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Cesar “Chelito” Delgado, ex Cruz Azul and Monterrey player, has retired from football in Argentina. The Argentinean forward played for Cruz Azul from 2003 to 208 and in Monterrey from 2011 and 2014. He debuted in Argentina with Rosario Central and also spent time in Olympique Lyon after leaving Cruz Azul.
While Chelito never won a title with Cruz Azul, he was considered one of the top players in the club and a for a while was the Liga MX’s most talented player. Despite never achieving the fame he did in Cruz Azul with Monterrey, he was actually more successful title-wise, with back to back CONCACAF Champions League titles. He was also twice top scorer of the Club World Cup with Monterrey.
Delgado was one of the few players to be a regular call up for the Argentina National team while playing in Mexico. With Argentina, he was able to win a Gold Medal in men’s soccer in the Olympics (the first ever for Argentina) and also played in the 2004 Copa America. In that tournament, he almost gave Argentina the title when he scored late in the final to put Argentina up 2-1. In the final minute of play, Adriano tied the score for Brazil, who would later win the title on penalty kicks.
For us that were able to see him, Delgado was something special. In his first years in Cruz Azul, he was easily the most talented player in the league and even with the lack of titles, he should be among the top foreign players to ever play in Mexico. His talent was easily European material, and he scored a couple of the best goals, especially one he scored against Chiapas. His Cruz Azul team was never able to win but it could have been close when he took the team to the Semifinals in the Clausura 2004, . Unfortunately for him, he and fellow teammate Marcelo Delgado had to miss the Semifinals series because of international duty and Pumas was able to defeat them in route to the title. There are rumors that Delgado will look for an official goodbye match from the Cruz Azul board but nothing is official yet.