Leones Negros UdeG facts for kids
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| Full name | Club Leones Negros de la Universidad de Guadalajara | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Los Leones Negros (The Black Lions) | |||
| Founded | 1 January 1970 | |||
| Ground | Estadio Jalisco Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico |
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| Capacity | 56,713 | |||
| Owner | UdeG | |||
| Chairman | José Alberto Castellanos Gutiérrez | |||
| Manager | Alfonso Sosa | |||
| League | Liga de Expansión MX | |||
| Apertura 2022 | 3rd (Semi–finals) | |||
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Club Leones Negros de la Universidad de Guadalajara, often called Leones Negros (which means Black Lions), is a football club from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. They are also known as UdeG. The team currently plays in the Liga de Expansión MX, which is a professional football league in Mexico.
Club History
The Leones Negros football club was started on August 19, 1970. They began playing in the Tercera División, which was the third level of professional football in Mexico. After two seasons, they moved up to the Segunda División Profesional.
The team then reached the top division by taking over the spot of another team, Club de Fútbol Torreón.
The Black Lions Nickname
In their early years, Leones Negros had many skilled players from Brazil. Because of this, a famous sports announcer named Ángel Fernandez started calling them "Leones Negros," meaning "Black Lions." This nickname became very popular and is still used today.
Achievements in the Early Years
The team did very well in the top division. They finished as runners-up (second place) in the 1975–76, 1976–77, and 1989–90 seasons.
In 1978, Leones Negros also won the 1978 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. They shared this title with two other clubs: Comunicaciones F.C. from Guatemala and Defence Force F.C. from Trinidad and Tobago.
A Short Break from the Top League
After 20 years in the top football league, the team faced some challenges. They were eventually taken over by the Mexican Football Federation. This happened as the top league was reducing the number of teams.
Leones Negros played their last game in the top league on May 27, 1994, losing 2–1 to Atlas.
The New Era of Leones Negros
Even after leaving the top league, the club kept its reserve team, which played in the third division. This reserve team then became the main team. In 1997, they won a championship, which helped them get promoted to the Primera División "A."
They stayed in this league until 2002 when the team was sold and moved to a different city. During this time, the team was known as Atlético Bachilleres.
Between 2002 and 2009, the team played as Cachorros UdeG in the Segunda División Mexicana. They came close to getting promoted to the Primera División A a few times. In 2009, Cachorros UdeG became the reserve team again.
Return to the Primera División A
Many people wanted the Club Universidad de Guadalajara team to return to Mexico's top football divisions. This finally happened in 2009. The club bought the spot of another team, CD Tapatio, in the Primera División A.
On May 21, 2009, it was officially confirmed that Club Universidad de Guadalajara would play in the Primera División A once more.
Champions and Promotion to Liga MX
In the Apertura 2013 tournament, Leones Negros played very well. They finished 5th and made it to the playoffs (called Liguilla). They reached the final and won the championship by beating Necaxa 2–1. This win gave them a chance to play for promotion to the top league, Liga MX.
After another tough tournament in Clausura 2014, Leones Negros finished 4th. They then played a special match called the Final de Ascenso against Estudiantes Tecos. This match would decide which team got promoted to Liga MX.
Both games in the Final de Ascenso ended in a tie. So, the winner was decided by a penalty shootout. The goalkeeper, Humberto "Gansito" Hernández, scored the winning penalty! This exciting moment gave Leones Negros the promotion to the 2014–15 Liga MX season.
Back to Ascenso MX
Unfortunately, Leones Negros only stayed in the top Mexican league for one season. On May 9, 2015, they were officially moved back down to Ascenso MX. Even though they won their last match against Cruz Azul 2–0, another team, Puebla, got a tie in their game, which meant Puebla had a better chance to stay up.
In June 2020, the Ascenso MX league was replaced by the Liga de Expansión MX, and UdeG became a member of this new league.
Club Honours
Domestic Titles
- Ascenso MX: 1
- Apertura 2013
- Runner-up (1): Clausura 2018
- Campeón de Ascenso: 1
- 2014
- Copa México: 1
- 1990–91
- Primera División: 0
- Runner-up (3): 1975–76, 1976–77, 1989–90
- Segunda División: 1
- 1996–97
- Runner-up (1): Apertura 2005
- Copa de Guadalajara con Pele: 1
- 1975
Continental Titles
- CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 1
- 1978
Club Personnel
Coaching Staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Alfonso Sosa |
| Assistant managers | Juan Carlos Chávez |
| Julio Herrera |
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| Goalkeeper coach | Roberto Hernández |
| Fitness coach | Sergio Hernández |
| Physiotherapist | Alan Fuentes |
| Team doctor | Eduardo Ortega |
Players
First-Team Squad
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Reserve Teams
- Leones Negros UdeG Premier
- This is a reserve team that plays in the Liga Premier. This is the third level of the Mexican football league system.
- Leones Negros UdeG (Liga TDP)
- This is another reserve team. They play in the Liga TDP, which is the fourth level of the Mexican league system.
Managers
- Ignacio Jáuregui (1976–78)
- Gustavo Peña (1978–79)
Árpád Fekete (1979–81)- Ignacio Trelles (1986–89)
- Alberto Guerra (1989–92)
- Sergio Díaz (2009)
Belarmino de Almeida (2009–2010)- Héctor Medrano (2010–2011)
- Alfonso Sosa (2011–2015), (2021–)
- Daniel Guzmán (2015–2016)
- Joel Sánchez Ramos (2016–2017)
- Jorge Dávalos (2017–2019), (2019–2021)
- Ricardo Rayas (2019)
