Club Leones Negros de la Universidad de Guadalajara, also known as Leones Negros, Leones Negros UdeG, Universidad de Guadalajara, or UdeG, is a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
club that currently plays in the
Liga de Expansión MX
The Liga de Expansión MX, also known as Liga de Desarrollo (Liga BBVA Expansión MX for sponsorship reasons), is a Mexican football league founded in 2020 as part of the Mexican Football Federation's "Stabilization Project", which has the prima ...
.
History
The
Universidad de Guadalajara
The University of Guadalajara ( es, Universidad de Guadalajara) is a public higher education institution in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. The university has several high schools as well as graduate and undergraduate campuses, which are di ...
football club, nicknamed ''Leones Negros'' (Black Lions), was founded on August 19, 1970, and started in the
Tercera División
Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the '' Segunda División'', and the semi-professional '' Segunda ...
(third division) in the Mexican professional league, where they played for two seasons after which they gained promotion to
Segunda División Profesional.
They reached the top division by acquiring the Primera Division's franchise of
Torreón
Torreón () is a city and seat of Torreón Municipality in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2021, the city's population was 735,340. The metropolitan population as of 2015 was 1,497,734, making it the ninth-biggest metropolitan area in ...
.
During their first years in the top flight they had several skilled Brazilian players, reason for which noted sports broadcaster Ángel Fernandez started to call them "Leones Negros" (the Black Lions), a nickname that stuck and remains part of the folklore of Mexican football.
In the seasons 1975–76, 1976–77 and 1989–90 the team achieved the runners-up in the Primera División. In addition, in 1978 the club won the
CONCACAF Champions' Cup
The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Amer ...
together with the clubs
Comunicaciones F.C. from
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...
and
Defence Force F.C. from
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
.
Disappearance of los Leones Negros de la UdeG
After 20 years in top flight football the team was in decline, alleged questionable financial dealings, a very poor squad and hardly any local fans (who are loyal to more popular teams like
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...
, better known as "Chivas" and to a lesser extent,
Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.
Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geogra ...
) Leones Negros were acquired by the
Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación, to make way for the reduction in the number of teams in the
Primera División. Their last game was on May 27, 1994 against Atlas, in which they lost 2–1.
New Era
After the disappearance of the team by the Federación Mexicana de Futbol, the franchise maintained the third division reserve squad, that become the main team, the club obtained a title in the verano 1997 tournament, gaining promotion to the Primera División "A" where they stayed until the franchise was sold and moved to Orizaba in 2002. During this time the franchise was named ''Atlético Bachilleres'', name it had since the 1970s when the reserve team was established.
Between 2002 and 2009 the team played as ''Cachorros UdeG'' in
Segunda División Mexicana in the Norte region and a few seasons back was close to gaining promotion to the
Primera División A, first losing the final against,
Académicos and then losing to Chivas La Piedad. For the Apertura 2007 season they changed stadium to Estadio Municipal Santa Rosa de
Ciudad Guzmán,
Jalisco
Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal ...
, but have stated that some of their home games will still played at their traditional home in twice worldcup host
Estadio Jalisco
The Jalisco Stadium is a football stadium located in Guadalajara, Mexico. It is the third largest Mexican football stadium behind Estadio Azteca and Estadio Olímpico Universitario. The facility is located in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, 4 ...
. In 2009 Cachorros UdeG became the reserve team of the club, a situation that remained until 2014, when it became
Leones Negros UdeG Premier.
Return to the Primera División A
For some time businessmen, among them Jorge Vergara, tried to return the team of Club Universidad de Guadalajara to the top divisions of football in Mexico, this was achieved through the purchase of the franchise of
Primera División A's
CD Tapatio for $800,000 USD from
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...
of which
CD Tapatio was a subsidiary.
On May 21, 2009 it was confirmed that team Club Universidad de Guadalajara entered the
Primera División A instead of
C.D. Tapatío, which disappeared completely.
Apertura 2013 Champions and promotion to Liga MX
In the Apertura 2013 tournament, Leones Negros finished 5th and entered the Liguilla, where they reached the final and ended as Champions beating
Necaxa
Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Necaxa, is a Mexican professional football club in Liga MX based in the city of Aguascalientes. It plays in the Estadio Victoria.
History
Foundation (Light and Power Compan ...
2–1, earning the right to compete in the Final de Ascenso and the possibility to be promoted to the 2014–15 Liga MX.
After a hard Clausura 2014 tournament, Leones Negros ended in 4th place, but lost in the quarterfinals against Oaxaca. However, as Apertura 2013 champions, they played the Final de Ascenso against
Estudiantes Tecos, who were the Clausura 2014 Champions.
After two very disputed games, both of them ended in a tie, the Promotion was defined in a penalty shoot-out, in which goalkeeper
Humberto "Gansito" Hernández scored the final and decisive penalty, giving the Leones Negros the promotion and the right to play in the 2014–15 Liga MX season.
Club Universidad de Guadalajara was officially relegated after only one season in the Mexican top flight on May 9, 2015. Despite winning the match against
Cruz Azul
Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...
2–0, relegation rivals
Puebla
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
managed to obtain a 2–2 tie, thus giving them more percentage in the relegation table. As a result, UdeG returned to Ascenso MX. In the
Clausura 2018 tournament the team was close to returning to Liga MX, however, in the final of the championship the team was defeated by
Cafetaleros de Tapachula
Club de Fútbol Cafetaleros de Chiapas is a Mexican football club based in the city of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas currently competing in Liga Premier de México, the third tier of Mexican football. Between 2015 and 2020, the team played at Asc ...
.
In June 2020, UdeG became a member of the
Liga de Expansión MX
The Liga de Expansión MX, also known as Liga de Desarrollo (Liga BBVA Expansión MX for sponsorship reasons), is a Mexican football league founded in 2020 as part of the Mexican Football Federation's "Stabilization Project", which has the prima ...
when it replaced Ascenso MX.
Honours
National
*
Ascenso MX
Ascenso MX was the second tier of professional football in Mexico of the Mexican football league system. The champion of the competition was promoted to Liga MX (top-flight tier). The bottom team was relegated to Liga Premier (the third tier). ...
: 1
::Apertura 2013
::Runner-up (1): Clausura 2018
*
Campeón de Ascenso: 1
::2014
*
Copa México
The Copa MX (formerly called Copa Tower Monterrey, Copa Eliminatoria, Copa México and Copa Corona MX (for sponsorship reasons)) was a Mexican football cup competition that was established in 1907. After a lengthy hiatus that began in 1997, it was ...
: 1
::1990–91
*
Primera División: 0
::Runner-up (3): 1975–76, 1976–77, 1989–90
*
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...
: 1
::1996–97
::Runner-up (1): Apertura 2005
*
Copa de Guadalajara con Pele: 1
::1975
International
*
CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 1
::
1978
Personnel
Coaching staff
Players
First-team squad
Out on loan
Reserve teams
;
Leones Negros UdeG Premier
:Reserve team that plays in the
Liga Premier
The Malaysia Premier League ( ms, Liga Premier) was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. The league replaced the former second-tier league, Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system.
The Malaysia Premier Leag ...
, the third level of the Mexican league system.
;Leones Negros UdeG (Liga TDP)
:Reserve team that plays in the
Liga TDP
The Liga TDP is Mexico's fourth tier in the Mexican League System. The Liga TDP is divided into 17 groups. For the 2009/2010 season, the format of the tournament has been reorganized to a home and away format, which all teams will play in their ...
, the fourth level of the Mexican league system.
Managers
*
Ignacio Jáuregui (1976–78)
*
Gustavo Peña (1978–79)
*
Árpád Fekete (1979–81)
*
Ignacio Trelles
Ignacio Trelles Campos (31 July 1916 – 24 March 2020) was a Mexican football player and manager. As a player with Club Necaxa, they won three Mexican championships. Later he coached amongst others the Mexico national team.
A seasoned and d ...
(1986–89)
*
Alberto Guerra
Alberto Guerra López (born 8 May 1944) is a Mexican former football manager and Defensive midfildier. He played for C.D. Guadalajara throughout his career.
Playing career
When Guerra was five, his parents decided to move to the city of Guad ...
(1989–92)
* Sergio Díaz (2009)
* Belarmino de Almeida (2009–2010)
*
Héctor Medrano (2010–2011)
*
Alfonso Sosa
Luis Alfonso Sosa Cisneros (born 5 October 1967) is a Mexican former professional footballer and currently manager of Leones Negros UdeG
Club Leones Negros de la Universidad de Guadalajara, also known as Leones Negros, Leones Negros UdeG, ...
(2011–2015), (2021–)
*
Daniel Guzmán (2015–2016)
*
Joel Sánchez Ramos (2016–2017)
*
Jorge Dávalos (2017–2019), (2019–2021)
*
Ricardo Rayas (2019)
References
External links
Official site (leonesnegrosudg.mx)Cambio de Sede a Ciudad Guzmán
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leones Negros UdeG
Football clubs in Jalisco
Association football clubs established in 1970
Uni
Uni or UNI may refer to:
Entertainment
*Uni Records, a division of MCA, formally called Universal City Records
*"U.N.I.", a song by Ed Sheeran from ''+'' (''Plus'')
*Uni, a species in the Neopets Trading Card Game
*Uni, a character in the anim ...
Ascenso MX teams
Liga MX teams
1970 establishments in Mexico
CONCACAF Champions League winning clubs