The Cruz Azul player that impressed Fernando Ortíz and now wants in Club América

The last game of the regular season of Clausura 2022 for Club América was in Estadio Azteca, when they received Cruz Azul for a Clásico Joven that had post-season implications for both teams, as a victory for either of them would give them a week of rest for ending on the top four.

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The results of Club Puebla and Atlas opened the door for Las Águilas to clinch the bye-week with a draw, as La Franja couldn’t beat Mazatlan FC and given the goal difference, Club América had the advantage, something that ended happening, as the game finished in a scoreless draw.

Club América kept their unbeaten streak and finished the regular season with eight games in a row without knowing what a defeat is, making them, along Club Pachuca, the two strongest teams entering the Liguilla phase.

On the other hand, Cruz Azul came to less as games passed by, as they started the season as one of the strongest candidates and they finished at the middle of the table, having to play against Atlético San Luis in Repechaje to know if they will make it to Liguilla or not.

Ortiz was impressed with a Cruz Azul player

Although not all are bad news for Cruz Azul, or at least for one of their players, as Fernando “Tano” Ortíz was impressed with his performance against his team and now that he will remain as Las Águilas coach for next season, he wants to add him to strengthen the squad.

On the press conference after the Clásico Joven, Ortíz praised the work done by Erik Lira, who recently joined Cruz Azul out of Pumas, where he started his career. Las Águilas have Santiago Naveda and Pedro Aquino as the players that can fulfill that role, which opens the door to adding a new midfielder to improve the competition.

If Las Águilas were to acquire the 21-year-old defensive midfielder, they will have to pay $4.2 million to La Máquina, although it seems difficult that Cruz Azul agrees to part ways with him after just six months of acquiring him, especially since he’s on track to play with Mexico National Team.

Lira can make it to Qatar

Lira has been taken into consideration by Gerardo “Tata” Martino for the recent games of El Tri, and he could earn a place in the final roster of the Mexico National Team that travels to Qatar, as he has the perfect conditions to replace Edson Álvarez.

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