C.F. América

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C.F. América

Nickname(s)	Las Aguilas, los azulcremas, los canarios, los millonetas
Founded	October 12, 1916
Ground	Estadio Azteca (Capacity: 105,000)
Owner	Emilio Azcarraga Jean
President	Michel Bauer
Manager	Jesús Ramírez
League	Primera División
Clausura 2009	8th (league)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Club de Fútbol América is a Mexican football club based in Mexico City, competing in the Primera División. América is owned by Emilio Azcárraga, who owns Televisa, making it the richest club in Mexico, and arguably the richest outside Europe. América and rivals Chivas share the distinction of being the two most successful teams in the Mexican first division - América has ten championships, behind Chivas with eleven. Despite not being the oldest Mexican club, América has achieved more international glory than any other club from Mexico. América is tied with FC Barcelona and FC Bayern Munich for the number of official international titles, with eight. América has the most international titles that are recognized by FIFA, than any other team from the CONCACAF region; two other Mexican clubs, Cruz Azul and Pachuca, follow with five each.

Club América is the highest ranking Mexican football club in IFFHS's All-Time Club World Ranking,^[1] América is ranked 77th tied with Sporting Lisbon of Portugal, and ahead of various clubs such as: CSKA Moskva, Fenerbahçe, and Tottenham Hotspur. Currently as of May 2009, Club América is the 8th highest CONCACAF football club ranked in the IFFHS monthly club world rankings, and 153rd overall.^[2]

América and Chivas share a long-standing rivalry. Their meetings, which have become known as Clásicos, are played at least twice a year and signal a national derby. Having never been relegated to the league's second division, they are the only two clubs to have been in the first division of the Mexican football league from the very beginning. The team mascot, as well as their nickname, is the eagle or Águila; it is flown around the stadium during half-time.

Contents 1 Foundation 2 Amateur Era 3 Professional Era 3.1 1940s Mexican League Beginnings 3.2 1950s-60s First League Title 3.3 1980s The Golden Age 1983-1991 3.4 1990s A Decade to Forget 3.5 2000s A new century 4 Stadium 5 Popularity 5.1 Supporters 6 Club records 7 Honors 7.1 National 7.2 International 7.3 Amateur 7.4 Friendly 8 International Competitions 8.1 Copa Libertadores 8.2 Copa Sudamericana 8.3 FIFA Club World Cup 9 Personnel 9.1 Technical Staff 9.2 Board of Directors 10 Current Roster 10.1 Out on loan 10.1.1 Retired Numbers 11 Notable Players 11.1 Top Goalscorers in a Season 11.2 Top Goalscorers 12 Champion Managers 13 Presidents 14 References 15 Sources/External Links

[edit] Foundation

By 1916, football was already a popular sport in Mexico, particularly amongst college students in Mexico City. College students from Colegio Mascarones and Colegio Marista De La Perpetua formed two football teams with the names Récord and Colón. On October 12, 1916, the two squads decided to join to make a more competitive squad. Many names were considered for this new squad, but finally, Pedro “Cheto” Quintanilla, one of the players, suggested América since they had formed the team on Columbus Day (Dia de las Américas). The players agreed and soon designed a crest which had the map of the Americas with a 'C' for Club and an 'A' for América on each side. After they had created their logo, the players had to decide on their team colors. Rafael Garza Gutiérrez went to get some of his father’s navy blue trousers and a yellow shirt and it was decided amongst the group that those would be the club's colors.

[edit] Amateur Era

In 1916, Club América had to prove itself in order to be accepted into the Mexican League, which primarily consisted of foreign players. At the time, América was the only team in Mexico City with an all-Mexican club. Necaxa, Atlante, Real España, Germania, and Asturias were already members of the Liga Mayor De La Ciudad. América's acceptance into the league depended on 3 games. In order to be accepted, América could not lose any of the three games. To the surprise of many, América won two games and tied the third. América was accepted as a result and formed part of the league.

In 1918, the team changed its name to Club Unión due to bad results with the original name. The new name didn’t fare too well either and was changed back to América in 1920.^[3] From 1924 to 1928, América was crowned league champion and was able to attract impressive crowds. In 1926, América became the first Mexican club to play outside of Mexico.^[3] Aside from broadening their horizons, Club América along with Atlante petitioned to reduce the number of foreign players in the league. Shortly after the Mexican Football Federation was formed in 1928, Rafael Garza Gutiérrez , América's founder, was designated as the National Team head coach. Most of the Mexican national team that participated in the 1928 Olympics and 1930 World Cup were players that played for América.

[edit] Professional Era

[edit] 1940s Mexican League Beginnings

Up until 1942, every league in Mexico was considered a regional league even though the league in Mexico City was considered the strongest of them all. In 1942-43, the first National League was established and it was known as the Liga Mayor (Major League). Club América wasn't the team it had been during the 1920s on through the early 1930s. Aging players, lack of resources, and lack of interest took its toll on the club which led the team to become a bottom feeder for much of the beginning stages of the professional era⁷.

[edit] 1950s-60s First League Title

In 1956, the club was sold to a soft drink manufacturer. The new owner was trying to build upon the club's National Cup titles in 1954 and 1955 against Guadalajara, their soon to be rival. To the dismay of many, the owner failed to build upon the previous success and onHI POEPLE July 22, 1959, Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, owner of Telesistema Mexicano (Televisa), bought América from Isaac Bessudo.^[4]

It is said in Mexico that the club was founded in 1916, but reborn in 1959, with the vision and values that were set forth by the son of Televisa's founder, Emilio Azcárraga Milmo. The vision he embarked upon was to convert football into a form of entertainment for the masses. Following the acquisition, Azcárraga told his players, "I do not know much about football, but I do know a lot about business, and this, gentlemen, will be a business⁷".

It was obvious to Emilio Azcárraga that football in Mexico needed an antagonist. The new owner strived to be the villain. Soon after, the club started to spend obscene amounts of money in acquiring foreign talents, which offended fans. Emilio Azcárraga hired the Mexican League's most successful football executive of that time, Guillermo Cañedo, as President. Ignacio Trelles was hired as head coach. It was then that Emilio Azcárraga revolutionized the game of fútbol in Mexico. He laid down a foundation for the club’s future by investing in scouting, player development, infrastructure, and merchandising⁷. He marketed his team both at the national and international level which allowed the club to enjoy financial growth. Under Azcárraga, the team has won 10 League championships, the first being the 1965-1966 season.

[edit] 1980s The Golden Age 1983-1991

During the 80s America was an unforgettable team. They were always considered a favorite to win the championship in any tournament they participated in. They won the league five times, including three consecutive titles: the 1983-84 season, the 1984-85 season, the Prode 1985, the 1987-88 and the 1988-89 season. They also won the Mexican Super Cup twice, in 1987-88 and 1988-89. And they won the 1987 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. During this era America was nicknamed Super Águilas as they won 5 league championships including 3 of which were against their arch rivals (Chivas, Cruz Azul, and Pumas). Yet, after being Mexico's Team of the decade, it also became the most hated during this season. Fans who opposed Club America during the 1980s were clearly opposing the rules that were being bent favoring America. For instance, the 1985 season was the shortest in history due to the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. The terrible refereeing in the 1987-88 final against Pumas favored America even though Pumas won 1-0. The fans of América replied to this hatred by creating the slogan which in Spanish it became known as: "Odiame mas", which in English translates into "Hate Me Some More" or simply "Hate Me even More".

[edit] 1990s A Decade to Forget

The '90s would be a decade to forget for fans of the yellow clad warriors, with nothing to show for except a CONCACAF Cup in 1990, an Interamericana Cup Championship in 1993, and a CONCACAF Cup Championship in 1992. Years came and went with Televisa spending exorbitant amounts of money on both Mexican and South American players. There were even a few European and African players, as well. This was done with a view to returning the club to its former glory. As it turned out, it was as nothing more than currency that was not well spent, to say the least. Internationally renowned coaches and executives were also brought to the team. This, too, produced no results which just added to the team's woes. The only bright spots of the decade were the appearance of new young stars who were developed in the club's youth squad. These included players like Cuauhtémoc Blanco and Germán Villa that would be instrumental to the team's success later on.

[edit] 2000s A new century

The new millennium brought renewed hope for Club América's fans, who would be rewarded quickly, with a CONCACAF Giants cup in 2001, the first League championship in 13 years in the summer of 2002, and the team's tenth overall league title in 2005.

In 2006, América qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup. In this tournament, América won its first match against the Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (Korea). América went on to lose the next match against FC Barcelona (Spain). It ended its participation in the tournament, losing the 3rd place spot to Al-Ahly (Egypt). They finished 4th in the 2006 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup.

During 2008 the Clausura 2008 saw América end in last place in the general standings. This had not been seen since the mid 1950s. In the first 5 months of 2008, América was showered with 12 defeats, 2 draws and 3 victories, along with three straight championships without playoffs.

[edit] Stadium

América plays its home games at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The stadium was designed by Mexican architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, and was inaugurated on May 29, 1966, with a match between América and Torino, which was tied 2-2. The Azteca is also the only stadium in history to host two World Cup finals. The first goal was scored was by Brazilian Arlindo Dos Santos Cruz and the second one by Brazilian José Alves "Zague". The opening game was between Club América and Torino F.C. on May 26, 1966, with seats for 120,000 spectators. Later the Italians tied the game and it ended 2-2. Gustavo Diaz Ordaz President of Mexico made the initial kick and Sir Stanley Rous, FIFA President, was the witness.

A modern lighting system was inaugurated on June 5, 1966 with the first night game between Valencia C.F. and Necaxa. The first goal of the game was scored by Honduran José Cardona. In this game, Roberto Martínez o Caña Brava scored the first goal made by the Mexican team. The final score was 3-1 in favor of Valencia C.F..

There is a Commemorative plaque with the names of the first goal scorer in the first daylight match and in the first night game.

Aztec Stadium is also the site in which Pelé, and Diego Maradona lifted the trophy for the last time. Pelé and Maradona are considered by many as the best football players of all time. This occurred during the 1970 and 1986 FIFA World Cup), the Jules Rimet Trophy and the current FIFA World Cup Trophy, respectively.

The stadium has also hosted international club tournaments such at the Copa InterAmericana and the Copa Libertadores de América.

Aztec Stadium has also been used for musical performances throughout its history. Michael Jackson (in 1993)^[5], U2 (in 2006), , Elton John, Maná, Juan Gabriel,Luis Miguel, Gloria Estefan, Jaguares, Lenny Kravitz, Ana Gabriel, The Three Tenors all have become part of the stadium's spectacular history. The stadium has also been used for political events, including Mexican president Felipe Calderón's campaign closure in 2006, as well as religious events, like the appearance of Pope John Paul II in 1999. ^[6]

[edit] Popularity

According to the results of a February 2009 poll, América is the most popular football club in Mexico.^[7] América has always had the distinction of being the most hated, while regularly being the most popular club in Mexico; losing the title in 2007, but regaining it in 2009.^[8]

[edit] Supporters

América have substantial Ultras fan support in the form of barras, the most popular of which is called La Monumental. This barra is unique in that it was not established or even organized by the fans, but rather was created by Javier Pérez Teuffer, the club's president at the time, who wanted a more family-oriented barra.

[edit] Club records

• First Mexican team to get to the second round of the Copa Libertadores de America in 1998.
• First Mexican team to get a point in the Copa Libertadores de America outside México against Vasco da Gama, the ending score was 1-1.
• Has participated in most international competitions out of all Mexican teams, with 20.

• Along with the Guadalajara, is the only club to have played all the matches in the Mexican First Division.
• Historical Record of most games without losing in Mexican Football, 28. (Closing Apertura 2005 - Opening Clausura 2005). The former record was 24 games without losing in 1971-1972.
• Mexican team with most points in one short season, 43 (Apertura 2002).
• First Mexican team to complete 1000 victories in the Opening of the 2002 playing against Pumas of the UNAM Giving an olympic round in stage CU.
• First team of CONCACAF to win the Inter-American Cup in 1978.
• Winner of most international matches in Mexico and CONCACAF.
• Only team of CONCACAF that has won the Inter-American Cup 2 times, in 1978 and 1991.
• Winner of the most Champions Cup of CONCACAF, along with Cruz Azul, both with 5 titles each.
• Only team of CONCACAF that has won arguably the most important international matches in the region:

• Champions Cup of the CONCACAF
• Inter-American Cup
• Giant's Cup of the CONCACAF.

• Has participated in more Copa Libertadores than any other Mexican team.

• IFFHS RECORDS:

• First Mexican team in the top 10 of the Club World Ranking of the IFFHS (December 2007).
• First non-European and South American team in being World-wide Club of the month to win the award 2 times: August 2001 and May 2002.

[edit] Honors

[edit] National

• Mexican Primera División: (10) 1965-1966, 1970-1971, 1975-1976,1983-1984, 1984-1985, Prode 1985, 1987-1988, 1988-1989, Verano 2002, Clausura 2005

• Campeón de Copa: (5) 1953-1954, 1954-1955, 1963-1964, 1964-1965, 1973-1974

• Campeón de Campeones: (5) 1954-1955, 1975-1976, 1987-1988, 1988-1989, 2004-2005

• InterLiga: (1) 2008

[edit] International

• CONCACAF Champions' Cup: (5) 1978, 1987, 1991, 1993, 2006

• CONCACAF Giants Cup: (1) 2001

• Copa Interamericana: (2) 1978, 1991

• Copa Sudamericana: Runners-up 2007

[edit] Amateur

• Campeón de Liga (League Championship): 4
  • 1924-1925, 1925-1926, 1926-1927, 1927-1928

• Campeón de Copa (Mexican Cup): 1
  • 1937-1938

[edit] Friendly

• Copa Independencia: 1966-67, 1974-75
• Junta Española Covadonga: 1927
• Copa Vizcaya: 1920
• Copa Baltamar: 1922
• Liga Excélsior: 1920
• Copa Presidente Gustavo Díaz Ordaz: 1964-65
• Copa Revolución Mexicana: 1980-81
• Copa Pachuca: 1997
• Copa Houston: 2003
• Copa San José: 2006

[edit] International Competitions

[edit] Copa Libertadores

Year	PG	W	D	L	GF	GA	PTS	GD	Stage
1998	8	2	3	3	7	7	9	0	Round of 16
2000	12	8	1	3	28	18	25	10	Semifinals
2002	12	9	2	1	19	8	29	11	Semifinals
2004	8	4	2	2	13	8	14	5	Round of 16
2007	12	6	1	5	23	16	19	7	Quarterfinals
2008	12	5	2	5	18	16	16	2	Semifinals
Total	64	34	11	19	108	73	112	35

[edit] Copa Sudamericana

Year	PG	W	D	L	GF	GA	PTS	GD	Stage
2005	4	1	1	2	7	8	4	-1	Quarterfinals
2007	8	5	0	3	15	10	15	5	Finalist
Total	12	6	1	5	22	18	19	4

[edit] FIFA Club World Cup

Year	PG	W	D	L	GF	GA	PTS	GD	Stage
2006	3	1	0	2	2	6	3	-4	4th Place
Total	3	1	0	2	2	6	3	-4

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Technical Staff

Head Coach	Jesús Ramírez
Assistant Coach	Víctor Medina
Academy Director	Alfredo Tena

[edit] Board of Directors

President	Michel Bauer
Vice-President	Yon de Luisa
Sport Director	Jaime Ordiales

[edit] Current Roster

As of July 2009^[9]

No. Position Player 1 GK Guillermo Ochoa (vice captain) 2 DF Ismael Rodríguez 3 DF Fernando Lopez [10] 4 DF Óscar Rojas 6 DF Juan Carlos Valenzuela 7 MF Andres Chitiva 8 MF Federico Insúa 9 FW Salvador Cabañas (vice captain) 12 GK Armando Navarrete 13 MF Pavel Pardo (captain) 14 MF Jesús Armando Sánchez 15 DF Aquivaldo Mosquera 16 DF Rodrigo Íñigo

No. Position Player 17 MF Israel Martínez [11] 18 MF Ángel Reyna 19 FW Arnhold Rivas (on loan from Estudiantes Tecos)[12] 21 FW Enrique Esqueda 23 MF José Joaquín Martínez 24 FW Daniel Márquez 26 MF Juan Carlos Silva 29 FW Jean Beausejour 39 DF Guillermo Cerda 43 DF George Corral 49 MF Lampros Kontogiannis 51 MF Christopher Roberto Ortega 54 MF Renato Michell González

For recent transfers, see List of Mexican football transfers summer 2009.

[edit] Out on loan

No. Position Player --- DF Diego Alberto Cervantes (loan to Atlante F.C.) 3 DF José Antonio Castro (loan to Tigres) 10 MF Luis Saritama (loan to Deportivo Quito) 15 MF Juan Carlos Mosqueda (loan to Santos Laguna) --- DF Omar Tena (loan to Queretaro FC)

No. Position Player 58 MF Juan Carlos Medina (loan to CF Monterrey) 5 DF Fernando Ortiz (loan to Tigres)[13] 2 DF Edgar Castillo (loan toTigres) 20 MF Alejandro Argüello (loan to Jaguares de Chiapas) 15 DF Carlos Infante (loan to Puebla F.C.)

[edit] Retired Numbers

• 10 Cuauhtémoc Blanco, attacking midfielder, retired for 5 years (also can be explained as 10 short tournaments) since 2007. (dedicated honor)

[edit] Notable Players

This is a list of famous or notable sports persons with no clear inclusion or exclusion criteria. Please help to improve Wikipedia by ensuring that there is consensus on the inclusion criteria on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the section contains only verifiable material.

Mexico: Cuauhtémoc Blanco Alfredo Tena Zague (Jr.) Carlos de los Cobos Luis García Postigo José Antonio Roca Enrique Borja Rafael Puente Joaquín Del Olmo Raúl Gutiérrez Javier Aguirre Carlos Hermosillo Cristóbal Ortega Ricardo Pelaez Pável Pardo Horacio Casarín Isaac Terrazas Javier Fragoso Germán Villa Duilio Davino Guillermo Ochoa Raúl Rodrigo Lara Adolfo Rios Alberto García Aspe Hugo Sánchez Juan Carlos Silva Oscar Rojas Luis Hernández

Argentina: Claudio López Daniel Brailovsky Ricardo Guero Rodriguez Oscar Ruggeri Hector Miguel Zelada Brazil: Antônio Carlos Santos Zague João Justino Zizinho Dirceu Toninho Kléber Nílton Eduardo Dos Santos "Edú" Arlindo Dos Santos Isidio Neto "Vava" Chile: Carlos Reinoso Iván Zamorano Ricardo Francisco Rojas Osvaldo Castro Fabian Estay Roberto Hodge Uruguay: Cecilio de los Santos

Cameroon: François Omam-Biyik Costa Rica: Hernán Cabalceta Paraguay Raúl Vicente Amarilla Hugo Kiesse Salvador Cabañas Peru Julio César Uribe Romania Ilie Dumitrescu Zambia: Kalusha Bwalya Scotland: John Kerr, Sr. Yugoslavia: Goran Milojevic Italia: Marco Rossi Croatia: Davor Josic

^[14]

[edit] Top Goalscorers in a Season

• 1958-59 Miguel Nuñez (25 Goals)
• 1965-66 Zague (20 Goals)
• 1970-71 Enrique Borja (20 Goals)
• 1971-72 Enrique Borja (26 Goals)
• 1972-73 Enrique Borja (24 Goals)
• 1973-74 Osvaldo Castro (26 Goals)
• 1982-83 Norberto Outes

• Invierno 1998 Cuauhtémoc Blanco (16 Goals)
• Clausura 2009 Salvador Cabañas (13 Goals)
• Apertura 2005 Kléber (11 Goals)
• Copa Libertadores 2007 Salvador Cabañas (10 Goals)
• Copa Libertadores 2008 Salvador Cabañas (8 Goals)

[edit] Top Goalscorers

• 1 Luis Roberto Alves (162 Goals)
• 2 Cuauhtémoc Blanco (125 Goals)
• 3 Enrique Borja (99 Goals)
• 4 Eduardo González Palmer (90 Goals)
• 5 Carlos Reinoso (86 Goals)
• 5 Zague (86 Goals)
• 7 Carlos Hermosillo (78 Goals)
• 8 Gonzalo Farfán (70 Goals)
• 9 Octavio Vial (62 Goals)
• 10 Antonio Carlos Santos (58 Goals)
• 11 François Omam-Biyik (53 Goals)
• 12 Salvador Cabañas (52 Goals) (active)
• 13 Norberto Outes (52 Goals)
• 14 Hernan Calbaceta (50 Goals)
• 15 Osvaldo Castro (45 Goals)

[edit] Champion Managers

• Roberto Scarone (1965-66)
• Jose Antonio Roca (1970-71)
• Raúl Cárdenas (1975-76)
• Carlos Reinoso (1983-84)
• Miguel Angel López (1984-85, Prode 1985)
• Jorge Vieira (1987-88, 1988-89)
• Manuel Lapuente (Verano 2002)
• Mario Carrillo (Clausura 2005)

[edit] Presidents

Name	From	To
Florencio Domínguez	1916	1920
Guillermo Gómez	1920	1930
Juan de Dios Bojórquez	1930	1932
Eric Herrera	1933	1933
Louis Martinez	1933	1934
Ernesto Sota	1934	1937
Germán Núñez	1937	1938
Salvador González	1938	1939
Francisco Bautista	1939	1940
Filiberto Zapata	1940	1940
César Martíno	1940	1945
Francisco Bautista	1945	1948
Antonio Hidalgo	1948	1949
Miguel Ramírez	1950	1954
Julián Rodríguez	1954	1956
Pedro Valdez	1956	1959
Darío Pastrana	1959	1961
Guillermo Cañedo	1961	1981
Emilio Díez Barroso	1981	1996
Pablo Cañedo	1996	1997
Alejandro Orvañános	1997	1998
Raúl Quintana	1998	1999
Javier Pérez Teuffer	1999	2004
Guillermo Cañedo White	2004	2008
Michel Bauer	2008-

[edit] References

[edit] Sources/External Links

• Official Team Website

• 1 "Club America" Official Website
• 2 "Inicia la aventura (1917-1942)." www.esmas.com. Redaccion.
• 3 "Epoca profesional (1943-1969)." www.esmas.com. Redaccion.
• 4 "Mas ligas y el campeonato Intercontinental (1970-1981)." www.esmas.com. Redaccion.
• 5 "America campeonisimo (1982-1998)." www.esmas.com. Redaccion.
• 6 "Otra vez Campeones (1999-actual)." www.esmas.com. Redaccion.
• 8 "Mexican Football Site" www.mediotiempo.com Redaccion.<
• 9 "Aguilas del America blog" http://aguilas.wordpress.com/ Redaccion.
• 10 "Otra vez Campeones (1999-actual)." www.esmas.com. Redaccion.
• Fiebre Americanista
• AzulCrema.com "Club America In English"
• odiamemas.com
• clubamerica.t35.com
• Support Website
• Team Anthem
• OleOle's LIVE Coverage of Club America at the FIFA Club World Cup 2006

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