Club Deportivo Chivas USA
is an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California that participates in Major League Soccer. The club, founded in 2004, plays its home games at The Home Depot Center, sharing it with arch-rivals the Los Angeles Galaxy. The official colors of C.D. Chivas USA are red, white, and blue, the same as C.D. Guadalajara, one of the most widely-supported and successful teams in Mexico. In Spanish, chivas means goats
.
|
CHIVAS USA TICKETS
|
History
Founded on
August 2,
2004, as Major League Soccer's then-eleventh team, Los Angeles-based Club Deportivo Chivas USA has achieved some success in just three seasons in MLS. In 2007, the Mexican-owned club finished first in the
Western Conference, qualifying for the
playoffs for the second year in a row.
Chivas USA kicked off its inaugural season in Major League Soccer at The Home Depot Center with a 2-0 loss to then
MLS Cup Champions
D.C. United on
April 2,
2005, under the guidance of Chivas USA’s first head coach
Thomas Rongen. After a 1–8–1 start (their sole win coming against fellow expansion club
Real Salt Lake), Thomas Rongen was named Chivas USA's sporting director and assistant coach Javier Ledesma became the club's interim head coach. On June 3, 2005,
Hans Westerhof was named Chivas USA's second head coach. After a disappointing season, Westerhof did not return to coach the team in 2006.
On
November 23,
2005,
Bob Bradley, the most successful manager in Major League Soccer history, became Chivas USA’s third head coach, replacing Hans Westerhof. Under Bradley, the
2006 season saw a major turnaround for Chivas USA. The team finished the 2006 season with a 10-9-13 record and earned a spot in the Western Conference playoffs. Bradley was named
MLS Coach of the Year, becoming the first two-time winner of the award and Chivas USA defender
Jonathan Bornstein was named
2006 Gatorade Rookie of the Year. After the season ended, Coach Bradley was named interim head coach of the
US men's national soccer team and head coach of the
U.S. Men's Olympic Soccer Team by the
U.S. Soccer Federation, and was replaced by Chivas USA’s fourth head coach,
Predrag "Preki" Radosavljevic.
The team’s third season, under Preki, was the most successful to date. Chivas USA goalkeeper
Brad Guzan was named
MLS’s Panasonic Goalkeeper of the Year for the 2007 season. On
November 7,
2007, Preki was named MLS Coach of the Year for 2007 after the first-year manager led the Red-and-White to a 15-7-8 record and first place in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference. In January 2008, Preki signed a multi-year contract with Chivas USA securing his position as head coach for the 2008 season.
100-Hour Game
August 13, 2006:
Chivas USA's "100-Hour Soccer Game", the longest on record in the United States, concluded in the city of Bell Gardens(the ford park), with Chivas defeating the Rest of the World 437-429 after 6,000 minutes (100 hours) of continuous play. The game, held in celebration of Club Deportivo Guadalajara's 100th anniversary, attracted over 2,000 participants and more than 20,000 fans.
2007 Playoffs
Chivas finished the 2007 MLS season atop of the Western Conference. However, they lost in the Conference Semifinals of the
MLS Cup 2007 playoffs to the
Kansas City Wizards, who were the conference's #4 seed under new MLS seeding rules despite being in the Eastern Conference.
2008 Season
Chivas USA got off to a good start. By mid-season, Chivas was tied for first place with the LA Galaxy, but they had to play without their star midfielder
Sacha Kljestan, who was playing for the U.S. National Team in the
Beijing Olympics, and their star goalkeeper
Brad Guzan, who was sold to
Aston Villa F.C., which raised questions about their defense. By the end of the season they took a lead atop the Western Conference Standings, and on October 11, 2008, after defeating the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0, they clinched a playoff spot for the third consecutive season.
[1]
Fan Clubs
The Legión and The Ultras represent the two pillars of the fandom of Chivas USA.
One blessing Chivas USA enjoys is a built-in fan club, the rowdy bunch known as
, boasting over a million of members worldwide that support Chivas. With chapters all over the world, the Legión is international, fanatical and fervent in its dedication. The Los Angeles chapter (legion-Kalifas), boasting 1,500 registered members, but the official number is unknown, is the third largest behind the Mexico City (largest) and Guadalajara chapters. The Legión can be seen spotted wearing their red and white, singing and swaying en masse behind the goal in Section 122 at home games.
The
is a second spin-off fan club boasting over 100 members that exclusively support Chivas USA they sit directly across from the legionarios, behind the other goal in Section 101. The Union Ultras (some of whom are former Legión members) support Chivas USA exclusively, as opposed to Chivas de Guadalajara/Chivas USA by default.
The Legión represents a loyalist spirit, pure in devotion to Chivas de Guadalajara and therefore steadfast in supporting its L.A. branch, the Ultras are a nationalist upstart eager to make a name for themselves and their team.
[2]
Team Jersey
Chivas USA's home uniform bears the same vertical red-and-white stripes of Club Deportivo Guadalajara, and red sleeves, worn with blue shorts and blue socks.
Chivas USA's away uniform will be all blue for the 2009 season.
Sponsor
On
May 16,
2007,
Comex, Mexico’s leading paint company, became Chivas USA’s presenting sponsor. Its logo also appears on the front of Chivas USA jerseys and training jerseys. Although
Comex is not the only sponsor. They also have
Home Depot,
Time Warner Cable,
Disneyland,
Budweiser,
Napa,
Visa and many more.
Television and radio
FSN West and FSN Prime Ticket have coverage of Chivas USA for the 2008 season. Delivering the most Chivas games on television, the schedule includes 18 regular season games and up to two post-season contests. Christian Miles is the play-by-play announcer, with Bernardo Osuna as analyst and sideline reporter Christine Nubla.
The official Spanish-language broadcast partner is W Radio 690 AM and will broadcast all 30 of Chivas USA’s regular-season games during the 2008 season and
Azteca America channel 54.
Honors
Domestic
- MLS Supporters' Shield
- * Runners-up (1):
2007
Minor Trophies
- MLS Reserve Division
- *Runners-up (1)
: 2007
International competition
- 2008 SuperLiga
- Chivas USA qualified to the SuperLiga 2008 by finishing as the MLS Supporters' Shield Runner Up during the 2007 season.
- 2008-09 CONCACAF Champion's League
(Preliminary Qualifying Stage)- Chivas USA qualified to the CONCACAF Champions League 2008–09 by finishing as the MLS Supporters' Shield runner-up during the 2007 season.
Players
Current roster
As of June 14, 2009.
[3]
For recent transfers, see List of
MLS transfers for the 2009 season.
Notable former players
This list of former players includes those who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contributions to the team in terms of appearances or goals while playing for the team, or who made significant contributions to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left. It is clearly not yet complete and all inclusive, and additions and refinements will continue to be made over time.
- Juan Pablo García (2005–2006)
- Amado Guevara (2007–2008)
- Brad Guzan (2005–2008)
- Atiba Harris (2007–2009)
- Ezra Hendrickson (2005)
- Carlos Llamosa (2006–2007)
- Francisco Mendoza (2005–2008)
- Ramón Núñez (2007–2008)
- Juan Francisco Palencia (2005–2006)
- Chris Pozniak (2008)
- Ramón Ramírez (2005–2007)
- Douglas Sequeira (2005)
- Raphaël Wicky (2008)
- Martín Zúñiga (2005)
- See also All-time C.D. Chivas USA roster
Head coaches
- Thomas Rongen (2005)
- Javier Ledesma (2005; interim)
- Hans Westerhof (2005)
- Bob Bradley (2006)
- Preki (2007–)
Team records
- Goals: Ante Razov, 30
- Assists: Sacha Kljestan, 27
- Games Played: Francisco Mendoza, 111
- Minutes Played: Francisco Mendoza, 9,423
- Shots: Ante Razov, 234
- Shots on Goal: Ante Razov, 100
- Game-Winning Goals: Ante Razov, 10
- Penalty Kick Goals: Claudio Suárez, 4
- Multi-Goal Games: Ante Razov, 5
- Saves: Brad Guzan, 288
- Shutouts: Brad Guzan, 24
MLS regular season only, through 2009 season
- All-Time regular season record: 46-46-35 (Through April 25, 2009
)
Home stadiums
- The Home Depot Center (2005—)
Year-by-year
Year
| Reg. Season
| Playoffs
| Open Cup
| CONCACAF Champions' League
| SuperLiga
|
2005
| 6th, West
| Did not qualify
| Round of 32
| Did not qualify
| Started in 2007
|
2006
| 3rd, West
| Quarterfinals
| Round of 16
| Did not qualify
|
2007
| 1st, West
| Quarterfinals
| Round of 16
| Did not qualify
| Did not participate
|
2008
| 2nd, West
| Quarterfinals
| Round of 16
| Did not qualify
| Group Stage
|
2009
|
|
| Round of 16
| Preliminary Round
| Group Stage
|
Average attendance
regular season/playoffs
- 2005: 17,080/missed playoffs
- 2006: 19,840/15,110
- 2007: 14,305/19,711
- 2008: 15,114/19,265
- 2009: 16,107/TBD
References
- Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan leaving to play in England
- http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/hispanicheritage2008/news/story?id=3642048
- http://web.mlsnet.com/players/index.jsp?club=t120