Rocio Robles
Goalkeeper Sebastián Jurado spoke after the second leg of the Concachampions 2022 Semifinals, in which Cruz Azul was eliminated by Pumas after losing 2-1 on aggregate. He was self-critical and acknowledged the failure of the team.
Despite Cruz Azul’s 0-0 draw in the second leg of the Concachampions Semifinals, played at the Azteca Stadium, the 2-1 disadvantage acquired in the first leg meant that for the second consecutive season, the team was eliminated from the same round of the Concacaf tournament.
Sebastián Jurado, the “Cementera Machine’s” goalkeeper on Tuesday night, accepted the defeat but was hopeful that the team will be able to turn the page.
“It’s a resounding failure on our part but hey, life is not what you achieve but rather what you overcome.”
For Sebastián Jurado, it is important to reflect on what happened, as the team’s performance was not only weak, but there were few offensive attempts. The goalkeeper said that, despite the elimination, they have to go on and seek revenge in the next match.
“We must be self-critical and reflect on what went well and what went wrong. But we can’t feel bad about it because we have a rematch on Saturday. “
Strong self-criticism from Sebastián Jurado
He spoke of the privileges they have as soccer players during his self-criticist speech and claimed that they should feel “sporting guilt.” “We are professionals and we are paid very well for doing what we do, so we must have sporting shame in order to stand up on Saturday and get the three points we need.” said the goalkeeper of “La Máquina”.
Sebastián Jurado is already thinking about what’s left in the local competition after his elimination. He knows that there are four complicated games left and said that they will play them as if they were finals to be able to seek the title. “We have a crucial lesson to learn. We need to be grounded in order to confront the four finals remaining in the league, and we’ll aim to climb into the top four teams to qualify directly and compete for the title.”
This Saturday, April 16, Cruz Azul will host Chivas in the match corresponding to Day 14 of the Clausura 2022 of Liga MX.
After that, they will face Querétaro, Atlético de San Luis and will close the regular stage against Club América on April 30 at the Azteca Stadium.
Jurado could remain in the starting lineup for these final matches in case Jesús Corona fails to recover. Let’s remember that the young goalkeeper has been in charge of the Cruz Azul goal since Corona was injured a month ago. In fact, the veteran goalkeeper was scheduled to make his comeback in the last Liga MX match against Mazatlán, but he suffered a bad injury during warm-up and did not even appear on the bench.
Sebastián Jurado has played in five of Cruz Azul’s last seven Liga MX and Concachampions games, allowing five goals while maintaining two clean sheets.
