Vicente Sánchez's continuity remains uncertain despite Concacaf title

“Vicente, Vicente!” chanted the more than 30,000 fans who gathered at CU on June 1 at the end of the 2025 Concacaf Champions League final, which Cruz Azul won resoundingly over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

La Máquina destroyed the Canadian team 5-0 to reach seven CONCACAF Champions' Cup titles and tie América for the most winners in the 63 years of the competition.

One of the most prominent figures didn't even play: Vicente Sánchez, the Uruguayan who became Cruz Azul's technical director as a "firefighter" when Argentine Martín Anselmi left to emigrate to Portugal.

Sánchez, who became popular in Mexico for his notable performances as a player with Toluca and América at the beginning of this century, didn't get along with the Cementistas fans in his first matches, but little by little he won them over with results and, ultimately, a title that Anselmi never achieved.

“The truth is, I'm very happy with this semester and grateful to God and to the engineer (Víctor Velázquez, team president), who gave me this opportunity,” Sánchez said at the press conference after the final against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

"We qualified the team for the next Concacaf Champions League, the Club World Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup. I think Cruz Azul is at the top of the table in this tournament today, so I'm really happy. It was a semester of hard work and emotional preparation."

Before coaching Cruz Azul against Puebla on January 25, in Matchday 3 of the 2025 Liga MX Clausura tournament, Vicente Sánchez had no experience as a first-team coach. In fact, he had previously coached the Máquina's U23 division.

But Anselmi's sudden departure, with the season already underway, forced the board, headed by Víctor Velázquez, to make a swift decision. Vicente Sánchez and Joel Huiqui as assistant, along with Rubens Valenzuela as fitness trainer, were appointed as the new team managers.

The balance after just over four months is: Concachampions champion, Liga MX semi-finalist, best team in the regular phase of the 2024-25 first division season and second-best unbeaten streak in the team's history (19 games, tied with the era of Peruvian coach Juan Reynoso, in 2021).

“The truth is, the numbers speak for themselves. I think this semester, when I was in charge of the team, the numbers speak for themselves. Of course, I value myself highly because God put me on this path, and I'm very grateful to the fans,” the Uruguayan expressed.

In recent days, rumors of Vicente Sánchez's dismissal have grown increasingly louder. Nicolás Larcamón, Guillermo Almada, and even Matías Almeyda are rumored to be his replacement for the 2025-26 season, which begins on July 11 with the Liga MX Apertura 2025 tournament.

Sánchez's recent press conferences followed the same tone: questions about whether he'd stay or leave Cruz Azul. With the Concacaf Champions League medal on his chest, Sunday's meeting with the media was no exception.

“I don't know about the future. I live one day at a time and I don't know what might happen tomorrow. Tomorrow we'll see. The decision isn't up to me, so I try not to think about decisions that aren't up to me,” he replied, remaining calm.

The Uruguayan is 45 years old and in his first experience with the senior team, he has a record of 17 wins, eight draws, and two losses, in addition to breaking Cruz Azul's 11-year title drought at the Concacaf level.

But until the press conference after the final game of the season, he couldn't answer whether his future would remain sky-blue or not.

"I don't like to talk about the future. I'm happy. We're champions, we've left Cruz Azul at the top of the international scene, and that's the most important thing," was his final response to just four questions he allowed during the press conference, arguing that he wanted to celebrate with family members who had traveled from Colombia and Uruguay.

On the pitch, the image of Vicente Sánchez will remain, kneeling, weeping, and thanking heaven for the title against the Vancouver Whitecaps. All of this, accompanied by the fans chanting his name.

The decision is up in the air, and there's no timeframe. Cruz Azul has about a month and 10 days before debuting in the 2025-26 season with the restart of Liga MX.