Cruz Azul will begin the Liguilla, Liga MX's playoffs, the first week of May, but it will do so without Nicolas Larcamon.
The club fired the Argentine manager on April 22 after a 1-1 draw against Queretaro the night before extended La Maquina's winless run to nine matches in a row across all competitions.
"While we recognize this could be a controversial decision because of the time in the season, after a good period of deep and objective analysis (far from the versions given in some portions of the media) we’re convinced that this is the chance to intervene ahead of the Liguilla and try to change the trend and in that way take care of the sporting project," read a portion of the club's statement.
It's a stark reversal from what Larcamon was able to achieve earlier in the year. Before the nine-game skid started, Cruz Azul was unbeaten in 15 contests dating back to mid-January.
But despite those positive results, Larcamon never became beloved with the Cruz Azul fan base. He also clashed with ownership about the unenviable situation of having to play in Puebla - typically a two-hour drive from the club's headquarters in Mexico City - while renovations on the Estadio Azteca were completed ahead of the World Cup.
A draw with Pumas on March 14 seemed to derail La Maquina. The low point likely was a 3-0 loss to LAFC in the first leg of a Concacaf Champions Cup series. The reigning champion of the continental competition, Cruz Azul couldn't find a way back in the second leg, drawing 1-1 and bowing out of the competition after a 4-1 aggregate defeat. Larcamon also struggled in international play in FIFA's Intercontinental Cup, where Cruz Azul fell 2-1 to Flamengo and became the first Concacaf team to fall in the Derby of the Americas match.
Larcamon leaves with a record of 24 wins, 7 defeats and 16 draws.
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Former Cruz Azul defender Joel Huiqui, a cult hero of Mexican soccer who was leading the club's U-21 side, will take over as the interim ahead of Sunday's game with Necaxa and the postseason.
Many of the club's past managers might be candidates the team's fan base would like to see return. Martín Anselmi had an ugly exit, but after struggling with Porto and Botafogo might consider a return to the club. So, too, would Juan Reynoso, a former Cruz Azul player who managed the team to its last league title before an unsuccessful spell coaching the national team of his native Peru.
Vicente Sanchez, the coach who led Cruz Azul to the CCC title after Anselmi's departure - promoted to the first team in a similar way to Huiqui, is unlikely to arrive. He still is employed with Emelec in Ecuador and never gelled with Cruz Azul sporting director Ivan Alonso.
One of Mexico's four "grandes," the club's that historically have won the most trophies and have the most support, Cruz Azul's 2021 title snapped an infamous streak of 24 years without a domestic championship. The 2021 triumph remains their last trophy in Mexico, though it already has booked its place to the 2029 Club World Cup thanks to its 2025 CCC win.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cruz Azul fires Nicolas Larcamon, names cult hero Joel Huiqui interim