Cruz Joins Inter Toronto Coaching Staff – Does This Put Pressure On Mauro?

With Canadian Premier League side Inter Toronto in a mixed bag of form – let’s say that leans more towards bad than good – club brass has made some intriguing moves. We broke the news a few weeks ago that former Liga MX-winning coach Jose Guadalupe Cruz joined the side, with the club making his arrival official today.

Cruz, who won Liga MX with Atlante as both a player and a coach, brings a heavy-hitting pedigree with him, having also coached for the likes of Chiapas, Monterrey, Puebla, Atlas, Necexa, and more, most recently managing abroad with Guatemalan side CD Malacateco.

Suffice to say, this is a man who many would expect would land to lead in Canada’s much-younger top flight. This puts a lot of pressure on Mauro Eustaquio, who in contrast is the youngest head coach in the league.

Inter Toronto currently sits second-last in league standings, though it’s not impossible for the club to climb up into a top four playoff spot: nine points is the size of the gap, and that could feasibly be filled with the club’s games-in-hand alone.

Still, the arrival of a coach such as Profe Cruz’s caliber would be enough to light a fire under any coach’s seat, which is perhaps what prompted Mauro Eustaquio to tell media last weekend that Inter Toronto was going to make the playoffs.

“It sounds like a bold statement, but we’ll make the playoffs. We have games in hand, we know where we are. We’re polishing a couple situations, but we’ve seen the team improve week in and week out for the past month,” promised the head coach.

This is Mauro’s second season as head coach after being promoted from first team assistant following the departure of Benjamin Mora, who is now in his second Liga MX stint – with a spell in China in the midst – since leaving York Lions Stadium back in 2024.

(Editor’s note: Mora had made an Instagram post highlighting his achievements at Inter Toronto following his departure, stating ‘nine players improved’ – we are still wondering who was snubbed in that metric!)

“I’m very grateful to Inter Toronto for the opportunity to join this sporting project,” says Cruz. “I’ve been impressed by the talent and potential within the club, particularly in the Academy. The objectives are clear and ambitious, and I’m excited to bring my experience, commitment and passion to help strengthen the First Team and continue developing the club’s young talent.”

Cruz was brought into the hold through general manager Jorge Villalpando, whom Cruz had once signed while coaching Jaguares de Chiapas back in 2010.

As one would expect, the club was also quick to point out that its latest coaching hire has also been named as its Director of Sporting Development, stating that he will help strengthen the pathway between Inter Toronto’s academy and its first team – after all, nearly half of the club’s entire social content on Twitter is about said pathway versus the first team – this still a much better output than Pacific’s output of zero tweets this year, which is matching their number of wins.

At the moment, however, Inter Toronto is also dead last in minutes handed to domestic U-21 players with 1,206, two-thirds of which come from Shola Jimoh and Ivan Pavela. That being said, Pavela alone should be enough to get them beyond the league-mandated 2,000 minute marker by season’s end.

“Cruz’s appointment reflects Inter Toronto’s continued commitment to building an integrated player development pathway and a high-performance environment across the club,” reads a statement from Inter Toronto.

The Inter Toronto coaching staff has been in flux throughout the season, with assistants Marco Bonofiglio, Mateus Lima, and Jose Petinga all parting ways through the summer months. In an interesting twist, his month saw the club add Camilo Benzi, a club original who had been ousted by Inter Toronto just five months ago.

Mauro Eustaquio and his coaching staff will be back in action tomorrow night in the nation’s capital, taking on Atletico Ottawa at 7:00PM EST.

Header Image Photo Credit: John Jacques