Cruz Azul Covid outbreak complicates Liga MX restart
Cementeros hit by virus just days before preseason Liga MX match.
With much fanfare, the Liga MX announced the Copa GNP, an eight-team preseason tournament from July 3-19 that is supposed to set the stage for the July 24 kickoff of the Apertura 2020 season.
But just days before Mazatlán and the Tigres were due to inaugurate the Copa in Guadalajara’s Estadio Akron, the global pandemic reared up. On June 27, Cruz Azul officials announced that its men’s and women’s teams had been hit by Covid-19.
Twenty-four players – 16 Cementeras and 8 members of the men’s team – are now quarantined at the club’s training grounds, along with 7 other Cementeros suspected of having the virus. Coach Robert Siboldi is also in self-isolation, but his status has not been confirmed.
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These infections come after two Cruz Azul starters – striker Jonathan Rodríguez and midfielder Rafa Baca – tested positive early last month. Both “Cabecita” and Baca are back training with the team and Cruz Azul’s first Copa GNP match is scheduled for Saturday, July 4.
If Cruz Azul does indeed participate in the Copa (one columnist suggests the Cementeros should drop out) Coach Siboldi will have to manage a depleted roster, if he is available for sideline duties. His options are further restricted since the club’s U-20 players only recently resumed training, so he is unlikely to summon any as replacements.
Cup rules allow for unlimited substitutions and Siboldi hinted he may play an entirely different 11 in each half (if he has 22 players on the roster). The rules for this preseason tournament also call for an extended water break at the 25-minute mark of each half as officials do everything possible to avoid a plague of injuries before the Apertura.
Media tallies indicate that more than 70 people affiliated with Liga MX – players and club officials – have tested positive since training camps reopened in late May. One referee has also been stricken, and Toluca FC announced 10 positive tests over the weekend.
The league has not come out and declared that players are free to opt out of the Copa and/or the regular season for health considerations, though it must be stated that no league or club official has hinted that there would be repercussions should a player make such a decision. In fact, Chivas defender Hiram Mier told reporters that GM Ricardo Peláez said Guadalajara players could make up their own minds.
As the positive tests continue to climb, league officials are no doubt concerned that the Health Secretariat will prohibit fan attendance for the remainder of the year. Liga MX is hoping that a flattening of the contagion stage in the coming months will prompt Health officials to allow some attendance before the Apertura season ends.
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A study conducted by Universal Deportes suggests that the league’s 18 teams will lose a combined 200 million pesos in ticket revenues alone if they are forced to play the Apertura without fans.