CD Chivas USA

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Chivas USA
Full nameClub Deportivo Chivas USA
NicknamesThe Goats, Los Rojiblancos (The Red-and-White)
FoundedAugust 2, 2004 (2004-08-02)
DissolvedOctober 27, 2014 (2014-10-27)
StadiumStubHub Center
Carson, California
Capacity27,000 (2005–11)
18,800 (2011–12)[1]
LeagueMajor League Soccer

Chivas USA (pronounced CHEE-vahs) was an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The team played from 2005 to 2014. It was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guadalajara, sharing common ownership and branding. The team played its home games at StubHub Center in Carson, California.

The club was the eleventh MLS team upon its entry into the league in 2004. Chivas USA was intended to be seen as a "little brother" to its parent club C.D. Guadalajara, one of the most widely supported and successful teams in Mexico. Chiva is Latin American Spanish for "goat", seen as a tough and resilient animal in Mexico, and is the nickname of C.D. Guadalajara.

The club was originally owned by Antonio Cue and Jorge Vergara, who also owned C.D. Guadalajara. In 2014, MLS purchased the club from Vergara with plans to sell to new owners.[2]

The club ceased operations after the 2014 regular season and played their final match on October 26, 2014.[3] That same year, MLS awarded a new expansion team in the Los Angeles area under a new ownership group. They began play as Los Angeles FC in 2018.[4][5]

History

Founding

Mexican businessman Jorge Vergara took ownership of the struggling Chivas de Guadalajara in 2002 and sought to use the rejuvenated club to establish an international brand.[6] In June 2003, the league announced that the 2003 MLS All-Star Game would be played against Chivas and that Vergara was interested in purchasing an expansion team.[7] The team, named "Chivas USA", would be affiliated with Chivas and play in either Los Angeles or San Diego beginning in the 2005 season;[8] a bid from Houston was also considered.[9] On August 2, 2004, Major League Soccer announced that Chivas USA would share The Home Depot Center in Carson with the Galaxy, and begin play in 2005 as the league's eleventh team.[10]

Club struggles (2010–2013)

Martín Vásquez was named the team's head coach after serving as an assistant coach from 2005 to 2007. Kljestan and Bornstein were named co-captains for the 2010 season. During the World Cup break Kljestan signed a deal with Belgian club Anderlecht, leaving Chivas USA after parts of five seasons. Bornstein played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, starting in two matches for the United States as they made it to the Round of 16. On October 27, the team released Vásquez from his contract. On November 2, president and CEO Shawn Hunter announced he was stepping down. On December 14 the club's vice president of soccer operations, Stephen Hamilton revealed he too, was leaving his post. After Hamilton stepped down, Jose L Domene was named Interim General Manager. On January 4, 2011, Robin Fraser became head coach of Chivas USA.[11]

On August 29, 2012, Vergara and his wife, Angélica Fuentes, became sole owners of the club, buying out former partners Antonio and Lorenzo Cué.[12] On May 29, 2013, two Chivas USA youth coaches, Dan Calichman and Ted Chronopoulos, filed a discrimination lawsuit against the club, on the grounds they had been dismissed because they were not Latino. Shortly after the acquisition of the club, Vergara is alleged to have told his staff that those who did not speak Spanish would be fired. Chronopoulos claimed that Jose David, the team's new president and chief business officer, asked Chronopoulos for a list of youth players and coaches who were Mexican or Mexican American and of those that weren't.[13]

Following the release of Preki, Chivas USA failed to stay consistent on and off the field, just like its parent club, CD Guadalajara, Chivas USA had four coaches after the start of the 2010 season; all four coaches failed to impress Jorge Vergara, and were let go. Their last coach was Colombian-born Wílmer Cabrera.[11]

Final season (2014)

On February 20, 2014, Major League Soccer purchased Chivas USA from Vergara. They announced plans to sell to a buyer dedicated to keeping the club in Los Angeles, as well as a plan to rebrand the club in time for the 2015 MLS season.[14] However, by September 29, 2014 ESPN reported that the club would suspend operations at the end of the MLS regular season, according to multiple sources.[15]

On September 30, 2014, Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated reported that a group of investors headed by Henry Nguyen, Los Angeles Dodgers investor Peter Guber and Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan agreed to purchase the club for a fee over $100 million. The sale would mean that Chivas USA would fold completely, with the second Los Angeles team to take the field as a new expansion team with a new stadium in Downtown Los Angeles.[16]

Chivas USA ceased operations on October 27, 2014, with its player development academy continuing to be operated by MLS until June 2015.[17]

Colors and badge

In January 2014, the team applied for the trademarks "Los Angeles SC" and "Los Angeles F.C." with logos for both.[18] The filings were leaked prior to the MLS buyout of Chivas USA the following month.[19]

Stadium

StubHub Center, Chivas USA's home stadium

Sponsorship

On May 16, 2007, Comex, Mexico's leading paint company, became Chivas USA's first presenting sponsor, with their name on the front of the jerseys. At the opening of the 2010 season, the team's jerseys were blank. On April 1, 2010, the new presenting sponsor, Extra,[20] was finally unveiled prior to the match against rivals LA Galaxy; Extra is a Mexican convenience store chain owned by Grupo Modelo, the makers of Corona beer.[20][21] The chain's logo appeared on the front of Chivas USA jerseys and training jerseys for the rest of that year. On February 16, 2011 Corona became the presenting sponsor for Chivas USA.[22]

Broadcasting

For the 2014 season, Chivas USA non nationally televised matches were televised by KDOC in English and Time Warner Cable Deportes in Spanish. KDOC agreed to televise 10 matches while Time Warner Cable Deportes agreed to televise 16 matches. Matches not televised in Spanish on Time Warner Cable Deportes aired on the Univision family of networks (UniMas, Galavision, Univision Deportes Network).[23]

Until 2012, FS West/Prime Ticket and KDOC televised all Chivas USA matches that were not nationally televised. In 2013, Chivas began the year with no local television partner; however, in August a deal was reached with KDOC (English) and MundoFOX22 KWHY-TV (Spanish) for the remainder of the 2013 season.[24]

Players and staff

Notable former players

Footballers who received international caps while playing for Chivas.

Head coaches

Record

Year-by-year

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Chivas. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Chivas USA seasons.

Season League Position Playoffs USOC Continental / Other Average
attendance		 Top goalscorer(s)
Div League Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts PPG Conf. Overall Name(s) Goals
2010 1 MLS 30 8 18 4 31 45 −14 28 0.93 8th 15th DNQ SF North American SuperLiga GS 14,576 United States Justin Braun 11
2011 MLS 34 8 14 12 41 43 −2 36 1.06 8th 15th QR1 DNQ 14,830 United States Justin Braun
United States Nick LaBrocca		 8
2012 MLS 34 7 18 9 24 58 −34 30 0.88 9th 18th SF 13,056 Colombia Juan Pablo Ángel 5
2013 MLS 34 6 20 8 30 67 −37 26 0.76 9th 18th R4 8,366 Mexico Erick Torres Padilla 7
2014 MLS 34 9 19 6 29 61 −32 33 0.97 7th 16th R4 7,064 Mexico Erick Torres Padilla 15

^1. Avg. attendance include statistics from league matches only.
^2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in League, MLS Cup Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and other competitive continental matches.

International tournaments

Group Stage v. Mexico Pachuca – 1:2
Group Stage v. Mexico Santos Laguna – 1:0
Group Stage v. United States New England Revolution – 1:1
Preliminary Round v. Panama Tauro – 1:3 aggregate over 2 legs
Group Stage v. Mexico UANL – 1:2
Group Stage v. United States Chicago Fire – 0:1
Group Stage v. Mexico San Luis – 1:1
Group Stage v. Mexico Puebla – 1:2
Group Stage v. United States Houston Dynamo – 1:1
Group Stage v. Mexico Pachuca – 1:0

Team records

  • Goals: Ante Razov (30)
  • Most Goals in a season: Erick Torres (15)
  • Most consecutive league matches scored in: Erick Torres six matches (six goals)
  • Assists: Sacha Kljestan (33)
  • Most Assists in a season: Sacha Kljestan (13)
  • Games Played: Dan Kennedy (144)
  • Minutes Played: Dan Kennedy (12764)
  • Shots: Ante Razov (234)
  • Shots on Goal: Ante Razov (100)
  • Game-Winning Goals: Ante Razov (10)
  • Penalty Kick Goals: Erick Torres (6)
  • Multi-Goal Games: Ante Razov (5)
  • Saves: Dan Kennedy (451)
  • Shutouts: Dan Kennedy (28)

MLS regular season only, through 2014 season

  • All-Time regular season record: 92–149–79 (Through October 27, 2014)

See also

References

Citations

  1. French, Scott (March 10, 2012). "CHIVAS USA: A more intimate HDC – Soccer Blog – ESPN Los Angeles". Espn.go.com. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  2. Carlisle, Jeff (September 29, 2014). "Chivas USA to suspend operations after MLS season, sources say". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  3. Maurer, Pablo; Stejskal, Sam (October 27, 2020). "The short life and long death of Chivas USA". The Athletic. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  4. Baxter, Kevin (April 27, 2018). "How LAFC rose from the ashes of Chivas USA and aims to be the team of Los Angeles". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  5. LAFC. "Records | LAFC.com". LAFC. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  6. Buckheit, Mary (October 15, 2008). "Chivas USA holding its own in Southern California market". ESPN. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  7. Jones, Grahame L. (June 24, 2003). "Mexico's Chivas to Play Against MLS All-Stars". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  8. Jones, Grahame L. (November 22, 2003). "MLS Expansion Is Welcomed". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  9. Zeigler, Mark (October 9, 2003). "San Diego on short list for MLS expansion in 2005". San Diego Union-Tribune. p. D3.
  10. Guiterrez, Paul (August 3, 2004). "On Paper, Chivas Seems Ready to Go". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  11. Martin, Chad (April 1, 2020). "The History of Chivas USA FC". Stats Baller - Data Driven Sports Stats. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  12. "Vergara, Fuentes become sole owners of Chivas USA". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  13. Baxter, Kevin (May 30, 2013). "When will MLS save Chivas USA from itself?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
  14. MLS Communications. "Major League Soccer purchases Chivas USA". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  15. "Chivas USA to suspend operations after MLS season, sources say". ESPN.com. September 29, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  16. "Vincent Tan, Peter Guber, Henry Nguyen, Tom Penn included in front-running group to buy Chivas USA — SI.com". SI.com. September 30, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  17. "MLS announces new strategy for Los Angeles market, 2015 conference alignment". mlssoccer.com. October 27, 2014. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  18. Prince-Wright, Joe (February 17, 2014). "Chivas USA heading for rebrand? Trademarks reportedly filed, new logos leaked". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  19. Tannenwald, Jonathan (February 20, 2014). "Major League Soccer purchases Chivas USA, will rebrand team and keep it in Los Angeles". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  20. "Convenience stores booming - el Universal - Mexico News". Archived from the original on May 1, 2010. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  21. Chivas USA Public Relations (April 2, 2010). "Notes from April 1 vs. Galaxy | Chivas USA". Cdchivasusa.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  22. Chivas USA Communications (February 22, 2011). "Crossing cultures | Chivas USA". Cdchivasusa.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  23. "Time Warner Cable Deportes Added as Official Broadcast Partner of Chivas USA Time Warner Cable Deportes se agrega como socio de emisión de Chivas USA". cdchivasusa.com. May 27, 2014. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  24. Kennedy, Paul (August 29, 2013). "Chivas USA, finally, signs TV deal 08/29/2013". SoccerAmerica. Retrieved February 20, 2014.