Club Deportivo Chivas USA
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| Full name | Club Deportivo Chivas USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | Chivas, Goats, Goats USA, Bebe Chivas, Rojiblancos Rebaño Angelino |
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| Founded | 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | The Home Depot Center Carson, CA (Capacity: 27,000) |
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| Owner |  Jorge Vergara |
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| Coach |   Preki Radosavljević |
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| League | Major League Soccer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Western Conference: 2nd Overall: 5th Playoffs: Conference Semifinals |
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| First game | D.C. United 2-0 Chivas USA (The Home Depot Center; April 2, 2005) |
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| Largest win | 5–1 vs Real Salt Lake (The Home Depot Center; July 9, 2005) 4–0 vs Real Salt Lake (The Home Depot Center; April 21, 2007) |
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| Largest defeat | 4-0 vs Houston Dynamo (The Home Depot Center; twice, 2008 and 2007) |
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| All-time top scorer | Ante Razov (25) |
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| Supporters groups | Legión 1908, Union Ultras, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Honors | None | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Club Deportivo Chivas USA (short form: C.D. Chivas USA or Chivas USA) is a professional soccer club based in Carson, California, United States and participates in Major League Soccer. The club, founded in 2004, plays its home games at The Home Depot Center, sharing it with arch-rivals the Los Angeles Galaxy. The official colors of Chivas USA are red, white, and blue, the same as Club Deportivo Guadalajara, one of the most widely-supported teams in Mexico.
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History
Founded on August 2, 2004, as Major League Soccer's then-eleventh team, Los Angeles-based Club Deportivo Chivas USA has achieved some success in just three seasons in MLS. In 2007, the Mexican-owned club finished first in the Western Conference, qualifying for the playoffs for the second year in a row to the delight of its passionate supporters.
Chivas USA kicked off its inaugural season in Major League Soccer at The Home Depot Center with a 2-0 loss to then MLS Cup Champions D.C. United on April 2, 2005, under the guidance of Chivas USA’s first head coach Thomas Rongen. After a 1–8–1 start (their sole win coming against fellow expansion club Real Salt Lake), Thomas Rongen was named Chivas USA's sporting director and assistant coach Javier Ledesma became the club's interim head coach. On June 3, 2005, Hans Westerhof was named Chivas USA's second head coach. After a disappointing season, Westerhof did not return to coach the team in 2006.
On November 23, 2005, Bob Bradley, the winningest manager in Major League Soccer history, became Chivas USA’s third head coach, replacing Hans Westerhof. Under Bradley, the 2006 season saw a major turnaround for Chivas USA. The team finished the 2006 season with a 10-9-13 record and earned a spot in the Western Conference playoffs. Bradley was named MLS Coach of the Year, becoming the first two-time winner of the award and Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein was named 2006 Gatorade Rookie of the Year. After the season ended, Coach Bradley was named interim head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team and head coach of the U.S. Men's Olympic Team by the U.S. Soccer Federation, and was replaced by Chivas USA’s fourth head coach, Predrag "Preki" Radosavljevic.
The team’s third season, under Preki, was the most successful to date. Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan was named MLS’s Panasonic Goalkeeper of the Year for the 2007 season. On November 7, 2007, Preki was named MLS Coach of the Year for 2007 after the first-year manager led the Red-and-White to a 15-7-8 record and first place in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference. In January 2008, Preki signed a multi-year contract with Chivas USA securing his position as head coach for the upcoming 2008 season.
100-Hour Game
August 13, 2006: Chivas USA's "100-Hour Soccer Game", the longest on record in the United States, concluded in the city of Bell Gardens, with Chivas defeating the Rest of the World 437-429 after 6,000 minutes (100 hours) of continuous play. The game, held in celebration of Club Deportivo Guadalajara's 100th anniversary, attracted over 2,000 participants and more than 20,000 fans.
2007 Playoffs
Chivas finished the 2007 MLS season atop of the Western Conference. However, they lost in the Conference Semifinals of the MLS Cup 2007 playoffs to the Kansas City Wizards, who were the conference's #4 seed under new MLS seeding rules despite being in the Eastern Conference.
2008 Season
Chivas USA got off to a good start. By mid-season, Chivas was tied for first place with the LA Galaxy. But, they had to play without their star midfielder Sacha Kljestan,as he was playing for the U.S. National Team in the Beijing Olympics. And, Chivas USA sold their star goalkeeper Brad Guzan to Aston Villa F.C., raising questions about their defense as an unknown goalkeeper from Costa Rica's Saprissa replaced him. By the end of the season, they took a lead a top the Western Conference Standings and on October 11, 2008, clinched a playoff spot for the third consecutive season after defeating the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0.[1]
Fan Clubs
The Legión and The Ultras represent the two pillars of the fandom of Chivas USA.
One blessing Chivas USA enjoys is a built-in fan club, the rowdy bunch known as Legión 1908, boasting over a million of members worldwide that support Chivas. With chapters all over the world, the Legión is international, fanatical and fervent in its dedication. The Los Angeles chapter (legion-Kalifas), boasting 1,500 registered members, but the official number is unknown, is the third largest behind the Mexico City (largest) and Guadalajara chapters. The Legión can be seen spotted wearing their red and white, singing and swaying en masse behind the goal in Section 122 at home games.
The Union Ultras is a second spin-off fan club boasting over 100 members that exclusively support Chivas USA they sit directly across from the legionarios, behind the other goal in Section 101. The Union Ultras (some of whom are former Legión members) support Chivas USA exclusively, as opposed to Chivas de Guadalajara/Chivas USA by default.
The Legión represents a loyalist spirit, pure in devotion to Chivas de Guadalajara and therefore steadfast in supporting its L.A. branch, the Ultras are a nationalist upstart eager to make a name for themselves and their team.[2]
Team Jersey
Chivas USA's home uniform bears the same vertical red-and-white stripes of Club Deportivo Guadalajara, and red sleeves, worn with blue shorts and blue socks.
Chivas USA's away uniform bears the same vertical stripes as the home jersey, but has white sleeves, and is worn with white shorts and socks. The rarely-seen third jersey is all blue, and used only when playing FC Dallas in Dallas (which wears red and white horizontal stripes), although they did wear the blue kit on August 2, 2008 in a game against the Chicago Fire.
Sponsor
On May 16, 2007, Comex, Mexico’s leading paint company, became Chivas USA’s presenting sponsor. Its logo also appears the front of Chivas USA jerseys and training jerseys.
Television and radio
FSN West and FSN Prime Ticket have coverage of Chivas USA for the 2008 season. Delivering the most Chivas games on television, the schedule includes 18 regular season games and up to two post-season contests. Christian Miles is the play-by-play announcer, with Bernardo Osuna as analyst and sideline reporter Christine Nubla.
The official Spanish-language broadcast partner is W Radio 690 AM and will broadcast all 30 of Chivas USA’s regular-season games during the 2008 season and Azteca America channel 54.
Honors
Domestic
- MLS Supporters' Shield
- Runners-up (1): 2007
Minor Trophies
- MLS Reserve Division
- Runners-up (1): 2007
International competition
- 2008 SuperLiga - Chivas USA qualified to the SuperLiga 2008 by finishing as the MLS Supporters' Shield Runner Up during the 2007 season.
- 2008-09 CONCACAF Champion's League (Preliminary Qualifying Stage)- Chivas USA qualified to the CONCACAF Champions League 2008-09 by finishing as the MLS Supporters' Shield Runner Up during the 2007 season.
Players
Current Roster
As of August 8, 2008. [3]
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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.
- Juan Pablo García (2005–2006)
- Brad Guzan (2005–2008)
- Juan Francisco Palencia (2005–2006)
- Ramón Ramírez (2005–2006)
Head coaches
Thomas Rongen (2005)- Javier Ledesma (2005; interim)
- Hans Westerhof (2005)
- Bob Bradley (2006)
- Preki Radosavljević (2007–)
Team records
- Goals: Ante Razov, 30
- Assists: Sacha Kljestan, 24
- Games Played: Francisco Mendoza, 111
- Minutes Played: Francisco Mendoza, 9,423
- Shots: Ante Razov, 183
- Shots on Goal: Ante Razov, 82
- Game-Winning Goals: Ante Razov, 11
- Penalty Kick Goals: Claudio Suarez, 4
- Multi-Goal Games: Ante Razov, 5
- Saves: Brad Guzan, 1
- Shutouts: Brad Guzan, 20
MLS regular season only, through 2007 season
- All-Time regular season record: 29-38-27 (Through October 21, 2007)
Home stadiums
- The Home Depot Center (2005—)
Year-by-year
| Year | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Open Cup | CONCACAF Champions' League |
SuperLiga |
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| 2005 | 6th, West | Did not qualify | Round of 32 | Did not qualify | Started in 2007 |
| 2006 | 3rd, West | Quarterfinals | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | |
| 2007 | 1st, West | Quarterfinals | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | Did not participate |
| 2008 | 2nd, West | Quarterfinals | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | Group Stage |
Average attendance
regular season/playoffs
- 2005: 17,080/missed playoffs
- 2006: 19,840/15,110
- 2007: 14,305/19,711
- 2008: 14,286/19,265 (as of July 6th, 2008)
References
- ↑ Jones, Grahame L. (July 11, 2008). "Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan leaving to play in England", The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2008-07-11.
- ↑ http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/hispanicheritage2008/news/story?id=3642048
- ↑ Source: http://chivas.usa.mlsnet.com/players/roster.jsp?club=t120
External links
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Carson, California
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