Pachuca

Club de Fútbol Pachuca is a Mexican professional football team based in Pachuca, Hidalgo, that competes in Liga MX. Founded by Cornish miners in 1901, it is one of the oldest football clubs in the Americas. After decades of mediocre or poor performances between the 1st and 2nd division, Pachuca was promoted once again to the Primera División in 1998. Since then, it has been one of the most successful clubs in Mexico, winning six national championships, four CONCACAF Champions' Cups, the 2007 SuperLiga, and one Copa Sudamericana. In 2006, Pachuca became the first CONCACAF team to win a CONMEBOL tournament. Pachuca was one of the founding members of the Mexican Primera División. History Amateur era Cornish emigrant miners working for the Compañía Real del Monte y Pachuca founded the "Pachuca Athletic Club" in 1901. Originally they practiced football as only a hobby during the free time they had while working at the mines owned by William Blamey. Alfred C. Crowle was the man who first introduced the sport to the mine workers, bringing the first footballs and the rules. Other clubs soon were established in surrounding states, including Albinegros de Orizaba, Reforma AC, British Club, Puebla A.C., and Mexico Cricket Club. On July 19, 1907, the Mexican Primera División was founded, with Pachuca as one of the founding members. In the 1908 season, a Mexican born player, David Islas, appeared for the first time in the ranks of the team. From 1910 to 1912, the Mexican Revolution decimated professional football in Mexico until only three clubs remained; Pachuca being one of them. By 1915, most of the players on the team were Mexicans. From 1917 to 1920, Pachuca were league champions under British coach Alfred C. Crowle. Pachuca then went into a hiatus during the 1920–1921 season when most of its players moved to Mexico City. Many years passed by until a second division Mexican Second Division team were reassembled. Professional era In 1967 the team was crowned champion of the Segunda División and was able to move up to the Primera División. The team fared poorly and returned 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 were relegated at the end of 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, later called Liga de Ascenso and the team is a sensation. However, they are unable to crown their efforts and fall to Atlético Celaya in an overtime final. In the 1995–1996 season, the team becomes champion of the Primera "A" tournament and is promoted to the Primera División. The team struggles yet again, and returns to the Primera División "A" once more. After the FMF splits the calendar into two half-length tournaments, Pachuca becomes champion of the Winter tournament. After defeating the 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 a draw against Atlante F.C. 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 became professional. They defeated 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 semi-finals, 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 Torreón, 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 Mexico 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 league 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 football related fields Universidad del Fútbol. In 2003, the team captured yet another championship, again against UANL, and again in their stadium. This time, the coach was Víctor Manuel Vucetich. In its recent history, Pachuca has become a team to be respected in Mexican football and is nicknamed "El Equipo de México" (Mexico's Team). Between 2003 and 2006 the team devoted more attention to social and marketing issues and failed to make the playoffs during two consecutive seasons. President Jesús Martínez 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. On July 31, 2007, Pachuca entered into a club-to-club partnership with the Colorado Rapids Soccer Club in the USA. The alliance will include a home-and-home annual series between the clubs, an exchange of best business practices, and the establishment of the Tuzos Soccer Academy at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, which was officially launched on October 1, 2007. The move established the Rapids as Pacucha's official partner club in the United States, in a move designed for promotion of both on the field development, player exchanges, and business incentives for both clubs on either side of the border. A recent title is the "SuperLiga" trophy, a tournament between teams from the Mexican League and Major League Soccer from the United States. 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 7–16, 2007. They were knocked out by their first rival in the tournament, CAF champions Étoile Sportive du Sahel from Tunisia on December 8. On April 2008, Pachuca reclaimed the CONCACAF Champions Cup and secured a berth for the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup scheduled for December 2008 in Japan. Recently, Pachuca has been developing an outstanding youth program including several young players (most of them under 16), this proposal involves a football training camp during summer. In 2009 Pachuca made it to the Clausura 2009 Final, they became runner-up after they lost to UNAM Pumas. On April 2010, Pachuca clenched their fourth CONCACAF Champions Cup Title after defeating Cruz Azul, and secured a berth for the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup. During the Bicentenario 2010 Pachuca made it to the semi-finals with a 2–2 draw at Estadio Hidalgo, and then losing 1–0 on Toluca soil, losing 3–2 on aggregate score. Copa Sudamericana In December 2006, Pachuca played its first continental championship game ever, facing Colo-Colo from Chile. The first leg ended in a 1–1 draw, and in the return game, played in Chile, Pachuca won the Copa Sudamericana championship by a score of 2–1. Pachuca's goals for the title were made at first, by their symbol Gabriel Caballero and in an excellent play Chitiva gave the ball to Christian "El Chaco" Giménez who scored the "Golden Goal" for their greatest conquer in their history. In doing so, Pachuca became the first Mexican team and CONCACAF team to win a CONMEBOL championship. In addition, Pachuca is also the only team in the world to have won a club competition in a Confederation outside of its own.