LIGA MX
Jaime Ordiales: “I’m not the villain at Cruz Azul”
Ordiales, who served as sports director for three tournaments, admitted that his biggest mistake was hiring Uruguayan coach Diego Aguirre.
Former Cruz Azul director Jaime Ordiales spoke with AS México to clarify his position after being on the receiving end of attacks in the press and on social media for his responsibility in the team’s poor results. Ordiales states that the criticism is unfounded, because for a long time he had nothing to do with the management of the team - that is an area which Víctor Velázquez administratively handles.
During his chat with AS, Ordiales says he is surprised at being considered the Cementeros’ “Public enemy No.1” as his direct work with the team was limited to just three tournaments.
“This has caught my attention a lot. Since the first day I arrived they said that I was going to take all the blame. It was very easy to blame Jaime Ordiales who wasn’t even at Cruz Azul. It continued even when the group that took my place came in [led by Álvaro Dávila] after the tournament, because it seemed that after they left it was somehow still my responsibility,” he argued.
Ordiales emphasized that the blame was assigned entirely to him - to which he responded: “Look at the numbers. If you cross check the results and put my name in, you will see the games in which I participated - the results, the team’s performance... So why has someone taken charge of all of this? Why is the media always mentioning my name? I don’t understand why.”
When pushed to determine the root of the problem and why his name has been dragged down, he explained, “The only answer I can find is that they can’t find another person. Maybe I have a prestige, I had a reputation in this sector for many years so it was so easy for them to locate me as a Cruz Azul official.”
Title-winning team
Regarding being considered the public enemy at Cruz Azul, he said: “My results in Cruz Azul have been more than satisfactory. The team were crowned champions, and were super leaders in two of the three tournaments while I was there. Also super champions of the Cup after beating Atlas. Maybe Diego Aguirre didn’t work for us, some players didn’t work out at that time - even when we were champions. I also brought Lucas Passerini and that didn’t work out as I’d hoped - but Luis Romo, José Ignacio Rivero did work as well as the other players that I brought, such as Carlos Rotondi. Some of the people we brought in worked out and some didn’t.”
He added that on one occasion, he was accused on a television program of dismantling the team that had been crowned champions in 2021, but he explained that was no longer involved with the team: “I resigned a year before, they are hurting my image. They think that if they repeat it enough, people will start to believe it,” he argued.
Regarding the fact that he is credited with Cruz Azul’s decline, Ordiales assured that, “It’s because it suited someone, especially given the results that were negative,” and he would never have dismissed Ferretti, given that: “He is one of the best coaches in Mexico.”