez Y Santiago Ormeno, but they could not overcome those led by Juan Reynoso.
“It is not easy in this club to win and above all to perform at a high level, we are very happy with the work that has been done,” said Machine coach Juan Reynoso. “For now we are thinking of Mazatlán, the idea is to start the tournament adding three and more at home. I liked the team in many lapses today ”.
The crowd in the stands was mostly Cruz Azul fans. The stadium was painted with light blue jerseys and the ‘Blue, Blue’ rumbled among the more than 26,000 fans present. The euphoria hasn’t stopped since the cement makers broke Liga MX’s 23-year untitled drought in May, and the celebration continues. Cruz Azul was able to round out the dream season with the Champion of Champions and individual awards.
The hero of the weekend also has a first and last name: Jonathan Rodriguez. The Uruguayan striker, who cut off his vacation to come to play this title with the team, swept the Ballon d’Or for best player of the year, best striker and scorer for Guard1anes 2021 after his twelve goals. As if that were not enough, he scored a double in the triumph that accredited them as Champion of Champions this Sunday, against the 2020 Guardianes champions, León.
“(Cabecita) He is a different player, he gives us that cherry on the cake. It is a reward for everyone’s effort. You are aware that you have those flashes as it happened today. The satisfaction of the coaching staff is enormous because both plays, especially the first one, are training plays that, despite not having had a preseason with us, is in the DNA of the team, ”Reynoso said.
Jesus Crown, chosen “Goalkeeper of the year” at the awards ceremony, he was able to lift one more trophy for the Machine and take the Olympic lap at the Dignity Health Sports Park.
A couple of fans managed to circumvent the security of the stadium in search of greeting the blue players. Chaquito Giménez was the most sought after, who even gave the young fan the shirt that accredited them as champions. Security was somewhat exceeded, when another group of fans also wanted to jump onto the pitch after their idols, so they proceeded to rush the players into the dressing room to control the situation.
Five Cruz Azul players and their strategist Juan Reynoso will be back in Los Angeles on August 25 to play the All-Star Game between Liga MX and Major League Soccer. In addition, Cruz Azul won the Campeones Cup against the MLS champion, Columbus Crew.