Ykhjuy

América

Full name	Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V.[1]
Nickname(s)	Las Águilas (The Eagles)[2] Los Azulcremas (The Blue-Creams)[3] Los Millonetas (The Millionaires)[3]
Short name	Amé, CFA
Founded	12 October 1916; 102 years ago (1916-10-12)
Ground	Estadio Azteca
Capacity	87,523
Owner	Grupo Televisa
President	Santiago Baños
Manager	Miguel Herrera
League	Liga MX
Apertura 2018	2nd (Champion)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply as América, is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. Nicknamed Las Águilas (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football. The club was founded in 1916, and since 1959 has been owned by media company Grupo Televisa.^[4] The team plays its home games at the Estadio Azteca, the largest stadium in Mexico and Latin America, and the eighth largest association football-specific stadium in the world.^[5][6][7]

The club has a long-standing rivalry with Guadalajara, as both are the most successful and most popular clubs in the country, and are the only clubs to have never been relegated to the second division.^[8] Matches between them are known as El Súper Clásico,^[9] considered to be the biggest rivalry in Mexico, and one of the biggest in the world.^[10][11][12] América also play local derbies against Cruz Azul and Universidad Nacional.

The club has won a record thirteen league titles, as well as having a joint-record five Copa México titles, and five Campeón de Campeones cups. In international competitions, América has ten FIFA recognized club trophies, the most for a club from the CONCACAF region. It has won a record seven CONCACAF Champions Cup/Champions League titles, two Copa Interamericana cups and one CONCACAF Giants Cup.^[13][14][15]

History

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 12 October 1916, the two squads decided to consolidate to make a more competitive squad. Many names were considered for this new squad, and team player Pedro "Cheto" Quintanilla suggested the name "América", since they had formed the team on Columbus Day (Día del descubrimiento de América). The players agreed and soon designed a crest which had the map of the Americas centered with a 'C' for "Club" on the left and an 'A' for "América" on the right. The players had to decide on their team colours. 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.^[16]

América squad 1924–1925

In 1916, Club América had to prove itself to the Mexican Football League, which consisted primarily of foreign-born players.^{[citation needed]} At the time, América was the only club in Mexico City with Mexican-born players. Necaxa, Atlante, Real Club España, Germania, and Asturias were already members of the Liga Mayor de la Ciudad. América's acceptance into the league rested on three games they had to win. América won two games, tied the third and were accepted.

In 1919, the team changed its name to Club Unión, though the club returned to the name América the following year.^[17] From 1924 to 1928, América was crowned league champion and was able to attract impressive crowds.^[18][19] In 1926, América became the first Mexican club to play outside of Mexico.^[17] 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 was designated as the head coach of the Mexico national team. Most of the national team squad that participated in the 1928 Summer Olympics and 1930 World Cup consisted of players from Club América.^[20]

1940–1969

Until 1942, Mexico had several leagues, although the league in Mexico City was considered the most developed. In 1942–43, the first National League was established and it was known as the Liga Mayor (Major League). Club América had declined from its then-prime of the 1920s and 1930s: aging players, diminishing financial resources, and resulting lack of interest made the team a bottom-feeder at the start of the beginning stage of the professional era⁷.

It was also during this time that the rivalry with Guadalajara was born; especially during the 1945–1946 season when Guadalajara beat América by 6–4 and 4–2 scorelines. The 1951–1952 season saw América finish in 11th place out of 12, with a 3-point-advantage over Veracruz, who were relegated. In 1954 América defeated rivals Guadalajara on penalties after a 0–0 draw in the Copa México final, thus winning their first league cup.^[21]

In 1956, the club was sold to soft drink manufacturer Jarritos. The new owner was trying to build upon the club's National Cup titles in 1954 and 1955 against Guadalajara.^[22] During the 1954–55 season América won their first Campeón de Campeones championship, defeating Zacatepec 3–2.^[23] The owner failed to build upon previous success and on 22 July 1959, Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, owner of Telesistema Mexicano, bought América from Isaac Bessudo.^[24] 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 business."^[25]

The 1959–1960 season saw América reach second place in the league, behind Guadalajara. On 21 April 1964, at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, the team, now coached by Alejandro Scopelli, defeated Monterrey 6–5 in the final match of the Copa México. During the match Alfonso Portugal scored five of América's six; José González scored the other goal to win the championship.^[26]

On 7 May 1965, América regained the Mexican "Copa" championship after a 4–0 victory over Morelia at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario. The goals were scored by Javier Fragoso and Vavá, each scoring twice.^[27]

1970s

After Mexico hosted the 1970 FIFA World Cup, the league tournament format was changed in response to the championship's disputed winners,^{[clarification needed]} hence the Liguilla (play-offs) format was started. The first play-off final was in 1971 between Toluca and América, leaders of Groups 1 and 2, respectively. After a 0–0 draw in Toluca, América obtained their second league title after winning the second-leg 2–0 at the Estadio Azteca.^[28] The following season saw América eliminated from the playoffs by Cruz Azul. América would defeat Cruz Azul the 1973 Copa México final.^[29] A few years followed in which América did not qualify for the playoffs. They finished in first place during the 1975–1976 season, and defeated Tecos UAG and Union de Curtidores in the quarter-finals and semi-finals to reach the final against Universidad de Guadalajara. América won the championship after beating UDG in the Jalisco Stadium 3–0 and 1–0 at the Estadio Azteca.^[30] They also won the Campeón de Campeones title by beating Tigres UANL 2–0.^[31]

In 1977, América participated in their first Copa Interamericana, playing against Argentine club Boca Juniors, winners of the 1977 Copa Libertadores. After losing the first-leg and winning the second, América would win the championship in a playoff match in 1978 by a score of 2–1 after extra-time, with a last second free-kick goal by midfielder Carlos Reinoso.^[32] América became the first team from Mexico and from the CONCACAF region to win the competition. América also became the first confederation side to earn the "double" in a single year as it won the delayed 1977 CONCACAF Champions' Cup.^[33]

1980s

The 1980s are generally considered América's "golden decade".^[34] During this period, América won the league title five times, including three consecutive titles; the 1983–84 season, the 1984–85 season,^[35] the Prode-85 tournament, the 1987–88 and 1988–89 seasons.^[36] They also won the Mexican Super Cup twice, in 1987–88 and 1988–89,^[37] as well as the 1987 CONCACAF Champions' Cup.

The 1983–1984 season saw América reach the top of the table and reach the finals, where they would face arch-rivals Guadalajara, who the previous season had eliminated América in the semi-finals. Following a 2–2 draw at the Estadio Jalisco, América defeated Guadalajara in the Azteca Stadium 3–1, and a 5–3 aggregate score.^[38] To date, it is the only match between these two teams in the league finals, though they would face each other in other phases of the playoffs. The series has since been dubbed the "Final del Siglo" ("Final of the Century").^[39][40] The following season América once again reached the finals, this time against city-rivals Pumas UNAM. After two draws in both the Azteca Stadium and the Mexico '68 Stadium, the last game was played in the Estadio Corregidora in Querétaro, where Daniel Brailovsky secured the championship for América by scoring two goals with the final score of 3–1.^[41]

Due to Mexico hosting the 1986 World Cup and stadium and infrastructure preparations, the tournament was split in two short tournaments: Prode-85 and Mexico-86. América got the top of their group in the Prode-85 and defeated Universidad de Guadalajara and Atlante to get to the final, where they played Jaibos Tampico Madero. The game in Tampico was a 4–1 victory for Tampico, but at the Azteca Stadium, América beat Tampico Madero 4–0 to win the championship.

For the 1987–88 season, América met UNAM in the final, in a replay of the 1985 final. They defeated UNAM by an aggregate score of 4–2.^[42] The following season, América once again reached the league final and faced Cruz Azul, which was the first time the two clubs met in the final since 1972. The first-leg finished in a 3–2 victory for América. A 2–2 draw in the second-leg meant América won the championship by a 5–4 aggregate score.^[43]

1990s

During the 1990s, América only managed to win the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1990,^[44] a Copa Interamericana in 1993,^[45] and a second CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1993.^[46] During the 1990–1991 season, América dominated its group and reached the playoffs to eliminate Universidad de Guadalajara in the quarter-final round and Guadalajara in the semi-final round, only to reach the final and lose to UNAM.

In 1994, club president Emilio Diez Barroso announced the hiring of Dutch manager Leo Beenhakker, who had previously coached Spanish club Real Madrid to a La Liga title. The club also announced the signing of two African players, Cameroon international François Omam-Biyik and Zambian national team captain Kalusha Bwalya. Other Mexican players such as Joaquín del Olmo, Raúl Gutierrez, among others were signed as well. América finished the season with 51 points, and scoring 88 goals. With only a few matches remaining in the regular season, Beenhakker was abruptly fired as manager. It was rumored that conflict between the coach and Diez Barosso regarding Beenhacker's defending of playing Del Olmo was the reason for his sacking.^[47] América reached the semi-finals, losing to Cruz Azul. This América team is considered one of the best in the club's history, despite not winning any silverware.^[48]

In 1998 América, along with Guadalajara, became the first Mexican club to participate in the Copa Libertadores tournament. They were inserted in a group where both teams confronted clubs from Venezuela. América finished in second position of the qualifying stage and advanced to the group stages. América was put in Group 3 along with Guadalajara and Brazilian clubs Grêmio and Vasco da Gama. América qualified to the next round finishing in third place, being eliminated by Argentine club River Plate.^[49]

2000s

América in the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup playing against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (South Korea)

.

In August 2001, América won the CONCACAF Giants Cup after defeating MLS club D.C. United 2–0.^[50] The following year, América would reach the league final against Necaxa, winning by a 3–2 aggregate score. After losing in the first-leg 0–2, América won the second by the same scoreline, forcing extra-time to be played. A golden goal from a Hugo Norberto Castillo header in the 107th minute gave América the victory, and the club its first league championship in 13 years.^[51]

The club once again reached the league final during the Clausura 2005 tournament, finishing third in the standings and defeating Santos Laguna and Cruz Azul in the quarterfinals and semi-finals to face Tecos UAG. After a 1–1 draw in the first-leg, América was victorious in the second, winning the match 6–3 at the Estadio Azteca – 7–4 on aggregate – to win the club's tenth league title.^[52]

On 19 April 2006, América defeated fellow-Mexican side Toluca to win the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, thus qualifying for the FIFA Club World Cup that same year.^[53] At the tournament, América won its first match against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of South Korea. América went on to lose the next match against Spanish side FC Barcelona. It ended its participation in the tournament, losing the match for third place to Al-Ahly of Egypt.^[54]

2007

After the Club World Cup, América qualified for the playoffs of the Clausura 2007 defeating Atlas and Guadalajara in the quarter and semi-finals. They played the final against Pachuca, finishing runners-up.^[55]

For the Apertura 2007, after starting off the season on a poor run, Luis Fernando Tena was sacked,^[56] and was replaced by Daniel Brailovsky.^[57] After finishing third in their group and sixth in the general standings, América played Morelia for the last spot in the playoffs, being beaten 3–0 in the first-leg, and winning 1–0 in the second-leg. With this, América was eliminated from the competition.^[58]

América also participated in the Copa Sudamericana, reaching the finals to play against Arsenal de Sarandí of Argentina. They would lose the first-leg at the Estadio Azteca by a 2–3 score, and win 2–1 in Argentina. The aggregate result was 4–4, but due to the away goals rule, Arsenal won the championship.^[59]

América finished 2007 ranked tenth in the IFFHS's Club World Rankings, becoming the first Mexican club to reach the top ten.^[60][61][62]

2008

América started off 2008 winning the InterLiga tournament, defeating Cruz Azul 5–3 on penalties in the final following a 3–3 draw after 120 minutes, thus assuring qualification to the Copa Libertadores tournament that same year.^[63]

The Clausura tournament saw América end in next-to-last place in the general standings. This had not been seen since the mid-1950s. In the first five months of 2008, América was showered with twelve defeats, two draws and three victories, which resulted in the third-straight tournament without qualifying for the playoffs. The manager at the time was Rubén Omar Romano, who was one of the least successful coaches in the club's history.^[64] Coincidently, after being replaced by Juan Antonio Luna,^[65] América got their third victory of the Clausura against Monterrey. Despite their poor domestic form, América fared well in the Copa Libertadores, defeating Brazilian side Flamengo in the round-of-16 3–0 at the Estádio do Maracanã, overturning a 2–4 first-leg deficit, and advancing to the quarter-finals.^[66]

2010s

For the Apertura 2010, América brought back former manager Manuel Lapuente, who led the club to the league title in 2002.^[67] The return of striker Vicente Matías Vuoso and the signing of Uruguayan Vicente Sánchez gave América one of the most dangerous front lines in all of the league.^[68][69] They finished the tournament in first place of Group 2, fourth in the general standings, with 27 points. With this, they would advance to the playoffs, and automatically qualify for the first time since 2008, for the 2011 Copa Libertadores. They would be eliminated in the semi-finals by Santos Laguna by a 4–5 aggragate score.^[70]

América had a bad start to the Clausura 2011 tournament; a 0–2–1 record in the first three games the tournament led to the sacking of Lapuente.^[71] Carlos Reinoso was named his successor,^[72] who had already managed the club two times before. His first game was against Atlas, which América won 2–0.^[73] América ended the Clausura with an 8–1–5 record, and would be eliminated in the quarter-finals by Morelia.^[74] On 18 September 2011, Reinoso was sacked as manager,^[75] with Alfredo Tena taking over as interim-manager. América would finish the Apertura in 17th place, the second worse finish in the club's history. On 8 November, Michel Bauer stepped down as President.^[76] That same day, former América player Ricardo Peláez was presented as Sporting President, while Yon De Luisa would be named Operations President.^[77]Miguel Herrera was presented as the club's new manager, the fourth in a year.^[78] In his first year at the helm, Herrera brought the team to the semi-finals on two consecutive occasions.

On 26 May 2013, América won their eleventh league title by defeating Cruz Azul in the Clausura final 4–2 on penalties after a dramatic comeback from a 0–1 first-leg loss to win 2–1 in the second-leg, and tie 2–2 on aggregate, with goalkeeper Moisés Muñoz scoring the second goal in injury-time.^{[79][80][81][82][83]} With this, América tied Guadalajara for most league titles.^[84] For the Apertura 2013, América finished the regular phase of the tournament at the top of the standings with 37 points and would again appear in the league final, though failing to achieve a repeat, being defeated by León by an aggregate score of 1–5.^[85] On 17 December 2013, Antonio Mohamed was announced as América's new manager for the Clausura 2014 tournament, replacing Miguel Herrera after two years in charge.^[86] América would finish fifth in the standings, and was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Santos Laguna due to the away-goals rule after drawing 6–6 on aggregate.^[87]

América finished the Apertura 2014 tournament at the top of the general standings with 31 points, and defeated UNAM and Monterrey in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.^[88] Prior to the league final, the club was marred with controversy, such as media speculation regarding the future of Antonio Mohamed (he ultimately admitted he would leave the club after the final), and the separation of Paul Aguilar from the team before playing the first-leg of the semi-finals.^[89] On 14 December, América won a record-twelfth league title after defeating Tigres UANL 3–1 on aggregate in the final, coming back from a 0–1 first-leg loss to win 3–0 in the second-leg at the Estadio Azteca.^{[90][91][92][93]} Three days after winning the final, América announced Gustavo Matosas as Mohamed's successor, signing a two-year contract.^[94]

In April 2015, the club won its sixth CONCACAF Champions League title after defeating Montreal Impact in the finals by a 5–3 aggregate score.^[95] Despite an inconsistent campaign throughout the Clausura tournament, América managed to finish second in the standings, though was eliminated by Pachuca in the quarter-finals.^[96] Three days later, with various media reports suggesting Gustavo Matosas would be sacked due to differences with the board regarding player acquisitions and departures,^[97] it was confirmed in a press conference which was attended by both Matosas and club president Ricardo Pelaéz that he would indeed leave after only six months in charge.^[98] On 26 May, Ignacio Ambríz was presented as the new manager, signing a two-year contract.^[99] América lost its FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final match to Chinese team Guangzhou Evergrande, and defeated African club TP Mazembe to claim fifth place in the competition.^[100]

In April 2016, América successfully defended the CONCACAF Champions League title after defeating Tigres UANL 4–1 on aggregate in the finals, and winning a record seventh continental title.^[101] América had a strong final stretch towards the end of 2016, culminating with a 4th-place finish at the Club World Cup^[102] and finishing runners-up in the Apertura championship match against Tigres UANL.^[103]

América won its record thirteenth league title following a 2–0 aggregate victory over Cruz Azul in the 2018 Apertura final.^[104]

Crest and colors

When Club América was founded in 1916, the crest consisted of the letter 'C', standing for "Club", overlapped by an 'A', which stood for "América".^[105] After a brief period in which the team's name was changed to Club Unión, it was reverted to Club América in the mid-1920s, and the crest was modified, with a map of the Americas behind the 'CA', and encased in a football, all in the team's colors – which were cream and blue.^[106][107] Since then, the badge has seen minimal change, such as the removal of a line at the crest's center at the beginning of the 21st century. During the early 1980s, the crest was surrounded by an image of an eagle (due to the club's nickname), and was even enclosed in a triangle.^[106]

The most recent modification of the crest was in 2010, with the yellow and blue more vibrant and a darker outline and border.^[108]

Club founder Rafael Garza Gutiérrez chose what would be América's first uniform. He took some of his father's navy blue trousers and a yellow-cream shirt and it was decided amongst the other players that those would be the club's colors.^[16] It would not be until the 1980s that the colors changed, with the cream replaced with a more solid yellow. América also played with a white shirt, but it was not as common.

During the Apertura 2011 tournament – what would be the club's 95th anniversary – a commemorative jersey was unveiled paying homage to the original uniform, as well as an altered crest. The uniform was used during the league match against Guadalajara.^[109]

In May 2016, as part of the club's centenary, a dark red away kit was revealed honouring Italian club Torino, who functioned as the club's first opponent at the Estadio Azteca in the 1966 inaugural match.^[110][111]

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Period	Kit supplier	Shirt sponsor
1984–1988	Adidas	None
1988–1990		Bancomer
1990–1993		Coca-Cola
1993–1994	Umbro
1994–2000	Adidas
2000–2005	Nike
2005–2015		Bimbo
2015–2018		Huawei
2018–		AT&T

Nicknames

The football club has often had many nicknames throughout its history, some used by the club and others given for different reasons. These are some of them:

• The Students: This was a nickname that wasn’t well known and only used in the early years of the club. When the team was first founded, this nickname was used by their rivals because the team was developed from the combination of two colleges: Mascarones and La Perpetua.^[112] Because many of their players were college students, when Club America joined La Liga Mexicana (the Mexican Soccer League), it was composed mostly of young players.

• The Blue-Creams or Creams: This nickname was one of the more distinctive and oldest nicknames. Used since 1920, it is the reason the club used the colorways it did. Back then, the jerseys were a cream color while the shorts and socks were blue.

• Canaries: This was one of the nicknames they have been known as since the 1940s. This was given to them because of the yellow found in the uniform.

• Millionaires: This is a derogatory reference or version of the word millionaire. It started when businessman Emilio Azcarraga Milmo bought the team in 1959.^[113] Azcarraga hired the successful president of the Club Zacatepec, Guillermo Cañedo de la Bárcena, and started to hire other notable foreigner figures, focusing on money, to form a powerful team.^[114]

• Eagles: Although this emblem of the eagle had appeared briefly in one version of the club shield in the 1940s, it wasn't a popular nickname until the arrival of new club America President Emilio Díez Barroso in the early 1980s. With the club looking for a new image, they wanted to have a representation of an animal that would show pride and domination of its environment. Supported by a strong campaign, they chose the eagles. This nickname remains popular to this day.

Grounds

A panorama of the Estadio Azteca during a league match against Tecos

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 29 May 1966 with a match between América and Torino, which was tied 2–2. The first goal was scored was by Brazilian Arlindo Dos Santos and the second by José Alves.^[115]Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, President of Mexico, made the initial kick and Sir Stanley Rous, FIFA President, was the witness.

The club has shared the stadium as a home ground with the Mexico national football team since its inauguration. Other club sides have also used the stadium as their home at different times, namely Necaxa (1966–70 and 1982–2003), Atlante (1966–82, 1996–2001 and 2004–2007), Universidad Nacional (1967–1969), Atlético Español (1970–1982) and Cruz Azul (1971–1996).

As well as acting as a home ground the stadium has also hosted the 1968 Summer Olympics, 1970 FIFA World Cup, 1975 Pan American Games, 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship, 1986 FIFA World Cup, 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup Final, Copa Interamericana, Copa Libertadores de América, music concerts, political events and the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1999.^[116]

Rivalries

El Super Clásico

Clásico Capitalino

The rivalry between Club América and Club Universidad Nacional is known as the "Clásico Capitalino",^[117] due to the fact that both teams are based in Mexico City—the country's capital. The first match between the two clubs took place on 1 July 1962, where América hosted UNAM, who had recently been promoted from the second division. In Mexico the match is often perceived as the representation of a struggle between two antagonistic powers and institutions: Club América is regarded as the club representing the establishment and the wealthy. The fact that the club is owned by the mass media company Televisa has further intensified this image. Club Universidad, representing the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, identifies itself as the club of the intellectuals and middle-class.^[118] The rivalry is particularly fierce from UNAM's side: according to surveys the majority of their supporters consider América as their main rival. However, America’s fans see it as an important match but deem the match against Chivas as more important.^[119]

Clásico Joven

Club América's other capital-based rival is Cruz Azul, with whom they compete in the derby known as the "Clásico Joven" (Juvenile Classic in Spanish).^[117] Although both teams reside in Mexico City, Cruz Azul originated in Jasso, Hidalgo. In a similar perspective between América and UNAM's rivalry, the rivalry between América and Cruz Azul is also seen as based on social class differences: América representing the wealthy and powerful while Cruz Azul is said to represent the working class,^[120] hence fans of Cruz Azul and the team itself being dubiously referred to by the nickname of "Los Albañiles" (bricklayers in Spanish), a reference to Cruz Azul's eponymous parent company, which is one of Mexico's major companies specializing in concrete and construction.

Support

Ever since América was bought by Emilio Azcárraga Milmo from Issac Bessudo in 1959, the club has had the unique distinction of being both the most popular and hated club in the country.^[121] An emphasis on heavy spending on Mexican and foreign players and managers in subsequent seasons, as well as success in domestic and international competitions, created an increasing sense of enmity from rival fans. The fact that Azcárraga Milmo was also the owner of telecommunications company Telesistema Mexicano furthered the notion that América was the club of the "establishment" and the "wealthy", while others were considered teams representing the "working class".^[120]

In December 2013 Mexican newspaper Reforma had América as the country's most popular club with 25 percent in a nationwide survey, and the most popular club in Mexico City. They were also voted the most hated club in the same survey with 41 percent of the votes.^[122][123] According to a February 2015 poll conducted by Mexican pollster Consulta Mitofsky, América is Mexico's most popular football club with 31.1 percent, and the most hated with 41.5 percent.^{[124][125][126]} According to a study conducted by consulting agency EuroAmericas Sports Marketing, América is the most popular Mexican club in Asia, and the third most popular from the Americas after Corinthians of Brazil and Boca Juniors of Argentina.^[127]

Being reputed as the most-hated club in the country has been embraced by the club and its fans, with the phrase "Ódiame Más" – or "Hate me more" in English – being known as one of the team's unofficial slogans.^[128]

América has the highest attendance numbers in Mexico and the eighth most in the world.^[129]

Sponsorship

Additional club sponsors and partners:^[130][131]

• Bridgestone


• 
  Calvin Klein^[132]
  


• Coca-Cola


• Corona


• The Home Depot


• Interjet


• Powerade


• 
  StubHub^[133]
  


• 
  Total^[134]
  


• Toyota

Personnel

Management

Club owner Emilio Azcárraga Jean.

Source: Club América

Coaching staff

Miguel Herrera is the current manager of the club.

Source: Club América

Players

First-team squad

As of 31 December 2018^[135][136]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Agustín Marchesín 2 DF Carlos Vargas 3 DF Jorge Sánchez 4 DF Edson Álvarez 5 MF Guido Rodríguez 7 FW Jérémy Ménez 8 MF Mateus Uribe 9 FW Roger Martínez 10 MF Cecilio Domínguez 11 FW Andrés Ibargüen 12 DF Luis Reyes 18 DF Bruno Valdez 19 DF Emanuel Aguilera 20 MF Diego Lainez

No. Position Player 21 FW Henry Martín 22 DF Paul Aguilar (vice-captain) 23 FW Antonio López 24 FW Oribe Peralta (captain)[137] 25 MF Iván Moreno 27 GK Óscar Jiménez 28 DF Oswaldo León 29 MF Brandon García 30 MF Renato Ibarra 31 FW Fernando González 32 MF Víctor Rodríguez 33 MF Isaác Aguilar 34 DF Daniel Zamora 35 GK César Estrada

Out on loan

No. Position Player — GK Juan Arbiso (at Cancún) — GK Jonathan León (at Atl. Reynosa) — GK Carlos López (at Tapachula) — GK Armando Navarrete (at Venados) — GK Luis Pineda (at Tapachula) — DF Gil Burón (at Tuxtla) — DF Enrique Cedillo (at Tlaxcala) — DF Bryan Colula (at Venados) — DF Aldo Cruz (at BUAP) — DF Alan Hernández (at Cruz Azul Hidalgo) — DF Jonathan Hernández (at Irapuato) — DF Osmar Mares (at Necaxa) — DF Néstor Martínez (at Cancún) — DF Irvin Mojica (at Necaxa) — DF Gustavo Rodríguez (at Irapuato) — DF Jonathan Sánchez (at Venados) — DF Ulises Torres (at Atlas) — DF Jesús Veyna (at Necaxa) — MF Luis Amador (at Necaxa) — MF Carlos Camacho (at Celaya)

No. Position Player — MF Jessie Carrillo (at Tepatitlán) — MF Pedro Esquivel (at Necaxa) — MF José Luis Hernández (at Zacatepec) — MF Johan Montes (at Pacific) — MF Cristian Pellerano (at Independiente del Valle) — MF Manuel Pérez (at Zacatecas) — MF Francisco Rivera (at Zacatecas) — MF Carlos Rosel (at Oaxaca) — MF David Salazar (at Atlante) — FW Francisco Córdova (at Necaxa) — FW Alejandro Díaz (at Atlas) — FW Osvaldo Galindo (at Cancún) — FW Antonio López (at UAEM) — FW Ricardo Marín (at Necaxa) — FW Santiago Ormeño (at Puebla) — FW Diego Pineda (at Atl. San Luis) — FW Alfonso Sánchez (at Oaxaca) — FW Abraham Vázquez (at Atl. Reynosa) — FW Ricardo Zacarías (at Nayarit)

Reserve teams

América Premier

Reserve team that plays in the Liga Premier in the third level of the Mexican league system.

Notable players

Historic players

The following players have been chosen as historic players by a public vote from the club's official website. Players whose names appear italicized played for the club at the time the votes were taken.

Goalkeepers^[138]

• 
  Guillermo Ochoa
  


• 
  Moisés Muñoz
  


• 
  Adolfo Ríos
  


• 
  Héctor Zelada
  

Defenders^[139]

• 
  Alfredo Tena
  


• 
  Mario Trejo
  


• 
  Armando Manzo
  


• 
  Juan Hernández
  


• 
  José Antonio Castro
  


• 
  Cesilio de los Santos
  


• 
  Vinicio Bravo


• 
  Dulio Davino
  


• 
  Miguel Layún
  

Midfielders^[140]

• 
  Daniel Brailovsky
  


• 
  Carlos Reinoso
  


• 
  Antônio Carlos Santos
  


• 
  Pável Pardo
  


• 
  Germán Villa
  


• 
  Eduardo Bacas
  


• 
  Gonzalo Farfan


• 
  Alfredo Sánchez
  


• 
  Cristóbal Ortega
  


• 
  Kalusha Bwalya
  


• 
  Osvaldo Martínez
  


• 
  Rubens Sambueza
  

Forwards^[141]

• 
  Cuauhtémoc Blanco
  


• 
  Salvador Cabañas
  


• 
  Christian Benítez
  


• 
  Luis Roberto Alves
  


• 
  Raúl Jiménez
  


• 
  Claudio López
  


• 
  Enrique Borja
  


• 
  François Omam-Biyik
  


• 
  Iván Zamorano
  


• 
  José Alves
  


• 
  Osvaldo Castro
  


• 
  Roberto Rodríguez


• 
  Eduardo González Pálmer
  

Player records

Top scorers

All-time records

Most goals scored[142] Rank Name Nationality Goals 1 Luis Roberto Alves 189 2 Cuauhtémoc Blanco 152 3 Octavio Vial 152 4 Zague 105 5 Enrique Borja 104 6 Eduardo González Pálmer 101 7 Carlos Reinoso 98 8 Salvador Cabañas 96 9 Carlos Hermosillo 94 10 Gonzalo Farfán 76

Most appearances[143] Rank Name Nationality Apps 1 Cristóbal Ortega 711 2 Alfredo Tena 594 3 Germán Villa 499 4 Luis Roberto Alves 490 5 Gonzalo Farfán 433 6 Duilio Davino 403 7 Adrián Chávez 402 8 Pável Pardo 392 9 Cuauhtémoc Blanco 386 10 Raúl Lara 384

Managers

Notable managers

The following managers have won at least one trophy while in charge at América:

Manager	Period	Trophies
Rafael Garza Gutiérrez	1917–19, 1920–26, 1929–31, 1933–35, 1935–36, 1937–42, 1946–49	Primera División (2): 1924–25, 1925–26
Percy Clifford	1926–29	Primera Fuerza (2): 1926–27, 1927–28
Octavio Vial	1949–50, 1952–55	Copa México (2): 1953–54, 1954–55; Campeón de Campeones (1): 1954–55
Alejandro Scopelli	1964–65	Copa México (2): 1963–64, 1964–65
Roberto Scarone	1965–66	Primera División (1): 1965–66
José Antonio Roca	1971–75	Primera División (1): 1970–71; Copa México (1): 1973–74
Raúl Cárdenas	1975–78	Primera División (1): 1975–76; Campeón de Campeones (1): 1975–76; CONCACAF Champions' Cup (1): 1977; Copa Interamericana (1): 1977
Carlos Reinoso	1981–84, 1998, 2011	Primera División (2): 1983–84, 1984–85
Miguel Ángel López	1985–87	Primera División (1): Prode-85; CONCACAF Champions' Cup (2): 1987, 1992
Jorge Vieira	1987–89	Primera División (2): 1987–88, 1988–89; Campéon de Campeónes (2): 1987–88, 1988–89
Carlos Miloc	1990–91	CONCACAF Champions' Cup (1): 1990, Copa Interamericana (1): 1991
Alfio Basile	2000–01	CONCACAF Giants Cup (1): 2001
Manuel Lapuente	2001–02, 2002–03, 2006, 2010–11	Primera División (1): Verano 2002; CONCACAF Champions' Cup (1): 2006
Mario Carrillo	2004–05	Primera División (1): Clausura 2005; Campeón de Campeones (1): 2004–05
Miguel Herrera	2012–13, 2017–	Liga MX (2): Clausura 2013, Apertura 2018
Antonio Mohamed	2014	Liga MX (1): Apertura 2014
Gustavo Matosas	2015	CONCACAF Champions League (1): 2014–15
Ignacio Ambríz	2015–2016	CONCACAF Champions League (1): 2015–16

Presidents

Since the club was established in 1916, América has had 26 club presidents, with the first being Florencio Domínguez, who served from 1916 to 1920. Guillermo Cañedo de la Bácerna is the club's longest-serving president who served from 1961 to 1981. Filiberto Zapata had the shortest term in the club's history – serving less than year – in 1940. The current sporting president is Santiago Baños.^[144]

In 1951, actor and comedian Cantinflas was named Honorary President of the Club.^[145]

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 de la Bárcena	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	2011
Ricardo Peláez	2011	2017
Santiago Baños	2017

Honours

América is the most successful and most decorated club in Mexican football history.^[146] The club has won 13 league titles,^[147] 5 Copa México championships, and 5 Campeón de Campeones cups. In international competitions, América has won 10 titles, the most for a club from the CONCACAF region.^[15] The club has won a record 7 CONCACAF Champions' Cup/Champions League titles,^[148] 2 Copa Interamericana cups, and 1 CONCACAF Giants Cup.^[149]

Domestic

League

• 
  Primera División / Liga MX
  
  • 
    Winners (13): 1965–66, 1970–71, 1975–76, 1983–84, 1984–85, Prode-1985, 1987–88, 1988–89, Verano 2002, Clausura 2005, Clausura 2013, Apertura 2014, Apertura 2018 (record)
    
  
  

Cups

• 
  Copa México / Copa MX
  
  • 
    Winners (5): 1953–54, 1954–55, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1973–74 (shared record)
    
  
  


• 
  Campeón de Campeones
  
  • 
    Winners (5): 1955, 1976, 1988, 1989, 2005
    
  
  

International

• 
  CONCACAF Champions' Cup / Champions League
  
  • 
    Winners (7): 1977, 1987, 1990, 1992, 2006, 2014–15, 2015–16 (record)
    
  
  


• 
  Copa Interamericana
  
  • 
    Winners (2): 1977, 1991
    
  
  


• 
  CONCACAF Giants Cup
  
  • 
    Winners (1): 2001 (record)
    
  
  

International competitions

References

Further reading

• 
  "Anexos: Jugadores con más partidos jugados". Águilas del América: cronología de un equipo campeón. AM Editores S.A. de C.V. 2003. p. 183. ISBN 968-5336-35-0.
  

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Club América.

• Official team website


• Reddit Official


• 
  América results and statistics at RSSSF
  


• 
  Club América on Google+