Atlético Morelia
| File:Morelialogo.gif | ||||
| Full name | Club Atlético Monarcas Morelia | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | La Monarquia (The Monarchy) Los Canarios (The Canaries) Los Purepechas | |||
| Founded | November 21, 1924 | |||
| Ground | Estadio Morelos Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico | |||
| Capacity | 41,500 | |||
| Owner |  Grupo Salinas | |||
| Chairman | Álvaro Dávila | |||
| Manager |  Rubén Omar Romano | |||
| League | Liga MX | |||
| Apertura 2012 | 5th (Quarterfinalist) | |||
|
| ||||
Club Atlético Monarcas Morelia is a Mexican professional football club based in Morelia, Michoacán currently playing in the Liga MX. The team is owned by the TV broadcasting company TV Azteca and plays its home games in Estadio Morelos.
History
Club Atlético Morelia was founded November 21, 1924, as "Oro Morelia" in Morelia, Michoacán. In 1950, Club Deportivo Morelia was among the teams that founded the Segunda División. After the 1956–1957 season, in which they ended up in second place, they were officially promoted into the Primera División to replace Puebla. After an unsuccessful season, in 1968 Monarcas Morelia was relegated back to the Segunda División. During mixed 1968–1971 seasons, C.A. Morelia appointed Nicandro Ortiz as chairman. Ortiz acquired the team and strengthened its position in the league.
The 1978–1979 season thrust Morelia into contention for promotion; in 1980, Monarcas Morelia played under manager Diego Malta who helped his team towards the Mexican Championship and finally promotion to the Primera División in 1981.
In 1996 the major broadcast company TV Azteca bought the team. By the year 2000 the club were playing under the Monarcas moniker. In recent years Monarcas Morelia has been one of the main protagonists in the Primera División.
Although the team had played Mexican professional soccer for 70 years, it had never won a first division tournament until winter 2000, when the club raised the cup after beating Toluca on penalties. The team was crowned champions in the Bombonera Stadium and not at home. The Morelos Stadium has never seen its team actually winning a final. On the day after the victory, a crowd that some[who?] estimate to have consisted of 100 thousand people welcomed the team as it paraded along Morelia's main avenue, Avenida Madero. Later they arrived at the stadium where the crowd congregated as the team raised the cup and the fans congratulated the team for its first ever first division trophy.
Monarcas Morelia has played three other finals (Clausura 2002, Apertura 2003 and Clausura 2011) which they lost to Toluca, Monterrey and Pumas respectively.
Rollie Magunas was hired as their new manager in February 2009, replacing Luis Fernando Tena.
After missing the playoffs for three straight tournaments, Morelia ended up in third place in the general table in the Apertura 2009. Morelia defeated Santos Laguna in the first round, 4–2 on aggregate. Morelia was defeated by Cruz Azul in a semi-final that was filled with controversy because Cruz Azul player Joel Huiqui intentionally used his hand to hit the ball away and prevent Morelia midfielder Wilson Tíago from scoring. (Ironically, Huiqui now plays for Morelia.) With a 2–1 aggregate score, Morelia was eliminated. Morelia qualified for the 2010 Copa Libertadores by ending in third place in the classification phase. It was the second time that Morelia participated in the Copa Libertadores, the first being in 2002. Morelia was the Runner-up of the Clausura 2011, after a hard fought final. Pumas won this 3–2 on aggregate, taking the trophy home.
Morelia is the 2010 SuperLiga champion, with a 2-1 victory in the finals over the New England Revolution in which Miguel Sabah scored both Morelia's goals.
Badges
-
First Badge 1924–1972 -
Second badge 1973–1982 -
Third Badge 1983–1999
Clubs Kit
The clubs colors are generated from the city's flag which are yellow and red, which are the same colors in the Spanish flag, because the city is a novohispana city.
In the club's beginnings the club went under the name of Oro and were known as the canarios (canary) until 1999 when the club changed its name to Monarcas, due to the 3 monarchs found in the city's flag, which has been used from its foundation.
- First kit evolution 1924-1999[1]
      1924
|
 1951
|
   1964
|
 1979
|
 1981
|
 1986
|
 1988
|
 1992
|
 1993
|
 1995
|
 1997
|
   1999
|
2000–present
- 2000–present
   2000
|
 2002
|
 2003
|
 2004
|
 2005
|
 2006
|
 2007
|
   2011
|
Stadium
Towards the end of the 1980s it was decided that their stadium (Estadio Venustiano Carranza) was lacking capacity and that a new stadium with a greater number of seats needed to be constructed. On April 9, 1989, after several construction delays, Stadium Jose Maria Morelos and Pavón (located on the outskirts of the Quinceo mountain) was opened, and the inaugural game was between Atlético Morelia and Club América (who are Morelia's main rivals). The stadium has an official capacity of 45,000, although on inauguration in 1989 it is estimated that more than 50,000 were in attendance. Morelia won the match with the score 2–1. In 2011, the stadium was given a new look, seeing as the FIFA U-17 World Cup was taking place in Mexico.
Players
Morelia has had some notable players in their history. Marco Antonio Figueroa is the club's all-time leading scorer with 130 goals. Adolfo Bautista, Rafael Márquez Lugo, Moisés Muñoz, Miguel Sabah, Adrián Aldrete, Enrique Pérez, Édgar Lugo and Elias Hernandez, are some of the players that were called up to the Mexican national team while playing with the team.
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
|
|
Top Goalscorers
| Monarcas 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 | ||
- Players in bold are currently active with Monarcas Morelia.
- Players in italic are still active but are not currently with Monarcas Morelia.
- Does not include international competition goals.
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.
|
Honours
Domestic
- Invierno 2000
- Runner-up (3): Apertura 2002, Clausura 2003, Clausura 2011
- 1981
- Copa Pachuca: 1
- 2001
- Runner-up (1): 1999
- Copa México: 0
- Runner-up (1): 1964–65
International
- Superliga: 1
- 2010
- CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 0
Managers
Tomás Boy (July 1998–June 00)- Luis Tena (July 2000–Oct 01)
Miguel Ángel Russo (Oct 2001–Feb 02)- Rubén Omar Romano (Feb 2002–Feb 04)
- Antonio Mohamed (Feb 2004–June 4)
Ricardo Ferretti (Jan 2005–Dec 05)- Sergio Bueno (Jan 2006–Feb 06)
- Darío Franco (Feb 2006–June 6)
- Hugo Hernández (July 2006–Sept 06)
Marco Antonio Figueroa (Sept 2006–June 7)- José Luis Trejo (July 2007–Oct 07)
- David Patiño (Oct 2007–March 8)
- Luis Tena (March 2008–Feb 09)
- Tomás Boy (Feb 2009–May 2012)
- Rubén Omar Romano (May 2012–)
References
- ^ "Monarcas Morelia Football Jerseys". oldfootballshirts.com. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- ^ "Monarcas Morelia squad". Femexfut.org.mx. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ "Monarcas Morelia squad". Fuerzamonarcas.com.mx. Retrieved 2010-01-09.
- ^ "Morelia squad". Fuerzamonarcas.com.mx. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2011) |