Almada and Borja, the two men who almost wore Cruz Azul blue and will now face them with America

Sometimes soccer comes down to a signature that never happens. This weekend, when America and Cruz Azul face off, two men who could have worn Cruz Azul blue will instead be on the field in America colors: Guillermo Almada and Miguel Borja.

The Uruguayan coach and the Colombian forward joined America for this Apertura 2026, but both were, at some recent point, a step away from signing with La Maquina. Each story is different, but they share the same ending: Cruz Azul let them go, and now the club will face them instead.

The bench Almada never took

Guillermo Almada's name came up for Cruz Azul not once, but twice. The first time was ahead of Apertura 2025, when the Cruz Azul front office decided to part ways with Vicente Sanchez just after winning the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. In that search, the Uruguayan's name competed with those of Matias Almeyda and Gabriel Milito. Cruz Azul ultimately went with Nicolas Larcamon.

A year later, when Larcamon was let go, Almada again appeared on the front office's short list. This time, though, the obstacle had a name: Joel Huiqui. The Mexican interim coach took over the team, led it to a tenth star in the Clausura 2026, and with that title in hand, earned the right to stay on. That championship shut the door on the Uruguayan, who ended up signing with America instead.

Twenty days at La Noria that never turned into a contract

Miguel Borja's case has a different flavor, because he actually set foot inside Cruz Azul's facilities. On December 28, 2025, the Colombian forward landed in Mexico City and was received by Cruz Azul staff, who even put him up in a hotel while he waited for his contract with River Plate to expire, which happened on December 31.

Starting on the first day of 2026, Borja began training at La Noria. He spent about 20 days there, training with the Cruz Azul squad without having signed yet, and even showed up as a spectator at one of La Maquina's home matches at the Estadio Cuauhtemoc. Everything pointed to an announcement coming any day.

But the deal fell apart. There were disagreements over certain contract details, and above all, Cruz Azul was unable to free up a spot for a foreign, non-trained-in-Mexico player slot needed to register him. Without that roster spot, the signing stalled out. Borja's next stop ended up being Al-Wasl in the United Arab Emirates, before he finally landed at America.

So when the opening whistle blows for this America versus Cruz Azul match, there will be more than just points on the line. There will be two stories of what could have been, now seen from the other side.