Joel Huiqui goes second on list of coaches to be champions with the fewest games

Cruz Azul were crowned Mexican soccer champions this Sunday under Joel Huiqui, the coach who took charge of the team in the final round of the Clausura 2026.

Huiqui led La Máquina in their final regular-season game against Necaxa, a match the Celestes won to secure third place in the overall standings.

The Cruz Azul coach then oversaw both quarterfinal games against Atlas, both semifinal games against Chivas and the two-legged final against Efraín Juárez’s Pumas, needing just seven games to become champion.

Which coach won title with four games?

Despite that short run, Huiqui is not the coach who needed the fewest games to win the title. Toluca coach Alberto Jorge needed only four games to seal the Red Devils’ triumph.

In 2002, Ricardo La Volpe left Toluca to take charge of the national team. Wilson Graneolatti replaced him and coached six games before resigning.

Alberto Jorge then took charge of the final four games – the semifinals and the two legs of the final – as Toluca won the tournament after beating Santos Laguna in the semifinals and Monarcas Morelia in the championship decider.

Huiqui is staying

After the title win, engineer Víctor Velázquez confirmed that the Mexican coach will remain at Cruz Azul as first-team manager.

Next semester, Cruz Azul will play in the Apertura 2026 and the Leagues Cup, where La Máquina will chase two more trophies for their cabinet.

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