While acknowledging that at the beginning of the tournament they were too hesitant to hire the current sports director, Uruguayan Iván Alonso Due to his history with Toluca and Pachuca, the president of Cruz Azul, Víctor Velázquez, took time to rule out that the Colombian striker Duván Zapata is going to be hired for the next Apertura 2024 tournament.
In an interview with the Fox Sports network, the high command of the Celeste Machine spoke about all the controversy that surrounded the signing of the current sports leader of the celestials, especially because of the antecedents that the Pachuca board handled against him during his time as a player and that were later viralized by Toluca and highlighted that he was close to to order that the batteries will focus on another project with less controversy than that of the Uruguayan director.
New Cruz Azul Sporting Director Ivan Alonso was accused of ‘misplacing funds’ while at Pachuca.
Pachuca President Armando Martinez would only add when questioned about Alonso – “Certain things didn’t align w/ our values or philosophies as a club”.. 😶
pic.twitter.com/0j7PhtE7El— herculez gomez (@herculezg) November 16, 2023
“I would be lying to you if I said that I didn’t hesitate, you hear noise when you are going to hire a director, someone high in the hierarchy, and you have to investigate. We spoke very clearly with Iván, I told him that if he had a problem he should clarify it. I was convinced by his project and I told him that I would support it, as long as it adhered to Cruz Azul’s policy and procedures.”
Velázquez said with authority that at the moment the attention is on the league“where we are playing the semifinals, that is our interest, when the tournament ends everything that happened in the tournament will be analyzed and based on that it will be decided what is most convenient for the team to improve.”
The high command of Cruz Azul avoided ringing bells about the possibility of being crowned champions, leaving Monterrey and the winner of América against Chivas on the way, “first we are going to resolve this phase and then the final. “This is step by step, without being able to get ahead of anything,” he mentioned.
The leader was honest when pointing out that: “At the beginning of the tournament, when Mr. Martín Anselmi arrived”We never thought of finishing in second place overall, let alone being in the semifinals, but whoever cannot bring themselves to think about the tenth crown, I think everyone thinks that in the team, but it is an aspiration that we must back up with facts.”
Velázquez recognized that the demands of the great Cruz Azul fans forced them not to make mistakes in a new project like that of Ricardo Ferretti and the departure of an idol of the Machine like Óscar Pérez.
“One of our goals has always been to be protagonists, we felt very sorry for the fans last season, we were looking to be in the first eight, but, in all honesty, we did not expect to be second nor did we envision being in the Semifinals.”
He also acknowledged that coach Martín Anselmi’s bet was daring, but said that: “Since Martín arrived and we talked with Iván, and spoke with the entire squad, there was something different in the air, it felt very different from what a locker room normally is. . Anselmi and Iván Alonso said: ‘In 100 days we are going to achieve many things’ and there are the results.”
Duván Zapata will not be hired
Regarding the arrival of Duván Zapata, the president of Cruz Azul ruled out that signing and even said that all the versions were generated by rumors launched by the promoters and player agents to handle signings.
“He is an important player, but the players who come to the team must be analyzed and approved by our technical director. It is not about bringing just any player, if that were the case, we would have brought someone long ago instead of “Toro” Fernández.”
The celestial leader acknowledged that at all times there is talk of reinforcements in the Cruz Azul environment due to the importance of the organization he heads, but “It is very different to be paying attention to everything that is handled around the team.”
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