Jaime Ordiales, Sports Director of Cruz Azul, Reveals Goalkeeper's Desire to Retire at La Máquina
MEXICO -- José de Jesús Corona's wish is to renew his contract with Cruz Azul and finish his career at this club; this was stated by Jaime Ordiales, sports director of La Máquina, who also announced that in order to pursue back-to-back championships, they will be looking for a right midfielder following the departure of Elías Hernández.
"Chuy has always said that he wants to stay; he told all of us, including Álvaro (Dávila). Continuity is important; if it were up to me, Chuy would stay for at least one year and hopefully longer, for him; but Álvaro is the one negotiating with him and with Pablo Aguilar, I think since January. Chuy has told me that he would like to renew and finish his career at Cruz Azul. I don't think there will be a problem for both of them to continue. We will reach an agreement, God willing," said Ordiales.
Jaime Ordiales stated that it is very important not to break up the championship-winning team in order to achieve more goals in the second half of the year.
"Players and their representatives usually consider the possibility of not renewing, of holding out longer, of waiting, and sometimes that complicates things when you want to retain them in the medium and long term," he said.
The executive expressed that Corona and Aguilar were important pillars in winning the title, thanks to their extensive experience.
"Chuy's age doesn't matter," responded Jaime Ordiales regarding the goalkeeper's 40 years. "I retired at 40 and I've always believed that there are players who can have long careers. Chuy has had one of his best seasons in his career," he said.
On the other hand, Ordiales stated that due to the limited playing time he had in the past year, Elías Hernández requested to leave for León, and to replace his position, Cruz Azul will be looking for a right attacking midfielder with speed and dribbling ability.
HE WILL PERSONALLY DECIDE IF HE STAYS
Regarding his continuity at Cruz Azul, which has been questioned not due to lack of good results, but because there are voices indicating that Álvaro Dávila will continue to bring his people to the club, Jaime Ordiales stated that he has one year left on his contract, out of the two and a half years he signed with the previous board. "I didn't come to ask for a job, they offered it to me when I was the president of Querétaro," he recalled.
He assured that Álvaro Dávila, president of Cruz Azul, has not told him or suggested that he could leave the club; so for now, he continues to fulfill his duties, for which he was hired, which is to plan the preseason and search for reinforcements, something he hopes will continue to be his role.
"The council has always told me that they are very happy with my work, but the reality is that a new project has begun and we will analyze what is most convenient for the institution," he said.
He bluntly stated, "So far, I feel like I'm part of Cruz Azul and I'm doing my job," adding that he has always had the responsibility and authority to make sporting decisions for the club, always with the consensus of the owners or the presidents, in this case of La Máquina and previously of América, Chivas, and Querétaro; he hopes that it will remain the same in this new stage and if not, "we will make the decisions that I consider appropriate. For now, I'm here and I will continue at this moment."
It is worth remembering that Ordiales was responsible for negotiating the hiring of Juan Reynoso when the Plan A was Hugo Sánchez, and the Peruvian was one of four options in Plan B. He practically formed the team and brought in new players like Luis Romo, José Ignacio Rivero, and José Joaquín 'Shaggy' Martínez.
Cruz Azul will return to preseason on Monday, the 21st of this month. Due to lack of time, there will be no beach training. The options at the moment are: Avándaro, in Valle de Bravo, or La Noria, in Xochimilco. They tried to work at the CAR, but there are national teams in camp; they also tried to go to Querétaro and couldn't.