Atlético Morelia facts for kids
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| Full name | Club Atlético Morelia | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Los Canarios (The Canaries) Los Rojiamarillos (The Red-and-Yellow) Purépechas Ates |
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| Short name | MOR | |||
| Founded | June 4, 1950, as Club Deportivo Morelia June 26, 2020, refounded as Club Atlético Morelia |
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| Ground | Estadio Morelos Morelia, Michoacán |
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| Capacity | 35,000 | |||
| Owner | Club Atlético Morelia, S.A. de C.V. | |||
| Chairman | Rubens Sambueza | |||
| Manager | Gilberto Adame | |||
| League | Liga de Expansión MX | |||
| Clausura 2025 | Regular phase: 7th Final phase: Semifinals |
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Club Atlético Morelia is a professional football club from Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. They play in the Liga de Expansión MX, which is the second-highest football league in Mexico. Their home games are played at the Estadio Morelos.
The club started in 1950 as Club Deportivo Morelia. It was one of the first teams in the Segunda División (Second Division). In 1974, the club changed its name to Club Atlético Morelia. Later, in 1999, it became Club Monarcas Morelia. On June 26, 2020, the club was re-established with its old name, Club Atlético Morelia.
Between 1981 and 2020, the club played in Mexico's top football league, Liga MX. They won a championship in the Invierno 2000 season. In 2020, the team moved to Mazatlán and changed its name to Mazatlán F.C.. However, another team, Atlético Zacatepec, moved to Morelia and took on the name Atlético Morelia. On June 11, 2024, Atlético Morelia officially got back the original Monarcas Morelia brand and history.
Atlético Morelia won the Liga de Expansión championship in the Clausura 2022 season. This was their second title in a second-division league.
Contents
History of Atlético Morelia
How the Club Started
In 1950, a team called "Oro Morelia" changed its name to Club Deportivo Morelia. This team was one of the founding members of the Segunda División (Second Division). After finishing second in the 1956–1957 season, they were promoted to the Primera División (First Division).
After a tough season, Atlético Morelia was moved back to the Segunda División in 1968. In 1974, the club's name officially changed to Club Atlético Morelia. In 1980, Nicandro Ortiz became the chairman. He helped the team become stronger. Under manager Diego Malta, Atlético Morelia won the Mexico Championship and was promoted back to the Primera División in 1981.
In 1986, before the World Cup in Mexico, Atlético Morelia played friendly matches against Germany and the USSR. In 1996, the big TV company TV Azteca bought the team. In 1999, the club started playing as Club Monarcas Morelia.
Winning the Invierno 2000 Championship
Even though the team had played professional football for 70 years, they had never won a first-division tournament until the winter of 2000. That year, they won the championship by beating Toluca in a penalty shootout. The victory happened in Toluca's stadium. The day after their win, a huge crowd of about 100,000 people welcomed the team in Morelia. They paraded through the city and celebrated their first-ever top-division trophy.
Other Important Achievements
In 2010, Morelia won the North American SuperLiga by beating the New England Revolution 2–1 in the final. Miguel Sabah scored both goals for Morelia.
On November 5, 2013, Monarcas Morelia won their first Copa MX title after a 3–3 match that went to penalties. They also won the first Supercopa MX in 2014, beating Tigres UANL with a total score of 5–4.
Fighting Against Relegation
After 15 years, the 2014–15 season was very difficult for Monarcas. They were close to being relegated from the top league. Enrique Meza became the coach in 2015 to help save the team, as he had done before. Later, Roberto Hernandez took over as interim manager.
During this time, Peruvian forward Raul Ruidiaz joined the team. He was very important for the club's success. He scored 20 goals in the 2016-2017 Liga MX season, becoming the top scorer in both the Apertura and Clausura tournaments. In the final match of the Apertura season, Morelia was in danger of being relegated. They needed to win against Monterrey. The score was tied 1-1 in injury time when Raul Ruidiaz scored a crucial goal. This goal saved them from relegation and also helped them qualify for the playoffs.
Moving to Mazatlán
On May 23, 2020, news spread that the club would move from Morelia to Mazatlán, Sinaloa. The team would be renamed Mazatlán F.C.. The club's owner, Grupo Salinas, reportedly asked the government of Michoacán for a lot of money to keep the team in Morelia. Many fans, former players, and sports media were unhappy about the move. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, over 7,000 fans protested in the streets of Morelia.
On June 2, 2020, the club and Liga MX announced the move to Mazatlán. This happened just two days before the club's 70th anniversary.
The Rebirth of Atlético Morelia
On June 26, 2020, it was announced that Atlético Zacatepec would move to Morelia because of financial problems. The next day, at a press conference at Estadio Morelos, it was confirmed that the club would be called Club Atlético Morelia. This was the name the club used for over 25 years before Grupo Salinas changed it in 1999. The new ownership group bought the rights to the club's original name and logo.
Club Names Over Time
- Oro Morelia (1924–1950): This was the club's name when it was founded, before it became a professional team.
- Club Deportivo Morelia (1950–1972): This was the official name after the club joined the Segunda División.
- Club Atlético Morelia (1972–1999): The name the club used after returning from a break in 1971.
- Club Monarcas Morelia (1999–2020): The name used after TV Azteca bought the team.
- Club Atlético Morelia (2020–present): The name used after the team from Zacatepec moved to Morelia.
Team Colors and Kit
The club's main colors are yellow and red. These colors come from the flag of the city of Morelia, which are also the colors of the Spanish flag. Morelia is a historic city with Spanish roots.
In the beginning, when the club was called Oro, they were known as the canarios (canaries). This nickname lasted until 1999 when the club changed its name to Monarcas. The name Monarcas comes from the three monarchs shown on the city's flag.
Home Stadium
By the late 1980s, the team's old stadium, Estadio Venustiano Carranza, was too small. A new, larger stadium was needed. On April 9, 1989, the Estadio Jose Maria Morelos and Pavón was opened. It is located on the edge of the Quinceo mountain. The first game played there was between Atlético Morelia and Club América. Morelia won the match 2–1. The stadium can hold 35,000 people. In 2011, the stadium was updated for the FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Mexico.
Team Management and Coaching
Management Team
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Sporting chairman |  Rubens Sambueza |
| Corporate chairman |  José Luis Higuera |
| Vice-chairman | Raymundo López Olvera |
| Director of football | Jose Luis Cendejas |
Source: Liga MX
Coaching Staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Gilberto Adame |
| Assistan manager | Víctor Herrejón |
| Goalkeeper coach | Miguel Fraga |
| Fitness coach | Vacant |
| Physiotherapist | Francisco Arias |
| Team doctors | Vicente Villalva |
| Julio Cambrón |
Players
Morelia has had many famous players throughout its history. Marco Antonio Figueroa is the club's all-time top scorer with 130 goals. Several players, like Adolfo Bautista, Rafael Márquez Lugo, Moisés Muñoz, Miguel Sabah, and Raul Ruidiaz, have played for the Mexico national team while with Morelia. Raul Ruidiaz was the first Morelia player to be the top scorer in the Liga MX.
Current First-Team Squad
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Players in World Cups and Olympics
Some players from Morelia have been chosen to play for their countries in big international tournaments:
- World Cup Players:
* 
Egidio Arévalo Ríos (2014) * 
Jefferson Montero (2014) * 
Raúl Ruidíaz (2018)
- Olympic Players:
* Pablo López (1964) * Rafael Márquez Lugo (2004)
Top Goal Scorers
These are the players who have scored the most goals for Atlético Morelia and Monarcas Morelia:
| Atletico Morelia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Player | Goals | ||
| 1 |  Marco Antonio Figueroa |
130 Goals | ||
| 2 |  Alex Fernandes |
71 Goals | ||
| 3 | Miguel Sabah |
64 Goals | ||
| 4 | Carlos Miloc |
59 Goals | ||
| 5 | Rafael Márquez Lugo |
58 Goals | ||
- This list includes goals from both Atlético Morelia and Monarcas Morelia.
- It does not include goals scored in international competitions.
Club Achievements
Atlético Morelia has won several important titles:
National Titles
| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning editions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Top division |
Primera División | 1 | Invierno 2000 | Apertura 2002, Clausura 2003, Clausura 2011 |
| Copa Presidente/Copa MX | 1 | Apertura 2013 | 1964–65, Clausura 2017 | |
| Supercopa MX | 1s | 2014 | 2015 | |
| Promotion divisions | Liga de Expansión MX | 1 | Clausura 2022 | Guardianes 2021, Clausura 2023 |
| Campeón de Campeones de la Liga de Expansión | 0 | – | 2022 | |
| Segunda División | 1 | 1980–81 | 1956–57 | |
| Copa de la Segunda División | 1 | 1955–56 | 1950–51 | |
| Campeón de Campeones de la Segunda División | 1 | 1956 | – |
International Titles
| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning editions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Continental CONCACAF |
CONCACAF Champions Cup | 0 | – | 2002, 2003 |
Regional Titles
| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning editions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
  North America MLS Liga MX |
North American SuperLiga | 1s | 2010 | – |
- Notes
- record
- s shared record
Club Managers
Many different managers have led the team throughout its history:
- Carlos Miloc (1979–80)
Árpád Fekete (1982)- Antonio "Tota" Carbajal (1984–94)
- Jesus Bracamontes (1989–90), (1991–93)
- Carlos Miloc (1995–96)
- Enrique Meza (Feb 24, 1996 – June 30, 1996)
- Tomás Boy (Sept 6, 1996 – June 30, 1997)
- Eduardo Solari (1997–98)
- Tomás Boy (July 1, 1998 – June 30, 2000)
- Luis Fernando Tena (July 1, 2000 – Oct 22, 2001)
- Miguel Ángel Russo (Oct 27, 2001 – Feb 16, 2002)
- Rubén Omar Romano (Feb 24, 2002 – Feb 22, 2004)
- Antonio Mohamed (Feb 24, 2004 – June 30, 2004)
- Eduardo Acevedo (2004–05)
- Ricardo Ferretti (Jan 1, 2005 – Dec 31, 2005)
- Sergio Bueno (Jan 1, 2006 – Feb 6, 2006)
- Darío Franco (Feb 10, 2006 – June 30, 2006)
- Hugo Hernández (July 1, 2006 – Sept 18, 2006)
- Marco Antonio Figueroa (Sept 22, 2006 – June 30, 2007)
- José Luis Trejo (July 1, 2007 – Oct 22, 2007)
- David Patiño (Oct 22, 2007 – March 16, 2008)
- Luis Fernando Tena (March 17, 2008 – Feb 19, 2009)
- Tomás Boy (Feb 20, 2009 – June 30, 2012)
- Rubén Omar Romano (July 1, 2012 – Feb 18, 2013)
- Carlos Bustos (Feb 18, 2013 – Jan 26, 2014)
- Eduardo de la Torre (Jan 27, 2014 – March 1, 2014)
- R. Hernández (interim) (March 2, 2014 – March 10, 2014)
- Ángel David Comizzo (March 10, 2014 – Sept 3, 2014)
- José Guadalupe Cruz (Sept 3, 2014 – Dec 1, 2014)
- Alfredo Tena (Dec 4, 2014 – Feb 15, 2015)
- R. Hernández (interim) (feb 15, 2015 – May 8, 2015)
- Enrique Meza (May 17, 2015– October 23, 2016)
- Pablo Marini (Dec 2, 2016- Feb 6, 2017)
- R. Hernández (Feb 07, 2017– Feb 24, 2019)
- Javier Torrente (Feb 28, 2019 - August 18, 2019)
- Pablo Guede (August 18, 2019 - June 1st 2020)
- Ricardo Valiño (June 26, 2020 - May 28, 2022)
- Gabriel Pereyra (May 29, 2022 – February 27, 2023)
- Carlos Adrián Morales (February 27, 2023 – October 20, 2023)
- José Roberto Muñoz (interim) (October 20, 2023 – December 5, 2023)
- Israel Hernández Pat (December 5, 2023 – February 21, 2024)
- Norberto Scoponi (February 22, 2024 – April 16, 2024)
- Mario García Covalles (April 17, 2024 – November 12, 2024)
Nacho Castro (November 18, 2024 – June 2, 2025)- Gilberto Adame (June 9, 2025 – )
See also
In Spanish: Atlético Morelia para niños
- Monarcas Morelia (women)
