Atlético Español was a football team which played between 1971 and 1982 in the Primera División de México. They played out of

México City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

History

Atlético Español Fútbol Club On September 19, 1971, when a group of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

entrepreneurs / business people decided to buy the franchise of what was then known as Necaxa and change their name to Atlético Español. The reason for the name change was due to their nationality and ideology in the world of business. The branded club were modeled on the defunct team

Real Club España Real Club España is a Mexican sports club located in Mexico City. The club hosted a large variety of sports and other activities such as aerobics, basque pelota, billiards, canoeing, climbing wall, football, gymnastics, jai alai, mountaineering ...

, with a similar name and kit to the predecessor. The team would immediately obtain the nickname ''Toros'' because in their badge was a bull next a football and the initials AE. ''Español'' characterized itself to be a team which was a fighter, but their start was not the ideal one since in the 1971–72 season they were a point away from descending to the 2nd division. Other teams fighting to avoid relegation that season were

Club de Fútbol Torreón Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands a ...

Irapuato FC Club Deportivo Irapuato is a professional football club, based in Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico. They are currently playing in the Serie A in the Liga Premier. Irapuato has mostly played in the Promotion League of Mexico (formerly Primera Divis ...

and Club Veracruz, in the end

would be the team to be relegated. For the 1972–73 season Atlético Español would reach the semifinals against

Club León Club León Fútbol Club, also known as León, is a Mexican professional football club based in León, Guanajuato, that competes in the Liga MX, the top flight of Mexican football. León has won the Primera División de México/Liga MX title ...

losing 5–4 in the third leg going all the way to penalties.. In 1973–74 they would reach the final against a strong

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 ...

. They would play a two legged tie in which Atlético Español would win the first leg 2–1 but lose the second 3–0, becoming the runner-up of the league. In 1975 Atlético Español would win their first and only international title in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup 1975, they played the final against

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

of Suriname defeating them 5–1 in aggregate. In 1976 they disputed the

Copa Interamericana The Copa Interamericana ( en, Interamerican Cup) was an annual club football competition contested between a representative from North America (CONCACAF) and South America (CONMEBOL). Established in 1969, it was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACA ...

against Club Atlético Independiente of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. Both games were played in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

and after an aggregate score of 2–2 penalties needed to take place, ''Español'' losing the shootout to ''Independiente'' 4–2. Season 1980–81 ''Español'' would once again get into the liguilla getting 4th in group A led by

, who would lose the final against Pumas de la UNAM. For the season of 1981–82 they would dispute their ultimate ligulla getting to the quarterfinals versus

Club de Fútbol Atlante Atlante Fútbol Club, is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. Founded in 1916, Atlante were original members of the Mexican Primera División when it began in 1943. Atlante has won three national league championships, t ...

, round they would lose 5–3 in aggregate. After 11 years as Atlético Español, the club owners unexpectedly sold the franchise, which was acquired by the Mexican television network

Televisa Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...

. On July 21, 1982, the name and colours reverted to that of Necaxa, hoping to revive the tradition the team had left in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

Statistics

These are the statistics of Atlético Español in the Primera División de México: In

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 ...

: *GP – Games Played *W – Win *D – Draw *L- Loss *GF – Goals in Favour *GC – Goles en Contra GA – Goals Against *Pts – Points *DIF – Goal Difference

Honours

National

* Primera División Runner-up: 1 :: 1973–74

International

* CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 1 ::

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

** Runners Up (1):

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

International record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atletico Espanol Defunct football clubs in Mexico City Association football clubs established in 1971 Association football clubs disestablished in 1982 1971 establishments in Mexico 1982 disestablishments in Mexico CONCACAF Champions Cup winning clubs