Copa MX 2007

Lore & Background

Founded in 1906 as Unión Football Club, the club changed its name to Guadalajara Football Club in 1908, and then changed to its current name in 1923. Nicknamed Chivas, it was one of ten founding members of the first professional and national league in Mexico, named Liga Mayor (current Liga MX). Guadalajara is one of seven Mexican clubs that have never been relegated. Chivas is the only football club in Mexico that does not sign foreign or naturalized players unless they are of Mexican descent. The team has historically relied on home-grown (cantera) players and has been the launching pad of many internationally successful players, including Javier Hernández, Carlos Vela and Carlos Salcido, among others.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights hummed overhead, casting long shadows across the worn grass. In the stands, a sea of red and white pulsed like a single heartbeat — thousands of scarves, thousands of voices, all chanting the same name. The final whistle had barely cracked the air when the players collapsed to their knees, arms locked, faces buried in the turf. A young midfielder, still in his red-and-white kit, looked up at the delirium and whispered to his teammate, 'Another one for the cabinet.' The teammate just smiled, already reaching for the trophy that would soon be hoisted above the crowd. Somewhere in the third tier, an old man in a faded 1986 jersey wept openly, his hands pressed to his mouth. The cup was heavy. The night was theirs.

Reader's Guide

Domestically, CD Guadalajara is one of the most successful Mexican clubs, winning twelve Liga MX titles, four Copa MX titles, seven Campeón de Campeones and one Supercopa MX, and also holds the league record for the longest winning streak at the beginning of a season, with eight consecutive wins in the Bicentenario 2010. Internationally, it has won two CONCACAF Champions Cup/Champions League titles, and also finished as runners-up in the 2010 Copa Libertadores. According to a study of preferred football clubs in 2016, Guadalajara was the most popular Mexican club, with 44.2% of supporters in the country. In 2020, Forbes estimated that the club was the most valuable of the league, ranking sixth overall in the Americas, worth approximately $311.5 million.

Did You Know?

• Chivas won four consecutive league championships from 1958–59 to 1961–62, a feat unmatched in Mexican football history.
• The club's nickname 'Chivas' originated from a 1948–49 match against Tampico, where they were called 'Chivas Locas' (Crazy Goats), initially an insult later embraced.
• Guadalajara's last Copa MX title before the tournament's revival in 2012 was in 1970 (Copa México 1969-70).
• No Copa MX tournament was held in 2007; the competition was not contested between 1996–97 and 2012–13.