Soccer History: CHIVAS

[François]

CHIVAS USA


A symbol of Mexican national pride for nearly a century, Club Deportivo Guadalajara (popularly known as “Chivas” or “Chivas de Guadalajara”) is arguably Mexico’s most popular and successful team. Founded in 1906 in the city of Guadalajara in Mexico by Edgar Eaveart, a native of Belgium, and a group of Belgian and French students, the club began as the amateur team: Club Union de Futbol. Not long after, the group broke up and created Club Deportivo Guadalajara in honor of their native city.

In 1908 the members that formed CD Guadalajara established a philosophy and tradition that would become a lasting image of the club and survive to this day. While the original Club Union was largely formed by Europeans in Mexico, by 1908 the membership of the club included many Mexican workers. Many of these workers were the ones who decided to break off and form their own club. Influenced by the revolutionary period that they were experiencing in Mexico, upon the formation of Club Guadalajara it was decided that the sporting club would only contain Mexican-born members.
In addition to sporting success, it was clear that one of the member’s main goals was to celebrate and promote not only pride in their city, but also their nation and culture as a whole. Interestingly enough the members did not do away with all European influence. They decided to keep the red, white and blue colors of Club Union which had been chosen in tribute by Eaveart to his favorite club, FC Brugge of Belgium.

After winning 13 amateur titles in a total of 33 years, 1943 marked CD Guadalajara’s debut as a professional club and while it would be more than a decade until their first championship, 1956 ushered in an incredible run now known as “el campeonismo.”

The club won a total of seven titles in nine years and established themselves as the class of Mexican soccer. Many of the players from that period – such as defender Jose “Jamaicon” Villegas, midfielder Juan “Bigoton” Jasso, goalkeeper Jaime “Tubo” Gomez and goal scorer Salvador “Chava” Reyes – are now considered icons and legends. As a result of the team’s incredible success during the period, they did several tours around the world playing exhibitions against such storied teams such as FC Barcelona.

It was at the dawn of Guadalajara’s entry into the professional ranks that they were given their nickname, “Chivas,” a name which means goat in Spanish and still sticks to this day. Following a 1-0 victory over Tampico in 1948, a reporter, incredulous that the club from Guadalajara had won the match, wrote that the team “plays like hopping goats.” The label “Chivas” – initially began as an insult used by rivals – eventually stuck and became accepted and embraced by the club and its fans.

After such success in the ‘60s, a letdown was inevitable, and it was in the ‘70s that Chivas suffered through their worst decade. However the ‘80s represented a reemergence of sorts. In both 1982-83 and 1983-84 the club lost in the final, yet again claimed the title in 1986-87. The late ‘80s and early ‘90s, however, brought economic problems and a group of businessmen headed by Salvador Martinez Garza, the team and controlled the team for the next decade, turning the club into a marketing institution known as a “Promotora.” In the ‘90s, the club was runner-up three times and won the Torneo Verano (summer championship) in 1997.

While the team suffered a few disappointing seasons as the century came to a close, the last year and a half has brought a resurgence that clearly shows Chivas to be one of Mexico’s top teams. The team, largely relying on youngsters, has reached the quarterfinals in three of the last four seasons. They continue to be one most exciting teams to watch and one of the best supported.