Cruz Azul Wins With New Coach

Cesar Delgado and Marcelo Delgado scored goals to lead Cruz Azul to a 2-0 victory over Queretaro in the Mexican league’s Clausura tournament last weekend as Coach Luis Fernando Tena won in his first game.

The “Cement Mixers” had won only one game before Tena replaced Enrique Meza.

Cruz Azul is still in last place in Group 3, 17 points behind group and overall leader Jaguares Chiapas, who pushed their record to 8-1-1 after a 1-0 victory over Monterrey on a 56th-minute goal by Jorge Manrique.

The only group leader to lose was Chivas of Guadalajara, who suffered a 3-0 road defeat to second-place Necaxa on goals by Diego Martinez, Braulio Luna and Mario Perez. Necaxa moved within three points of the Group 4 lead.

In other games, Toluca kept its three-point lead over Atlas in Group 1 after a 2-1 victory over last-place Puebla, and UNAM Pumas increased their lead in Group 2 to five points over Club America after a 2-1 victory over UNL Tigres, getting two second-half goals by Moctezuma Serrato.

Veracruz Coach

Thomas Boy Espinosa, who was a captain on Mexico’s 1986 World Cup team, is the new coach of Veracruz, replacing Daniel Guzman.

Guzman was fired after Veracruz lost over the weekend to Morelia, 1-0, and fell into last place overall in the Mexican league. Veracruz has only one victory in 10 games.

Arena Vents

United States men’s Coach Bruce Arena can usually be counted on for an honest assessment when it comes to evaluating his team.

And when it plays poorly -- as it did in a 1-1 tie against Haiti in Miami last weekend -- Arena isn’t afraid to criticize.

“I thought Haiti was the better team,” Arena said. “They simply outfought us and played better. I applaud our group that played the final 15 minutes for fighting back and getting an equalizer.”

Part of that group was Galaxy defender Danny Califf, who scored in the second-half injury time to salvage the tie. Much of the rest of the squad was fair game for Arena’s ire.

“There’s no excuses. We were technically poor and our fitness was poor,” Arena said. “We are fortunate that we have until June [for World Cup qualifying] to get our act together. Human nature likes to find a comfort zone, and we have guys in a comfort zone.”

The U.S., which fielded a roster of mostly players from Major League Soccer, plays a friendly March 31 at Poland.

Chelsea and MLS?

Chelsea, second to Arsenal in the English Premier League, could be the opponent for MLS All-Stars for the American league’s midsummer game this season, according to ussocceruk.com.

The game would be played at Washington’s RFK Stadium.

The English club has made waves since being purchased last summer by Russian billionaire oil tycoon Roman Abramovich.

“The ... opponent and site are still being determined,” Trey Fitzgerald, MLS director of communications, told the website. “Chelsea is one of several international clubs being considered, while RFK Stadium is one of several sites being considered.”

Quick Passes

Karl-Heinz Wildmoser, president of German club 1860 Munich, quit after prosecutors named him as a suspect in bribery allegations surrounding the building of Munich’s new soccer stadium. Wildmoser, 64, was arrested last week and released on bail.... Zimbabwe international Blessing Makunike, considered a rising star for his country’s national team, was killed in a car crash with four others on his way back from a game. He was 25.... Striker Marcelo Salas, who had been out for more than a month because of a leg injury, was included on Chile’s roster for a March 30 World Cup qualifying match against Bolivia.... France international forward Olivier Kapo, who plays domestically for Auxerre, will move to Juventus in Italy’s Serie A next season, France Football magazine reported.

-- Compiled by Jim Barrero