Cruz Azul will join América and Chivas as the third club to pay tribute to one of their legendary players this Saturday. The blue and white side will honor the historical career of the last active member of their Invierno 1997 squad, which was the last one to lift a trophy. We are talking about none other than Oscar Pérez, who owns the record for the most apps in Liga MX history.
"El Conejo" left Cruz Azul back in 2008, with fans and experts demanding a proper send-off for a historic footballer. Eleven years after his last game with his boyhood club, sports director Ricardo Peláez agreed to pay tribute to the former El Tri shot-stopper, who will hang his gloves after 26 years under the sticks.
The player and the club revealed the news on social media, asking fans to join him in celebrating 26 years as a professional player.
"I want to thank Cruz Azul for paying tribute to my career on Saturday's clash against Toluca. I'll see you all there!"
¡Azules!, porque lo prometido es deuda, con mucho agrado les compartimos la siguiente noticia:#ConstruyendoLa9loria pic.twitter.com/mH5QnayMWQ
— CRUZ AZUL FC ® (@Cruz_Azul_FC) July 24, 2019
During his 26-year spell as a professional, Pérez spent 15 seasons with La Máquina. The shot-stopper would go on to play for three different teams in the course of three years (Tigres, Jaguares de Chiapas and Necaxa). When his career seemed to be living its final days, Pérez signed a two-year deal with San Luis, but his last professional team would be Pachuca, where he played for the past six years.
Pérez played 821 games in all comps, in which he was even able to score a couple of goals. Pérez was also a member of the Mexican National Team, where he won three CONCACAF Gold Cup titles and the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup title. "El Conejo" also played eight FIFA World Cup games (four in 2002 and four more in 2010), where he conceded eight goals and kept two clean sheets.
