FC Juarez to Face Cruz Azul and Add to Unbeaten Streak

Bravos de FC Juarez departed for Mexico City first thing Friday morning as they will face Cruz Azul at Azteca Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Bravos are currently on a four game unbeaten streak and will be looking to increase it to five matches with at least a tie on the road.

Make no mistake, the Bravos will be looking to get the victory and the three points that come with the win as they will be facing a Cruz Azul full of turmoil. Cruz Azul is currently in 13th place in the general standings table with 7 points on the season as a result of two wins, 1 draw and four loses.

The club announced a new head coach/technical director this week and it is none other than Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti, the former boss of the Bravos. Cruz Azul is coming off of a midweek match that was pending where they defeated Atlas 1-0. Ferretti was in attendance but observed the match from the visiting team’s suite.

It is safe to assume that Ferretti will make his debut on the bench on Saturday.

What happened last weekend

FC Juarez had their second consecutive scoreless draw this past weekend. The 0-0 draw against Leon at Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium left lots to be desired considering that the Bravos played with a one-man advantage for the last 45 minutes (including stoppage time) of the match.

FC Juarez simply failed to take advantage, at home, of a red card that was given to Paul Bellon in the 52nd minute of the game to put the ball at least once in the back of the net to give them the three points for the win.

To make matters slightly worse the Bravos execution as team dropped off significantly after Leon was left with 10 men. In the first half the Bravos wasted little time in reach a execution that showed off the ever developing ability to demonstrate a dynamic offensive style of play. The only thing that never came for Juarez in the first half was the final touch to put the ball in the back of the net.

When Bellon left the field of play early in the second half, along with it went the Bravos ability to dominate the match, They became plagued by imprecision that led to loss of possession of the ball and allowed for Leon to become the better team on the field of play.

In the closing minutes of the match the Bravos actually were the one that held on to the tie and Leon was significantly closer to scoring a goal than the home team with a one-man advantage.

After the assistant coach Diego Mejia addressed the media as it was he that was on the bench for Juarez due to head coach/technical director Hernan Cristante serving a one game suspension due to a red card.

Mejia focused on a simple point, despite holding on for just the draw, Mejia pointed out that the way the match developed was the type of match FC Juarez would have lost in the past. The fact they were able to hold on demonstrates the growth in many aspects for the team.

Saturday’s match versus Cruz Azul

Bravos’ match versus Cruz Azul will kick off the slate of Saturday’s matches in what will be the week nine of the 2023 Clausura season. The match will be televised nationally on TUDN, kick off is scheduled for 5 p.m. MST.