Erik Lira said from the Mexico national team camp that he is sure Carlos Rodríguez will lead Cruz Azul to its next Liga MX title, and he promised to send him a message later that night. Speaking as the club pushed through the Clausura 2026 Liguilla, Lira put his support behind the Cruz Azul midfielder he described as part of the team’s leadership core.

“Charly es mi hermano, pero así es el futbol, esto es así. Estoy seguro que Charly hoy está pensando en el partido de la noche, al rato le voy a tirar un mensaje, y estoy seguro que él va a levantar la décima,” Lira said. The midfielder’s words landed while Cruz Azul remained alive in the semifinals and kept chasing the club’s tenth star, a prize that would mark a long-awaited milestone for the side.

Lira’s comments carried added weight because he was not inside the Cruz Azul camp. He spoke while concentrated with the Mexico national team as it prepared for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, leaving him to watch the semifinal push from a distance. Even so, he made clear where his allegiance sat. “La verdad pues me cuesta bastante estar lejos de mis compañeros de Cruz Azul, pero yo sé que quieren hacer historia y estoy apoyándolos desde aquí con la playera bien puesta,” he said.

That split reality — one of Cruz Azul’s players tied to national team duty while the club fought for a title — gave the remarks their edge. Rodríguez was framed as a leader in the squad and the player Lira trusted to carry the run forward. Cruz Azul’s chase of the décima has become the story around the club’s postseason, and Lira’s prediction placed Rodríguez at the center of it without softening the challenge ahead.

For Cruz Azul, the message was simple: the job is still in front of them. For Lira, the hope was personal as much as professional, with a text to Rodríguez still coming and a title dream hanging on the result of the night’s match.