Club de Fútbol Pachuca - last updated on 29 December 2007
(Courtesy of Johnny Beaufays)
Club name: Club de Fútbol Pachuca
Foundation: 1901
City: Pachuca de Soto
Colours: White and navy blue
Website: www.tuzostv.com
Honours:
CONCACAF Champions' Cup - 2 (2002, 2007)
Copa Sudamericana - 1 (2006)
SuperLiga - 1 (2007)
Primera División - 5 (Invierno 1999, Invierno 2001, Apertura 2003, Clausura 2006, Clausura 2007)
Primera División "A" - 2 (1995-96, Invierno 1997)
Segunda División - 2 (1966-67, 1991-92)
Copa México de Segunda División - 1 (1965-66)
Segunda División "B" - 1 (1987-1988)
A bit of history:
Cornish miners from the Compañia Real del Monte de Pachuca founded the team in 1901. It is the oldest soccer team in Mexico.
Originally, they practiced soccer only as a pastime during the free time they had while working at the mines. On July 19, 1907 the Primera División de México was founded with the teams that were founded immediately after Pachuca.
In the 1908 season, a Mexican born player, David Islas, appears for the first time in the ranks of the team.
From 1910 to 1912, the Revolución Mexicana decimates professional soccer in Mexico and only three teams remained. Pachuca was one of them.
By 1915, most of the players on the team were Mexicans.
From 1917 to 1920, Pachuca is champion of the league under British coach Alfred Crowle.
Pachuca disappears during the 1920-1921 Season when most of its players move to Mexico City.
Many years passed by until a second division Segunda División the team was reassembled.
In 1967 the team is crowned champion of the Segunda División and is able to move up to the Primera División. The team fares poorly and returns to the Segunda División in the early 1970s. The Tuzos would have to wait 19 years before being able to return to the Primera División in the 1992-1993 season, where they would struggle to remain and fall back that same season.
The loss of prestige of the Segunda División causes a new division of play to be created. The Primera División A is created in 1994 and the team is a sensation. However, they are unable to crown their efforts and fall to Atletico Celaya in an overtime final.
In the 1995-1996 season, the team becomes champion of the Primera "A" tournament and is enabled to return to the Primera División.
The team struggles yet again, and returns to the Primera División "A" once more.
After the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación splits the calendar into two half-length tournaments, Pachuca becomes champion of the Winter tournament. After defeating Tigrillos in the promotion final, once again, Pachuca returns to the Primera División.
In the 1998-1999 season, the team breaks its own bad streak by defeating Atlante in the Estadio Azteca in front of 30,000 people and avoid returning to the Primera División "A" and for the first time in 30 years remaining in the top league for two consecutive years under coach Javier Aguirre.
In the winter tournament of 1999, Pachuca makes history by crowning itself for the first time since the league become professional. They defeat Cruz Azul in the second leg of the final playoff. Javier Aguirre leads an unexpected team to victory, which culminated with a golden goal scored by Argentinian striker Alejandro Glaria who used his inner thigh to push the ball into the net.
Repeatedly interviewed during quarterfinals and semifinals, Aguirre declared that he never expected to get so far, and originally expected to be on vacation by that point.
As a result of their conquest, the team is invited to participate in the now defunct Copa Merconorte.
With a strong effort from the organization, they manage to keep 85% of the original championship team and by 2001, the Tuzos, again under Javier Aguirre, are finalists in the summer tournament. They fall to Santos Laguna in the Estadio Corona in Torreon, Coahuila.
During that season, the team lost one of its biggest figures when Pablo Hernán Gómez was killed in a car accident on January 29, 2001.
By the end of 2001, Javier Aguirre is chosen by Femexfut to coach the Seleccion Nacional Mexicana (Mexican National Team) which found itself at risk of not qualifying for the FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan. The team selects Alfredo Tena to be the new coach. Tena leads the team to the 2001 Winter Tournament Finals where they face UANL in the Estadio Universitario and conquer their second title.
2001 was also a celebration year for the team. It became the first Mexican professional football team to reach 100 years of existence. The team organized a large number of special events, among them the inauguration of a university with a curriculum that revolves entirely around soccer related fields Universidad del Futbol.
In 2003, the team captured yet another championship, again against UANL, and again in their stadium. This time, the coach was Victor Manuel Vucetich.
In its recent history, Pachuca has become a team to be respected in Mexican soccer.
Between 2003 and 2006 the team devoted more attention to social and marketing issues and failed to make the playoffs liguilla during two consecutive seasons. President Jesus Martinez however, vowed that the team would return to be among the headliners of the Primera División.
As a result, Pachuca won the Clausura 2006 championship in a final against San Luis after having an exceptional season which saw it finish in 1st place of the general standings. It was the first time that Pachuca won the championship by playing the return match in its home stadium. Consequently, Pachuca is the first qualifier to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2007, and defeated Guadalajara in the final.
Pachuca on May 27, 2007 won their 5th domestic title, in a final that was disputed against America, in winning this championship Pachuca has won 4 trophies in the past 17 months, 2 domestic exactly one year apart, and two international championships The Copa Sudamericana and the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. In winning Pachuca will have the honor of defending their Champions' Cup title during the 2008 Champions' Cup Tournament.
Their most recent title is the "SuperLiga" trophy, a tournament between teams from the Mexican League and Major League Soccer from the USA. Pachuca beat the Los Angeles Galaxy in penalty kicks (4-3) after tying 1-1 after overtime. The main prize besides the trophy was a million dollars to the winner. With this, Pachuca added its 5th tournament victory in 15 months. The CONCACAF awarded Pachuca, 2007 CONCACAF Team of the Year for their 5 titles in 15 months.
With the victory over Guadalajara, Pachuca claimed a spot in the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup, scheduled for December 7-December 16 2007. They were knocked out by their first rival in the tournament, CAF champions Étoile Sportive du Sahel from Tunisia on December 8.
The emblematic players of the Pachuca in their history are: Alfonso Madrigal, Eduardo Corona, Pollo Castillo, Hector Zarate, Apolinar Cortés, Carlos Trucco, Lorenzo Saez, Miguel Calero and Gabriel Caballero.
Club crests: (roll on the crest to get more informations)
Club de Fútbol Pachuca
