C.D. Guadalajara
| Club Deportivo Guadalajara | |||
| Full name | Club Deportivo Guadalajara S.A. de C.V. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Chivas Rayadas (Striped Goats) | ||
| Founded | 1906 | ||
| Ground | Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico | ||
| Capacity | 69,480 | ||
| Chairman | Jorge Vergara | ||
| Manager | Jose Manuel De La Torre | ||
| League | Primera División de México | ||
| Clausura 2006 | Lost in semifinals to Pachuca | ||
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Club Deportivo Guadalajara, also known as Guadalajara and usually referred to by its nickname Chivas (goats), is a Mexican sports club, most widely known for their professional football club. While the club is also active in basketball, tennis, and cycling. Chivas is the only soccer team in Mexico's history that has only had Mexican players representing its' colors. It was also the first to obtain 10 championships.
Guadalajara play in the Primera División de México and is one of the most popular teams in that league. The club has millions of fans not only in Mexico, but around the world. Along with Club América they are the most successful club in Mexican football history, both with 10 Championships. Of course many people say "Chivas" is the best of Mexico. According to many stadistics it is. Their main rivals are Club América, also a widely supported club, and their meetings signal the national derby (similar to Boca Juniors-River Plate, Real Madrid-Barcelona, Inter-Milan or Celtic-Rangers). The team's popularity in the U.S. has led to the creation of an MLS team in the United States, C.D. Chivas USA which has a few players from the Guadalajara team plus American and foreign players.
Honors
- League Championships: 10
- 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1970, 1987, Verano '97
- CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 1
- 1962
International honours
History
The team was founded in 1906 by a Belgian shopkeeper, Edgar Everaert, as Club Unión, but became Club Deportivo Guadalajara in 1908. The kit was modelled on that of the founder's favourite team, the Belgian Club Brugge, which has since changed its kit. Some historians assert that the colours come from the French Tricolore because a few of the club's first players were French.
The club was successful in the amateur era of football in Mexico, but it was at the beginning of the professional era that it would get its famous nickname. In 1948 after winning a game, the newspaper column derisively said that the "goats" (chivas in Spanish) had won; this name, which started as an insult, was embraced by the fans and is held with pride to this day. The insult was meant to say that the team ran around like goats. During their early glory a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church blessed the team and dubbed them "El Rebaño Sagrado" which means "The Sacred Flock".
Then, in 1956 the "Campeonísimo" run started. The team won eight national league titles and, combined with national and international cups, a total of 28 trophies in nine years, and became the backbone of the Mexico national football team that would go to the World Cup. Many of the players of those days became legendary.
In the decade of the '70s, a Dark Age of sorts came to the club, and fans had to wait until the '82-'83 season to return to a Final, in which they were defeated. In 1983-84 the Final was lost again, but finally in 1986-87 came the ninth title. The fans claim another championship, as they have only win it two times since the 80´s. Two Championships in 25 years. Although they have been creating very good players, as Salcido, Bravo and Morales, and much is expected in the next tournament.
In the beginning of the '90s, the club was plagued by financial problems and a group known as "Promotora Guadalajara" took charge, improving the finances and bringing fresh air to the organisation. The league calendar was changed to two tournaments per year. During that decade, the team lost another three Finals but won the Torneo de Verano (summer championship) in 1997, bringing its league championships to 10, the most of any team in Mexico along with their hated rivals, América. Their last Final was in the Clausura 2004, where they lost against Pumas in a penalty shootout.Chivas is not a bad team,its a great team, even though it could have a hard time every once in a while.
The team is perhaps best known for the fact that they have only ever fielded Mexican players (Athletic Bilbao in Spain and Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica, the latter owned by Chivas' current owner Jorge Vergara, are the only other clubs in the world to follow a similar policy), and their fans even think the team itself is almost a synonym of what it means to be Mexican.Since they only let Mexican players in the team,they can't buy or trade players who weren't born in Mexico,however that doesn't mean the coach has to be Mexican.
In 2005, C.D. Chivas USA, which is also owned by Vergara, began play in Major League Soccer.
The day after the team successfully eliminated Boca Juniors from the Copa Libertadores, Chivas' controversial owner Jorge Vergara displayed a full-page advertisement on Argentina's most widely-circulated newspaper, El Clarín, which had a goat (Spanish chiva) with the following statement: "¡No contaban con nuestra astucia!" (You weren't counting on our cleverness!), a popular Mexican phrase made famous by comedian Chespirito in his El Chapulin Colorado character.
The rest of 2005 was a year to be forgotten for fans of the club. Vergara shocked everyone by firing Benjamin Galindo, who was the coachbut always of the team during their successful run in the Copa Libertadores. The team hired Xabier Azcargorta, a relatively unknown Spanish coach unfamiliar with the Mexican football league. The results were disastrous and continued that way all through the Apertura 2005 tournament. Chivas fired him as soon as the tournament ended although most fans felt that it should have been done sooner. General opinion does not credit Azkargorta himself for the bad results; the blame has mostly been put on Vergara and how he fired Galindo mid-season, and how difficult it would have been for any coach to diminish the tension in the group. In preparation for the Clausura 2006 tournament and their hundredth year, Chivas have brought back their former successful coach, Hans Westerhof. However, Westerhof was also fired and his assistant, Jose Manuel "Chepo" De La Torre, was hired to fill Westerhof's term. They have also begun construction on a new stadium in Guadalajara, named Estadio Chivas.
On 14 June 2005 Chivas stunned Argentina after eliminating Argentine superpower Boca Juniors in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores. In the first leg, the Chivas won a game played in Guadalajara with a resounding 4-0. In the second leg, Boca were desperately on the attack seeking to bridge the gap quickly to no avail, as they could not penetrate the organized Mexican defense. After 79 minutes of play (minute 34 of the second half) the game had to be stopped by the referee due to a quarrel between players (specifically Adolfo Bautista and Martin Palermo), and the rage of the Boca fans who wouldn't let the game continue, launching various projectiles in the direction of Chivas players and coaches. By that time Jorge Benítez (aka Chino Benítez) was coach of the Boca Juniors team. He was fired after spitting on Adolfo Bautista's Face when we was heading to the dressing rooms after getting a red card for provoking Boca Juniors' supporters. After this the man was known in Mexico as "Cochino Benítez (Piggy Benítez). His shameful image was seen all around the world. Chivas goalie Jesús Corona (loaned from Tecos specifically for the Copa Libertadores) gave a historic performance, stopping every shot made by Boca. The game finished in a 0-0 tie and Chivas advanced to the semifinals without half of their roster, who were in Germany at the time playing for the Mexican National Team in the 2005 Confederations Cup -- a logistical dress rehearsal by host nation Germany for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. With the team mostly made up of bench players, Chivas were unable to field a competitive side in the semi-finals and lost to Atlético Paranaense from Brazil.
The loss of the big 6 during Clausura 2006
Early in the month of April, Mexico national football team coach Ricardo Lavolpe, announced the list of 26 (in the end, there would be 23) players that disputed the 2006 FIFA World Cup, held in Germany. Among those players were:
The players were called up for training right when the team needed them most. With the Clausura 2006 playoffs approaching fast, the team suffered rough losses and went three straight games without a single score. Many younger players, like Araujo and Esparza, were given a chance to play more minutes.
La Liguilla heats up
The last game of the Clausura 2006 season, was a loss to defending champion Toluca by the score of 2-0. The hopes of advancing to the league playoffs were slim to none. Chivas was on the ropes. Talavera wasn't promising as a starter, the team was mostly composed of young players, most under age 25, and the offense led by Bofo Bautista and Alberto Medina had a lot of trouble scoring goals. Basically, Chivas was a mix of some experienced players, veterans, young players, and replacement from Chivas' farm team, Chivas Coras Tepic. But the next day after the Toluca loss, the miracle presented itself as a couple of key losses, including one by rival America, put Chivas into the playoffs as the 7th seed to play the 2nd seeded Jaguares de Chiapas. The first match played at El Jalisco was a 3-2 win for the visiting Jaguares. Chivas needed to win the next game by a difference of 2 scores. That would be a hard task for Chivas, as they headed south to the Chiapas jungle in Tuxtla Gutierrez to play Jaguares on their home turf. The weather was a humid 100 degrees Fahrenheit at the start of the game. For this match, coach De La Torre made changes to the squad by going with Luis Ernesto Michel as the starting goalie. He also added players to the midfield such as Roberto "Ruso" Rivera and Julio "Jerry" Estrada. Another big move was the return of former Chivas player Hector Castro, known as "El Pirata" (The Pirate). Chivas put up a great fight against Jaguares. In the final minutes of the game, the score stood 3-2 in favor of Chivas. Needing one more goal to advance, the miracle happened again. Johnny Garcia headed corner into the net, beating Jaguares goalie Omar Ortiz. Chivas went wild, celebrating like they had won the World Series, as the final score ended 4-2. The complete score was 5-4. Chivas advanced next to the semifinals to take on the general leader Pachuca. The first game in Guadalajara a 2-1 win for the visitors. In the closing seconds of that game, "El Pirata" Castro scored an own goal as he was trying to clear the ball out of the area. The series moved over to Pachuca. Chivas needed a miracle again. 2 scores to advance to play in the finals against San Luis. It was a heart-stopping game. A game that was even attended by Brazilian soccer legend Pele. 1 minute left in additional time, and Chivas had a comfortable 3-1 lead. The team and the fans were all smiles, as Bofo Bautista had become the hero for Chivas, scoring twice. 10 seconds were left, as Chivas was doing the unthinkable, eliminating the Superlider. Just then, In the last seconds of regulation Pachuca was awarder a free kick. Pachuca's manager José Luiz Trejo sent everyone out including the goalie. Mosquera made a great header pused by goalie Calero. Pachuca fans who were in the stands had been crying. Now, they were happy. The exact opposite for Chivas. Final score 3-2 in favor of Chivas, but the complete score was 4-4. Pachuca advanced because they had the better record. The miracle for Chivas was over. But the team should be proud of their accomplishments during the Clausura 2006 season. The team played without 6 key players, and veterans and young promising players teamed up to take Chivas all the way to the semifinals.
Apertura 2006
After fecha 3, Chivas have gotten all six points from the two games in which their regular squad were on la cancha.
On January 31st, 2006, the Chivas defeated Colo Colo of Chile in a home and away game playing to qualify for the Copa Libertatores. On Wednesday, April 5th, 2006, the Chivas stunned São Paulo of Brazil, champion of the World Cup of Clubs, defeating them in their own home 2-1, having defeated them in the last game at home Estadio Jalisco by the same score. A 0-0 draw with Cienciano of Peru, caused them to slip to second in their group. Chivas advanced, and took on Independiente Santa Fe of Colombia. Chivas, without the 6 players, defeated the Colombians 3 goals to 0 on the away leg of the tie (two match, home and home series). As the series moved to Colombia, Independiente gave them a scare away at the Estadio Jalisco, 3-1. In the end, the aggregate score was 4-3 in favor of Chivas. Next, they advanced to the quarterfinals to take on Vélez Sársfield of Argentina. In the semifinals, the Chivas went on to a 2-1 victory, in the vuelta of the tie on July 20th with goals by Adolfo Bautista who was named man of the match and a penalty goal from the spot by Ramon Morales. They faced Sao Paulo and lost the tie, and finished as a semifinalist, the same as the prior year's tournament.
Current squad
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Squad changes for Apertura 2006 season
In:
Juan Pablo Rodriguez - Transferred From UAG Tecos
Out:
- Edoardo Isella - On Loan To Jaguares de Chiapas
- Christian Armas - On LoanTo Jaguares de Chiapas
- Alejandro Vela - On Loan To Jaguares de Chiapas
- Carlos Salcido - Transferred To PSV Eindhoven
- Johnny Garcia - Transferred To Queretaro FC
- Jorge Barrera - Transferred To Queretaro FC
Affiliations
Primera División A: Chivas Coras Tepic
External links
- Official site (in Spanish)
- http://legion1908.net Official hinchada site] (in Spanish)
- Unofficial site (in Spanish)
- Primera División
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