, founder of C.D. Guadalajara|left|182x182px
Early history The team was founded by
Edgar Everaert, who arrived in Mexico in 1906. First named "Unión" because of the camaraderie between the players of different nationalities, most of whom were employees of the
Fábricas de Francia store, with founder Everaert as coach. A few
Spanish and
English players also became members of the Unión Football Club. The club's first match was against Gimnasio Atlético Occidental. That match, Unión was coached by member
Rafael Orozco, who alongside his brother,
Gregorio, were the first
Mexicans at Unión. The Orozco family were one of the club's earliest benefactors, with Orozco's grandmother, Nicolasa Sáinz, allowing her home to be used as Unión's first clubhouse. His uncle, Sabino Orozco, who reportedly came up with the name Unión, would also donate land to the club that would become its first ground. On a tour of
Europe, Everaert noticed that European teams named after their respective town or city seemed to generate more support from fans in their communities. Once he returned to
Guadalajara,
Jalisco, he told his observations to Rafael and Gregorio Orozco. So, in 1908, in a club meeting at Sáinz's house attended by the Orozco brothers, Sabino Orozco, and the remaining Mexican Unión members, Club de Fútbol Unión was renamed as Club Deportivo Guadalajara to engender a sense of loyalty within the city's population. Notably, this decision was made without Everaert or any European members present. Gregorio Orozco would take credit for the decision to rename the club. Following the aftermath of the
Mexican Revolution, amateur football tournaments throughout the country flourished and Guadalajara was always involved. Also during this period, the oldest rivalry in Mexican football began to form, between Guadalajara and
América. In 1943, it was decided that the team would only field Mexican-born players because of the growing sense of oppression Mexican nationals felt towards non-Mexican nationals.
Amateur Era (1908-1943) line-up in their 18–0 victory in a
Liga Occidental match against Guadalajara. The match would prove pivotal in forming one of the
fiercest rivalries in Jaliscan and
Mexican football. In 1906, several competing clubs in the city of Guadalajara had been formed, including Atlético Occidental, Excelsior,
Liceo de Varones, Cuauhtémoc, and Iturbide. A federation, Federación Deportiva de Occidente de Aficionados, led by Chivas president Rafael Orozco, had been formed between these clubs as a way to resolve issues plaguing Tapatio football, including the lack of a league uniting clubs in Guadalajara. In 1908, the federation announced the creation of the
Liga Occidente de Jalisco. Guadalajara won the inaugural tournament in the 1908/09 season and won three of the six first Liga Occidente tournaments. The other three tournaments were won by
seminarians Liceo de Varones. Newly founded
Atlas would join the league, becoming a powerhouse in Tapatio football winning 4 tournaments from 1918 to 1921, with Guadalajara finishing runners up twice. Guadalajara would win the 1922 tournament as well as in 1923 and 1924, with Atlas finishing runners-up all thrice. The competitiveness and the
socioeconomic differences of the clubs would create the
Clásico Tapatío, one of the oldest and fiercest rivalries in Mexican football. From 1924 to 1934, Chivas would win 5 Occidente titles, only losing the other championships to newly founded
Nacional. During this period, the
Selección Jalisco would be founded in 1926 by the members of the Liga Occidente. A regional team composed of the best players from
Jalisco based in Club Guadalajara, Atlas,
Nacional, and
Oro, would play exhibitions against
Primera Fuerza teams based in Mexico City, and by 1937, teams outside of Mexico. By 1940, the popularity of the exhibition side would result in many players being poached by Mexico City-based clubs, and later in an invitation to the Primera Fuerza. The
1941 Primera Fuerza tournament would end with the Selección Jalisco finishing second in their inaugural tournament. Between 1906 and 1943, Guadalajara won 13 amateur titles.
Professional Era and "El Ya Merito" (1943–1955) In 1943 the
Liga Mayor was founded after the merging of several regional leagues and the era of professional football began. Guadalajara would make their professional debut on 6 July 1943 in the
Copa MX, where they would play against local rivals
Atlas. They would go on to lose the match 3-1, with
Manuel "Cosas" López's 30-minute goal becoming the first of Guadalajara's professional era. Later that year, they would make their
Liga Mayor debut on 21 October against Atlante, where they would go on to win 1–4 at
Parque Asturias.
Pablo "Pablotas" González scored the first league goal in Guadalajara's history. Guadalajara struggled during the early years, with the exception of the 1948–49 season when they finished third. This same year Guadalajara was given the name "
Chivas Locas" (Crazy Goats) during a game against Tampico. The name was initially considered an insult but later adopted as the team's nickname due to the overwhelming popularity of the club. During the
1952 season, Guadalajara would challenge for their first league title, competing with
León and city rivals Atlas and Oro. Guadalajara were league leaders by matchday 20, but a 0–1 loss at home to León on matchday 21 and a 1–0 loss away at Puebla on the final matchday would result in León winning the title by one point. Guadalajara would again challenge for the league title in the 1954–55 seasons, where the team finished as runner-up in the league to
Zacatepec. This era of competing for the title would lead to the nickname "
¡Ya Merito!" ("Almost There!"). forward,
Salvador Reyes led Guadalajara to success during "
El Campeonísimo".
"El Campeonísimo" (1955–1970) During the
1956 season, players such as
Salvador "Chava" Reyes,
Jaime "El Tubo" Gomez,
Arturo "Curita" Chaires,
Juan "Bigotón" Jasso,
Isidoro "Chololo" Díaz,
Guillermo "Tigre" Sepúlveda, and
José "Jamaicón" Villegas were part of what is considered one of the finest teams in Mexican football history,
El Campeonísimo. Guadalajara won its first championship during this season due to a last-minute header scored by Salvador Reyes. Led by coaches such as
Donaldo "Pato" Ross and
Javier "Chamaco" de la Torre in subsequent years, the team won seven league championships, two cups, three CONCACAF titles and seven Champion of Champions titles. It was the only team in Mexico's football history to win four league championships in a row, during the
1958–59,
1959–60,
1960–61, and
1961–62 seasons.
"Las Chivas Flacas" (1971–1983) During the 1970s and early 1980s, Guadalajara struggled a lot. In the
1970–71 season, the team finished very close to the relegation zone. The best they could manage to reach was the play-offs twice, with a fifth-place finish in
1971–72 and a sixth-place finish in
1976–77. They began to be nicknamed "Las Chivas Flacas" (The Lean Goats), due to their lean athletic performances. During the
1980–81 season, on February 14, 1981, the bus transporting the team to a match in the city of
Puebla was hit by a trailer, taking the life of midfielder
José "Pepe" Martínez. During 1980–81 season, the team reached a third-place ranking. Eleven years after their near-relegation in 1971, Guadalajara managed to escape it yet again in the
1981–82 season by just one point.
Recovery (1983–1991) Improvement came soon after the hiring of coach
Alberto Guerra, who had been a player for Guadalajara during the mid '60s. During the
1982–83 season, Guadalajara finished seventh in the league and qualified for the playoffs, going on to eliminate
Atlante in quarter-finals and
América in Semifinals. The team reached the finals for the first time since the playoff format was introduced in the '70s, where they would go on to lose to
Puebla in a penalty shootout. Guadalajara would once again reach the Finals in 1983–84, only to lose to América by an aggregate score of 5–4. The club would continue being competitive the rest of the '80s and early '90s., with their very best performance in the
1986–87 season, where they would finish 1st in the regular season and win the Championship against
Cruz Azul in the final. Their best players during this time were
Benjamín "Maestro" Galindo,
Eduardo "Yayo" de la Torre,
José Manuel "Chepo" de la Torre,
Fernando "Sheriff" Quirarte, and
Javier "Vasco" Aguirre among others.
"La Promotora" Era (1992–2002) By the end of the 1980s, Guadalajara began to experience several financial troubles. Team directors decided to create a special financial sector that would be known as La Promotora Deportiva. The team would be "sold" for 10 years starting in 1992 to a petroleum executive named Salvador Martínez Garza, who would be in charge of the
Promotora and of team operations. Before Guadalajara began its new era under the
Promotora, the team began the 1990s in average form, reaching the Semifinals in 90–91, reaching the Quarterfinals in 91–92, and finishing in thirteenth place in 92–93. The new directors decided to bring back Guadalajara's champion coach of the 1986–87 season Alberto Guerra and purchase many players that would become icons for Guadalajara in the early '90s:
Missael "Missa" Espinoza,
Alberto "Guamerú" García, and
Alberto Coyote. The team also relied on young talent from the youth academy. Such talent included
Paulo Cesar "Tilón" Chávez and
Joel "Tiburón" Sánchez. At the beginning of the 93–94 season, the press and fans dubbed the new and improved team
Las Superchivas. However, despite expectations, the team was eliminated early on in the playoffs. The 94–95 season would bring about more change for the team. The club directors sold all television rights of the team to Mexican giant
Televisa, a move that was heavily criticized by fans because of Televisa's ownership of
América. Guadalajara would end the 1993–1994 regular season as the leader in the league table, but was narrowly defeated by
Necaxa in the Semifinals. The 96–97 season saw the exit of coach Alberto Guerra, being replaced by the Dutchman
Leo Beenhakker. The team failed to make the playoffs that season. By 1996, the
Primera División de México season format would be changed to two short seasons per year. The first of the seasons,
Invierno 1996, saw Guadalajara bring in another coach,
Brazilian Ricardo Ferretti. During Ferretti's first season, the team managed to reach third place in the league table, but would be eliminated by Club Necaxa in the Quarterfinals. Guadalajara won its 10th championship under Ferretti in the
Verano 1997 season against
Toros Neza with the aggregate score of 7–2. Guadalajara would once again reach the Finals in the
Invierno 1998 season, only to once again lose to Necaxa.
New Ownership Era (2002–2011) 's company,
Groupo Omnilife, have owned the club since 2002. After its tenth year in charge of Guadalajara,
La Promotora was still in debt and finally put up for sale. On October 31, 2002, the team was acquired by a Guadalajara native and self-made entrepreneur,
Jorge Vergara. Vergara was the founder of a multi level marketing named
Grupo Omnilife. Vergara hired directors that would be in charge of handling business affairs. He also removed all sponsorship from Guadalajara's jersey; the jersey has since had limited sponsorship. In order to establish funding for the team, Vergara sought to market the
Las Chivas name and capitalize on it, placing the name on anything from its own magazine to toothbrushes and its own brand of
cola. For the
Clausura 2003 season, Guadalajara hired
Eduardo de la Torre, who had played for the team in the 1980s. The
Apertura 2003 season would see poor results in the first half of the tournament, putting an end to de la Torre's tenure as coach. Coaching responsibilities would be temporarily assumed by Dutchman
Hans Westerhof and the team would qualify for a wild card showdown against
Club Deportivo Toluca, only to be subsequently eliminated. In February 2004, it was announced that the club would construct a new stadium (
Estadio Akron). In the
Apertura 2004, Guadalajara would display an offensive style of football and managed to place third in the league standings, qualifying for the playoffs. Players such as goalkeeper
Oswaldo Sánchez,
Ramon Morales,
Omar Bravo, and newly acquired
Adolfo "Bofo" Bautista, became instant fan favorites. They defeated
Atlante in the quarterfinals and Toluca in the semifinals, but would lose in the Finals against
Pumas UNAM in a penalty shootout. Nevertheless, the team had shown, since Vergara's arrival, that it was highly competitive, including in the
2005 Copa Libertadores, where it defeated favorites
Boca Juniors 4–0 aggregate to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, they lost to
Athletico Paranaense 5–2. Under coach
José Manuel de la Torre, who was a player for Guadalajara in the 1980s, the team won its 11th championship. In the
Apertura 2006 season, Las Chivas placed eighth in the league table and qualified for the playoffs by defeating
Veracruz 2–1 in the city of
Veracruz and 4–0 in the
Estadio Jalisco in a wild card series. Guadalajara advanced to the quarterfinals where they defeated
Cruz Azul 2–0 in the first leg and tied 2–2 in the second leg (4–2 aggregate), moving on to the
semi-finals against rivals
América. The club advanced to the final of the Primera División against
Toluca. The first match was played at Estadio Jalisco, in which Toluca and Las Chivas tied 1–1 with goals from Omar Bravo for Las Chivas and
Bruno Marioni for Toluca. On 10 December 2006, Las Chivas played at Toluca's home stadium
Estadio Nemesio Díez and won 2–1 (3–2 aggregate), thus becoming the Mexican League champions by holding 11 titles, the most titles of any team in the league at the time. Under José Luis Real,
Chivas saw many young and promising players blossoming even more rapidly than expected, including
Javier Hernández, who was signed by English club
Manchester United on 8 April; Hernandez additionally finished the tournament as joint-top scorer with 10 goals and named best forward.
Chivas qualified to the
championship stage after a second place general table finish but lost to
Monarcas Morelia in the first round with an aggregate score of 5–2. On July 30,
Chivas played their inaugural match in the newly constructed Estadio Akron against Manchester United, as part of a deal where Javier Hernández was headed to the English club. Hernández played for Guadalajara in the first half, scoring within the first 8 minutes and switched sides in the second, unable to prevent a 3–2 defeat for Manchester United. In August,
Chivas played
that year's
Copa Libertadores finals against Brazilian club
Sport Club Internacional but lost following an aggregate score of 5–3, becoming the second Mexican club to reach the tournament's final.
The New Dark Era (2011–2015) was sporting advisor of Club Guadalajara for nine months between February and December 2012. Starting with the release of José Luis Real as coach in October 2011, Chivas struggled to maintain form finding themselves with 9 coaches being hired and released in the past 3 years. The club was in danger of being relegated to the second division for the first time in their history. In February 2012,
Johan Cruyff was hired as the team's advisor. He would seldom visit Guadalajara, delegating many sporting responsibilities to his son-in-law and international director of the
Cruyff Institute, Todd Beane. During his tenure, he recommended fellow countryman
John van 't Schip for head coach and oversaw the club turf switch from synthetic to natural grass. Although the
Apertura 2012 would include wins against rivals América and Atlas, the club would finish the regular season in eighth place and failed to move past the quarterfinals of the
liguilla. In December 2012, the club sacked Cruyff and Beane, mainly due to the fact that the team was not improving. On 3 January 2012, van't Schip would be sacked, three days before the start of the
Clausura 2013.
Benjamin Galindo would be re-appointed as head coach on the same day. A season where the club struggled to win matches and gain momentum, Guadalajara would lose their six final league matches, resulting in a 17th-place finish. After matchday six of the
Apertura 2013, a 4–2 home loss to
Puebla, Galindo would be sacked. His tenure would end with 4 wins, 8 draws, and 10 losses in 22 league matches. On November 22, 2013, Guadalajara placed multiple important players on the transfer list:
Marco Fabián,
Miguel Ponce, and veterans
Luis Michel and
Héctor Reynoso. On November 25, 2013, it was confirmed that
José Luis Real would return to C.D. Guadalajara as head coach. Real showed improvement in the squad but was soon released after the team lost 4–0 at home to rivals
América. On April 2, 2014, veteran manager
Ricardo La Volpe was appointed as head coach. He was immediately released on April 30, 2014 supposedly due to having inappropriate conduct with a female staff member who later took legal action against him. On May 12, 2014,
Carlos Bustos was appointed as head coach. On October 2, 2014, Bustos resigned after a 3–1 loss to
Toluca. He left the team with two wins, four draws, and four losses. On October 7, 2014, former Mexico national team manager
José Manuel de la Torre was appointed as head coach. The club started the 2015 season with a 2–1 loss against
Chiapas F.C., and this result caused them to become tied in the last position of the Liga MX relegation table with
Puebla. The very next week the club showed better character after a 2–1 win at home against
Pumas UNAM in front of a very supportive, and completely sold-out crowd of fans. By game 12 of the
2015 Clausura season, Guadalajara managed to earn 21 points after winning crucial matches against teams such as
Monterrey and relegation rivals Puebla. José Manuel de la Torre's strategic 4–2–3–1 formation proved effect during matches despite the fans' constant requests to use two strikers in the starting line-up. In game 13 of the season, Guadalajara defeated
León in the
Estadio Akron's 100th official match and went up to 1st place with 24 points. José Manuel de la Torre's effectiveness rose to 62.1%, the highest rate in the Clausura 2015 season. The club finished the 2015 Clausura in fifth place with the third best defense of the season, thus, qualifying to the playoffs for the first time since 2012. The team started the 2015 Apertura season with 4 points in 6 games and a squad plagued with injuries. On September 14, 2015, the club announced they had released De la Torre.
The Second Resurrection (2015–2018) won 5 trophies in 3 years with Chivas, including a double in
Clausura 2017.|195x195px On September 18, 2015, the club officially presented
Matías Almeyda as new manager, proclaiming he wanted to "
awaken the giant." Almeyda immediately made his style of attacking football known by consecutively winning his first four matches, including the match against rivals
América on September 26, 2015 by a score of 2–1 at the
Estadio Azteca. On November 4, Guadalajara won its third
Copa MX after defeating
León by a score of 1–0 via a 75th-minute header scored by defender
Oswaldo Alanís. On May 5, the club qualified for the Clausura 2016 Liguilla, earning 28 points and finishing in 5th place. After seasons of struggles and disappointing results, the club earned ninth place in the official relegation table for the 2016–2017 season due to their good performances throughout the 2015–2016 season, thus, starting their end of relegation troubles and surpassing clubs such as
Cruz Azul and
Club Tijuana. On May 21, 2016, club owner Jorge Vergara announced in an official press conference that the club was not renewing contract with Mexican television giants
Televisa, thus, ending a 22-year run with the broadcasting company. Vergara then announced the establishment of
Chivas TV, the club's own channel for live games, interviews, and more. Chivas TV would have a rough start with many complaints from customers about a difficulty watching the live games, but the service would get better as the season progressed and allies such as
Cinepolis Klic,
Claro Video, and
TDN joined the project and also broadcast the live games. On July 10, 2016,
Chivas played their first ever
Supercopa MX and won the title by defeating
Veracruz 2–0, with goals from
Orbelin Pineda and
Omar Bravo, and qualifying to the
Copa Libertadores for the first time since 2012, however, they would ultimately not participate due to the Copa Libertadores had a new format which Mexican teams could not adapt to, thus withdrawing from the competition. On April 19, 2017,
Chivas won their
fourth Copa MX title, defeating
Monarcas Morelia in a penalty shoot-out by a score of 3–1 after a goalless draw, with Guadalajara goalkeeper
Miguel Jiménez stopping three consecutive penalties during the series. The following month, they played Atlas, Toluca and in the
Clausura championship final was played against
Tigres UANL, with Guadalajara winning their twelfth league title following an aggregate victory of 4–3 after two legs. With the capture of the Liga MX title,
Chivas became the first team in Mexican history to win a
Double in a single season on two different occasions and their first since the
1969–70 season. On April 25, 2018, Guadalajara won the
CONCACAF Champions League final against
Major League Soccer side
Toronto FC, defeating them 4–2 via penalty shoot-out, with all four players scoring, after a 3–3 aggregate draw. As a result of winning the title, Guadalajara qualified for the
2018 FIFA Club World Cup. On June 11, 2018, however, he left, citing differences with an executive. The following day,
José Cardozo was appointed manager.
Downfall And Mediocrity (2018–2022) In December, at the
FIFA Club World Cup, they concluded their first participation in the tournament with a sixth-place finish after losing in a penalty shoot-out against Tunisian club
Esperance Sportive de Tunis. In March 2019, Cardozo was let go following a losing streak of 4 matches and on April 10,
Tomás Boy was named as his successor. On November 15, 2019,
Grupo Omnilife and club owner Jorge Vergara died at the age of 64 of cardiac arrest. His son,
Amaury Vergara, inherited the presidency of the club. On November 26, Amaury Vergara officially presented
Ricardo Peláez as the club's new sporting director and
Luis Fernando Tena as the new manager. Tena was let go on August 9 after going the first three matches of the
Guardianes 2020 tournament scoreless, losing twice. Four days later,
Víctor Manuel Vucetich was appointed as the new manager. Following a seventh place general table finish, they made it to the
Guardianes 2020 semi-finals, losing 2–1 to eventual league winners
León. In the Guardianes 2021, Chivas would end up getting knocked out in the reclassification round 4–2 to
Pachuca. In the Torneo Apertura 2021, Chivas had their lowest finish in the league since the reclassification phase was re-added, placing 10th in the general standings. This led to the sacking of Victor Manuel Vucetich and the appointment of caretaker manager
Marcelo Michel Leaño. The club would end up getting knocked out to
Puebla 6–5 on penalties in the reclassification phase. Leaño was appointed as the permanent manager for the
Clausura 2022 tournament. After only getting 11 points from a possible 39, Leaño was sacked. With 4 games left to go in the tournament, Ricardo Pelaez announced the arrival of
Ricardo Cadena to be caretaker manager for the rest of the tournament. Cadena would go on to end the regular season with a 4-game winning streak putting Chivas in 6th place. Chivas would end up beating rivals
Pumas UNAM 4–1 in the
reclassification phase but then fall in the quarter finals to local rivals and eventual champions Atlas 2–1 (3–2 on aggregate) For the
Apertura 2022, Cadena was appointed as permanent manager. Guadalajara would struggle, as they only got their first win in the 10th matchday. It would be later revealed that Sporting Director Ricardo Peláez had consistently been trying to leave the club but president Amaury Vergara declined his resignation. Chivas would end up getting knocked by Puebla on penalties 5–4, yet again in the
reclassification phase.
Spanish Project (2022–2025) led Guadalajara's sporting project from October 2022 to June 2024. On October 21, 2022,
Fernando Hierro was announced as the sporting director for the team. 10 days later, he announced the appointment of former Chicago Fire coach
Veljko Paunović. This announcement was heavily criticized as he had little to no knowledge of Mexican football and had left his previous team (
Reading) fighting in a
relegation battle. Despite this, he led Chivas to a top 3 finish in the Clausura 2023, qualifying them for the Liguilla directly for the first time since the Clausura 2017. In the quarter-finals, they would face and tie with city rivals
Atlas 1–1 on aggregate, with Chivas advancing due to having the better position on the regular season table. Chivas would be matched against historical rivals
América in the semi-finals, where despite losing 1–0 at home, Chivas would win 3–1 at the
Estadio Azteca to advance to their first league final since the
Clausura 2017. On May 28, 2023, despite leading 2–0 after the first half, Chivas lost the final of the
Clausura 2023 2–3 after
Extra Time to
Tigres UANL, the same team they had beat in the Clausura 2017 final. After a disappointing quarter-final exit in the Apertura 2023, Veljko Paunović officially left the club on December 15, 2023.
Fernando Gago would soon be announced as his replacement 5 days later. Gago would lead Chivas to the qualification zone in the
Clausura 2024 as the 6th seed with 31 points and bring them back to the semifinals where they would soon be eliminated by rivals Club América. On May 29, 2024, Fernando Hierro announced his departure as the sporting director of the team, after accepting an offer to become director of football at
Al-Nassr. On October 10, 2024, Chivas announced the departure of Fernando Gago, after his termination clause was activated, allowing him to join
Boca Juniors. This was after weeks of speculation, especially during and after their derby loss to Atlas 2–3 on October 5, 2024. On December 2, 2024,
Óscar García Junyent was appointed as the head coach for the
Clausura 2025 season. In the pre-season, the squad was reinforced by the likes of Mexican international
Luis Romo, as well as the return of
Alan Pulido. During the beginning of Clausura 2025, Chivas struggled to win games, only winning 11 points from their first 9 games, including a 3–1 loss to 17th placed
San Luis on February 26. On January 30, García Junyent received a 3-match ban after kicking
James Rodríguez in a match against
León. On February 28, Chivas announced the departure of the remaining Spanish sporting directors from Fernando Hierro's tenure. They were succeeded by Javier Mier. The following day, the new sporting directive announced the imminent departure of García Junyent. They appointed Gerardo Espinoza on March 3 for the remainder of the season. After a promising start against Club América winning 1–0 in the first leg of the
Concacaf Champions Cup and drawing 0–0 in the Liga MX, they went on to lose 4–1 on aggregate in the second leg. They then would go on to have even poorer results which led to Guadalajara failing to qualify for the playoffs and finishing in 11th place. This led to the departure of
Gerardo Espinoza Present (2025–) After weeks of rumors regarding whom would be Guadalajara's next manager, on May 13,
Chivas seemingly agreed personal terms with
Domenec Torrent. Just days before the contract was officially signed and announced, the deal fell through further fueling speculation regarding the next manager. Finally, on May 26, Guadalajara announced Argentine manager
Gabriel Milito. With him came new signings:
Richard Ledezma,
Diego Campillo,
Efraín Álvarez, and
Bryan González. ==Colors and crest==