Club Deportivo Guadalajara S.A. de C.V., better known as Chivas, is one of the two teams with most championships in the history of Mexican soccer. It was founded on May 8, 1906, and in 2003 businessman Jorge Vergara (r.i.p.) acquired the franchise. The actual board of directors of the team is leaded by Amaury Vergara.

Guadalajara plays at Akron Stadium. Among the legends who have worn the red-and-white shirt are Salvador Reyes, José Villegas, Sabas Ponce, Guillermo Sepúlveda, Juan Jasso, Jaime Gómez, Héctor Hernández, Ignacio Calderón, Fernando Quitarte, Benjamín Galindo, Javier Ledesma, Eduardo de la Torre, Ramón Ramírez, Alberto Coyote, Oswaldo Sánchez, Ramón Morales, Adolfo Bautista, Omar Bravo, Carlos Salcido and Javier 'Chicharito' Hernández..

Over 112 years, red and white stripes have painted the history of Mexican football with multiple episodes of joy and triumph, goals and records that have forged the tradition that today defines the Sacred Rebaño.

THE ORIGIN

It all began when a group of young men, at the dawn of the 20th century, decided to follow the idea of the Belgian Edgar Everaert to found Unión Football Club, the first name the Chivas Rayadas del Guadalajara had.

It was in the warehouse called La Ciudad de Mexico that Everaert and the brothers Rafael and Gregorio Orozco took heart and gave La Perla de Occidente one of their most recognizable emblems.

Wearing a white shirt, the team played its first match against the Gimnasio Atlético Occidental, the newly formed team was coached by Rafael Orozco, who was also their first president. Under his command, the red and white stripes arrived at the suggestion of Everaert, who took on the colors of the flag of the city of Bruges, Belgium (where he was originally from), as well as changing the name to Guadalajara, which was made official on February 26, 1908.

At that time, Guadalajara had Belgian, French, Spanish and Mexican players in its ranks, and it was not until the 1943-44 season, when it entered the professional ranks, that the club decided to have only Mexican elements in its squad.

AMATEUR ERA

A dozen titles were the harvest of Guadalajara in those early years, while football in Jalisco was being consolidated by the names of red and white figures who stood out for their quality and passion. Pablo 'Pablotas' Gonzalez, Fausto and Max Prieto, as well as Jose 'Pelon' Gutierrez, were some of the elements that began to carve into the club's historical memory their names as stars of what would eventually become the most beloved team in all of Mexico

PROFESSIONAL ERAl

The professional First Division formally began in the 1943-44 season and with it Guadalajara began their journey on the country's soccer fields and in their debut they beat Atlante in Mexico City, 4-1.

THE NICKNAME 'CHIVAS

Guadalajara's nickname, which they now proudly bear, came about in the 1940s, when the Jalisco-based daily El Informador published the headline "They ran the race and lost to the Chivas (the Goats) one to zero" on 30 September 1948 after a match against Tampico in Round Two. What began as a mockery became a sound that reverberates throughout Mexican football to this day, a phenomenon that transcends borders with the more than 40 million fans in the country, the United States and the world.

Campeonísimo

Campeonisimo was the name given to the team that represented Chivas during the 1957-1970 period, the feat achieved by this group of players is unparalleled to date, as they won:

• 8 League Titles
• 2 Mexico Cups
• 6 Campeón de Campeones
• 1 Campeonísimo
• 1 Concacaf Title
• 1 Challenger Cup
• 3 International Pentagonals
• 1 Guadalajara City Tournament

The resurgence came in the 1980s; a new generation of youngsters forged into the club's core forces and with a home bred coach in the hot seat, Alberto Guerra, returned Guadalajara to the prominence they had once enjoyed..

Javier 'Zully' Ledesma, Fernando Quirarte, Demetrio Madero and Ricardo 'Snoopy' Perez, plus the hiring of one of the finest Mexican midfielders in history, Benjamin Galindo, were the names of the players that gave Chivas a new mystique; this team bases was reinforced with heirs from the team's old glories: Eduardo, José Manuel and Néstor de la Torre, as well as Omar Arellano Nuño, joined the ranks of the team with their historical surname, but with their own undeniable talent that made their parents proud.

TENTH TITLE

In the 1997 Summer Tournament, Chivas had a very solid campaign that culminated in a final which resulted in a screamer when they faced off against coach Enrique Meza's eccentric Toros Neza and with Antonio Mohamed as the star.

The Rebaño drew 1-1 in the first match held in Ciudad Netzahualcóyotl, State of Mexico, a result that made it difficult to imagine the outcome of the return game. As always when a title was at stake, the Jalisco Stadium was full of red and white, on the field the team did not disappoint the crowd: six goals in the second half against Toros who were only able to score one.

VERGARA AND THE REBIRTH

A very important change happened in the history of the club as in 2002, a successful businessman in Guadalajara acquired the ownership letters of Club Deportivo Guadalajara AC, this was a radical, revolutionary movement regarding traditional team management. Jorge Vergara Madrigal broke into the world of soccer with a fantastic business approach, combining it with the tradition and history of Chivas Rayadas del Guadalajara.

From Civil Association to Public Limited Company, that was the first thing, but with that also came an important investment in the Rojiblanca youth academy with international tournaments, creating the basis of best soccer academy Mexico has ever seen.

The philosophy of having an offensive and spectacular team as Jorge Vergara wanted, had not been enough to raise a cup again. New idols were already wearing the Rojiblanco jersey: Oswaldo Sánchez as a goalkeeper, defenders such as Carlos Salcido or Francisco 'Maza' Rodríguez were frequently called up to Mexico's National Team and attack elements such as Adolfo 'Bofo' Bautista, Alberto Medina, and Omar Bravo drove rival defenses crazy Until conquering the eleventh title in Apertura 2006.

Under the administration of Mr. Vergara, El Rebaño Sagrado has been strengthened in sporting terms to continue as the most successful and popular team in Mexico with the conquest of 2 League titles, 2 MX Cups, one MX Super Cup, and one Concacaf Champions League, which meant a spot in the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup. Moreover, Chivas was a finalist in Copa Libertadores de América in 2010, as well as Runner-up in Clausura 2004 and Concacaf in 2007.

THE ELEVENTH TITLE

During the 2006 Apertura Tournament, under the command of an important past figure as coach along with his historic family legacy in the Rebaño, José Manuel 'Chepo' de la Torre emulated his uncle, Engineer Javier de la Torre, and with eleven Mexicans hungry for victory conquered the long-awaited championship; in the postseason De la Torre's side defeated classic rivals such as Cruz Azul in the Quarter Finals, América in the Semifinals in a re-edition of the 82-83 season historic clash to then beat Toluca in the Final on the pitch of Estadio Nemesio Díez Stadium.

INTERNACIONALIZATION

Guadalajara's foray into South American tournaments, such as Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana, gave the team new challenges and a very enriching prestige boost in every tournament, Chivas became a protagonist as they managed to defeat teams like Boca Juniors, River Plate, or Sao Paulo. During the 2010 edition of Copa Libertadores, Chivas reached the final but was unable to win the title against International de Porto Alegre; however, Chivas reached international success by obtaining the Concacaf Champions League 2018.

That international showcase and frequent players in Mexico's National Team have allowed Chivas homegrown players to emigrate to clubs in different countries of Europe.

THE RECORD

Chivas broke an old record in Mexican soccer. In the 1928-1929 season, Marte won its first seven league games and it took 82 years for El Rebaño to break that record by obtaining eight victories at the start of the 2010 Bicentenario Tournament thanks to a stellar Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández. Once again, Chivas' academy was able to bring up great players & a fantastic soccer level. Stellar performances by ‘Chicharito’, who won the goal-scoring title, quickly led him to sign for one of the most important clubs in world football, Manchester United.

AKRON STADIUM

On July 30, 2010, ‘Chicharito’ returned to Guadalajara to inaugurate a dream come true, Chivas' majestic new house. The opening match between Manchester United and Chivas Rayadas of Guadalajara ended with a 3-2 victory for the Jalisco side. 'Chicharito', 'Bofo', and Héctor Reynoso laced it home for Chivas while Smalling and Nani pulled two back for the Mancunians.
Guadalajara reached the 2010 Copa Libertadores Final for the first time after a 2-0 triumph over Universidad de Chile on Andean soil to then face the Brazilian side, International de Porto Alegre.
In the first leg game, even though Chivas took the lead thanks to a goal from Adolfo Bautista, Andrés D’Alessandro's class helped Inter to come back along with goals from Bolívar and Giuliano.
In the second leg game, Marco Fabián scored a superb goal that silenced the Brazilians and leveled terms, but Inter took control of the game again to score three goals. Omar Bravo scored the last goal for Chivas to a 5-3 overall score.
Our Rojiblanca Fortress already has 3 titles. The historic doublet with the 2017 Clausura League title and the 2017 Cup title, and the 2018 Concacaf Champions League, as well as another title in the nascent Women's MX League as El Rebaño Sagrado, defeated Pachuca following a spectacular comeback in the championship game of Apertura 2017.
Thus, years go by and Chivas greatness prevails and grows within millions of souls; with reborn legends from the past and into the future with constant goal-chanting filled with red and white colors, as a grass-level passion spread by a soccer ball and one feeling: Chivas!

RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS

After having fought hard battles in 2014 and 2015 to keep away relegation ghosts and mend the course in the national championship, Chivas recorded a solid resurgence of their winning mystique.

Led by Matías Almeyda, the Rojiblanco side once again raised a trophy in the Apertura 2015, when Chivas beat Los Panzas Verdes in León by just one goal in the final of the MX Cup that meant a huge emotional boost to become a contender in Liga MX playoffs.

The next title was the 2015-16 MX Super Cup when El Rebaño triumphed 2-0 over Veracruz in Los Angeles, California, which was an omen that the best was yet to come.

In accordance to its glorious tradition and identity, El Rebaño Sagrado made history in the Clausura 2017 when it became the first club to achieve the doublet (League and Cup) in the short-tournament era and the first club to do so twice throughout the professional era of Mexican soccer (Chivas had previously achieved such milestone during the 1969-70 season).

In the MX Cup Final, Chivas outscored Morelia 3-1 on penalties shootout after a scoreless draw in regular time, thanks to an outstanding performance by goalkeeper Miguel 'Wacho' Jiménez at Estadio Akron which a month later hosted the League Final when el Chiverío achieved a fantastic 2-1 victory over Tigres 2-1 (4-3 aggregate) thanks to goals from Alan Pulido and José Juan 'Gallo' Vázquez, to put an end to a ten-and-a-half-year championship drought.

Chivas’ trophy lifting momentum continued in 2018, when Guadalajara won the Concacaf Champions League also at home, after beating Toronto FC on penalties 4-2 after a 3-3 aggregate draw, such title meant clinching a spot to the FIFA Club World Cup 2018 held in the United Arab Emirates.