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| Full name | Club León | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Los Panzas Verdes (The Green Bellies) La Fiera (The Wild Beast) Los Esmeraldas (The Emeralds) Los Verdiblancos (The Green and Whites) | ||
| Founded | August 20, 1944; 81 years ago (1944-08-20) (as Unión-León) | ||
| Ground | Estadio León León,Guanajuato | ||
| Capacity | 31,297[1] | ||
| Owner | Grupo Pachuca | ||
| Chairman | Jesús Martínez Murguia | ||
| Head coach | Ignacio Ambríz | ||
| League | Liga MX | ||
| Apertura 2025 | Regular phase: 17th Final phase: Did not qualify | ||
| Website | clubleon.mx | ||
 Current season | |||
Club León is a Mexican professionalfootball club based inLeón,Guanajuato, that competes inLiga MX, the top division ofMexican football. The club was founded in 1944 asUnión-León, after the merger ofUnión de Curtidores and the Selección de Guanajuato.
León has won 8Liga MX titles, 5Copa MX titles and 5Campeón de Campeones. After winning the league and cup in 1949, it became the first Mexicancampeonísimo. Internationally, León won oneCONCACAF Champions League in2023.
The club was relegated to thePrimera División 'A' de México in 2002 and was a consistent contender for promotion, but failed to advance in the playoffs. León was promoted in theClasura 2012 and won the Liga MX'sApertura 2013.[2] They defended their league championship inClausura 2014, earning them the title of "bicampeones". The team has partnerships withFox Sports Latinoamérica inMexico andTelemundo Deportes in theUnited States. Since 2016,TUDN holds the U.S. broadcasting rights to León home games.
León is ranked No. 29 in theIFFHS Central and North America's best clubs of the 20th century.[3]
The club was created from an application byUnión de Curtidores which merged with Selección de Guanajuato. With the money raised, the directive hired Marcial Ortiz, Raúl Varela, Alfonso Montemayor, Salvador Ramírez, Conrado Muñiz, Vicente Serrano, Pepe Cortes, "Sticks" Ramírez, Elpidio Sánchez, and Joaquín Source Duillo Dobles. It participated in the Liga Mayor's second season (1944–45). The team comprisedArgentine players and Miguel Rugilo that served as coach and goalkeeper holder. Battaglia played defense plus two fronts; Marcos Aurelio scored 14 goals with Ángel Fernández. The team debuted at the Patria stadium on August 20, 1944, againstAtlante and lost by a score of 5–3.
In the 1945–46 season, another team appeared in the city: the San Sebastián de León. They placed fourth out of 16 teams with 30 games, 17 wins, 4 draws, 9 losses for 38 points. Their top scorer, with 24 goals, Alberto Mendoza.
In the 1946–47 season notable players joined, one of whom was Adalberto López, who scored 33 goals. In general, the team had a great campaign being runner-up with 41 points and maintained a fourteen-game winning streak. Another important element was Marcos Aurelio, who highlighted with 16 goals. A match against Atlante was scheduled place inMexico City on June 1, 1947, in the Estadio Insurgentes (nowEstadio Ciudad de los Deportes) which took place in León, but had to switch venues due to an epidemic offoot-and-mouth disease afflicting the Bajío region
In a match againstAmérica on May 9, 1946, Florencio Caffaratti accidentally touched an electrical wire after scoring a goal. Alfonso Montemayor rescued him. Subsequently, Caffaratti gave a gold coin to Montemayor with the inscription: "In appreciation of Montemayor by F. Caffaratti."
When José María Casullo coached Club León, the greens lost seven times, three of them againstAtlas. The team tied at 36 points with the Jalisco Gold at first place. Jalisco Gold broke the tie with a score of 2–0.
Club León defeatedAsturias 2–0 with goals by Adalberto López to prevent a tie withAtlas andGuadalajara who remained a point, and Leon became the first to win the tournament campeonísimo cup after defeatingAtlante 3–0 on August 14, 1949.
Club León switched coaches to Antonio López Herranz. Antonio Carbajal joined the team with the return of Marcos Aurelio, Sergio Bravo, and Saturnino Martínez. The team played against a Guadalajara team coached by José María Casullo. León won both games of the year with scores of 1–0. In the penultimate round, León lost to Guadalajara by 1 point.
In the following season, the team remained in third place at 27 points. For the 1953–54, season it finished in eighth place with 21 points.
The season's roster increased to 14 teams. León won the best streak in club history with 12 wins and 7 draws before losing againstTampico (1–0). The final game was played at theEstadio Olímpico in Mexico City, where León defeated Oro (4–2) andToluca.
In 1956–57, León lost to Guadalajara. In 1957–58, they reached fifth place but won theCopa MX title.
León remained in fifth place in the 1960–61 season with 26 points, fifth place in the 1961–62 season with 25 points, ninth place in the 1962–63 season with 25 points, ninth place in the 1963–64 season with 25 points, seventh place in the 1964–65 season with 30 points, ninth place in the 1965–66 season with 28 points, fifth place in the 1966–67 season with 34 points, fifth place in the 1967–68 season with 35 points, seventh place in the 1968–69 season with 31 points, and seventh place in the 1969–70 season with 31 points.
For theMexico 1970 World Cup, there were two technical changes: the starter Argentine Luis Grill was replaced, but was reinstated afterAntonio Carbajal left, as a result, left with 33 points to fourth overall Sergio Anaya new stand becomes scorer the contest with 16 touchdowns, while Luis Estrada scored 13 goals. 1970–71 players arrive,Jorge Davino, Roberto Salomone and Juan José Valiente who scored ten goals, the club was led by Carbajal and ranked fourth with 38 points.
In 1972–73, Antonio Carbajal was replaced byRafael Albrecht who served as player and coach. The final game was againstCruz Azul.
In 1973–74, the team failed to qualify at fifth place with 40 points.
In 1986–87, Jorge Davino scored 10 points in 19 days and León was subsequently relegated to theSegunda División de México. However, they would reappear in thePrimera División de México on May 10, 2012 and won the Apertura 2012 when they arrived back to the Primera División.
TheEsmeraldas returned to the Primera División for the 1990–91 season and were coached by Víctor Manuel Vucetich, who debuted in the top flight and led the entire tournament. He led the club in sixth place with 41 points, but did not qualify to be third in group 3, and Martin Uribe and Francisco Peña highlighted with 13 and 12 goals.
Robert Zermeño cost the team and landed them in last place with 19 points.
After the second relegation, the club was sold to Argentine businessman Carlos Ahumada.
On November 19, 2010,Grupo Pachuca purchased the club.[4]
ArgentineGustavo Matosas began leading León on January 7, 2012, after being hired in September 2011.[5] During the Apertura 2011 tournament, he could not have a presence off the bench or be registered as coach because he had coachedQuerétaro in the same tournament. Matosas' team received 10 wins, 4 draws, and 0 defeats in 14 regular season fixtures, resulted in an ERA of 70.83% and the overall leader, helping them earn a direct qualification to semi-finals of the play-offs. In the semi-finals, they facedCorrecaminos UAT and won 1–0 in the second match before facingLobos BUAP in the final, winning by an aggregate score of 7–3 and the right to play again in thePromotional Final. Facing the2011 Apertura championship winners Correcaminos UAT, León won by an aggregate score of 6–2, thus returning to the Mexican top-flight for the2012–13 season.[6] León had struggled for their fourth final for promotion after losing againstIrapuato in 2003,Dorados de Sinaloa in 2005, andIndios de Ciudad Juárez in 2008.
León won both tournaments (the Apertura and Clausura) of the2013–14 season and became the first team in Mexico's history to win two consecutive championship titles twice — winning the first of these during the1947–48 and1948–49 leagues consecutively.[7][8]
Matosas and León parted ways after failing to make it to the Apertura 2014 championship stage.[9] ArgentineJuan Antonio Pizzi was named as his replacement.[10]
On January 31, 2016, following a 3–1 away loss toTigres UANL, Pizzi left the charge to joinChile as their new manager and was subsequently replaced byLuis Fernando Tena.[11] The club managed to reach the semi-final stage of theClausura 2016 championship, losing out to sibling club and eventual winnersPachuca with an aggregate score of 3–2.[12]
Following a lackluster beginning to theApertura 2016 where León summed up 4 points within 7 league matches, Tena was let go and ArgentineJavier Torrente was brought in.[13][14] Regardless of the uninspiring start, the club managed to reach theApertura 2016 championship stage, losing to eventual winnersTigres UANL in the semi-finals by an aggregate score of 3–1.[15]
In August 2017, Torrente was let go after a year as manager[16] and was replaced byGustavo Díaz.[17]
On September 18, 2018,Ignacio Ambríz was named manager of León, replacing Díaz.[18] During theClausura 2019 tournament, he helped León attain the records of most consecutive wins with eleven points,[19] and the most points ever attained during the 17-match tournament format (41 points).[20] They faced Tigres UANL in theClausura 2019 championship final, but lost following an aggregate score of 1–0.[21] Regardless, Ambríz's feats with the club contributed to him being named best manager at the conclusion of theseason.[22]
After a first place finish with 40 points in theGuardianes 2020 general table, on December 13, León won the league title defeatingClub Universidad Nacional with an aggregate score of3–1, becoming Mexico's joint fourth most successful team with eight titles in total alongsideCruz Azul.[23]
On March 21, 2025, Club León was disqualified from the upcoming2025 FIFA Club World Cup afterFIFA ruled that the club had failed to meet tournament regulations on multi-club ownership regarding its connections to Grupo Pachuca, which also ownsPachuca.[24]
Estadio León (unofficially known as "Nou Camp") is a football stadium inLeón, Guanajuato, Mexico. The stadium is home to Club León. It is also used for special events.
The construction of the stadium commenced in August 1965 and was finalized by the end of 1966. On 1 February 1967, the stadium was inaugurated with a match betweenSantos andRiver Plate. Santos won the match 2–1.
The stadium has hosted twoFIFA World Cups: the1970 FIFA World Cup, when the stadium hosted the likes of West Germany, Peru, Bulgaria and Morocco, as well as the quarter-final between West Germany and England; and the1986 FIFA World Cup, when the stadium hosted the Soviet Union, France, Hungary and Canada, as well as a second-round match between the USSR and Belgium.
On 8 March 2017, following a protracted period of legal disputes, a resolution was reached determining that the Estadio León was the property of the former Club León owners, Zermeño Reyes and Héctor González.[25]
On 18 June 2018, Grupo Pachuca unveiled the new stadium project, dubbed theNuevo Estadio León. It was projected to have a capacity of 35,000 spectators and was scheduled for completion in 2023.[26]
On 9 October 2020, Club León left the stadium following a ruling on the transfer of ownership. Consequently, the club decided to play the remainder of the season atEstadio Victoria, home ofClub Necaxa. Club León returned to the stadium after one game.[27]
On 15 July 2021, Grupo Pachuca announced that they had reached an agreement to purchase Estadio León. It was later revealed that the local government had financed the deal with an interest-free loan.[28]
On 15 September 2023, Grupo Pachuca announced the cancellation of the new stadium project. The decision was made due to the inability to carry out the project. Instead, the Estadio León will undergo renovations.[29]
The oldest rival of Club León isUnión de Curtidores, a rivalry which began as both teams reside in León, Guanajuato. Unión de Curtidores was founded in 1928, and during its early years, was the dominant team in León. When they joined the Liga Mayor (nowLiga MX) in 1943, part of the team merged with Selección de Guanajuato and took the name of Unión-León, which later became Club León.
Despite the rivalry against Los Curtidores being the oldest in León, the prominent one today is againstIrapuato, who also appeared in the Clásico del Bajio, which has been fought in both the Primera División and the Primera División A (nowAscenso MX).
Another rivalry is withPachuca C.F., mainly because of similar owners for the two clubs. On July 11, 2018, Club León and Pachuca met in a friendly match played inMilwaukee,Wisconsin, atMiller Park, home of theMilwaukee Brewers. Pachuca won the match 3–1 in front of 18,321 fans. Despite that since Leon's return to first division they have won and gone to more finals than their rivals Pachuca.[30]
| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning editions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Top division | Liga Mayor/Primera División/Liga MX | 8 | 1947–48,1948–49,1951–52,1955–56,1991–92,Apertura 2013,Clausura 2014,Guardianes 2020 | 1946–47,1958–59,1972–73,1974–75,Invierno 1997,Clausura 2019,Apertura 2021 |
| Copa México/Copa Presidente/Copa MX | 5 | 1948–49,1957–58, 1966–67, 1970–71, 1971–72 | 1952–53,1956–57,1958–59, 1965–66,Apertura 2015 | |
| Campeón de Campeones | 5 | 1948, 1949, 1956, 1971, 1972 | 1952, 1958, 1967,2021 | |
| Promotion divisions | Primera División A/Liga de Ascenso | 4s | Verano 2003,Clausura 2004,Clausura 2008,Clausura 2012 | Clausura 2005,Clausura 2007,Bicentenario 2010 |
| Campeón de Ascenso | 1 | 2012 | 2003,2004,2008 | |
| Segunda División | 1 | 1989–90 | 1987–88 |
| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning editions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 ContinentalCONCACAF | CONCACAF Champions Cup/Champions League | 1 | 2023 | 1993 |
| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning editions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
  North AmericaMLSLiga MX | Leagues Cup | 1s | 2021 | – |
s shared record
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Chairman |  Jesús Martínez Murguia |
| Director of football | Rodrigo Fernández |
| Director of academy | Javier Santamaría |
| Secretary | Ángel Meza |
Source:Liga MX
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Ignacio Ambríz |
| Assistant managers | Edgar Solano |
| Gerardo Esquivel | |
| Juan de Dios Ramírez | |
| Goalkeeper coach | Agustín Sandoval |
| Fitness coach | Mario Avendaño |
| Physiotherapist | Víctor Quezada |
| Team doctor | Valentín Villa |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| N°[33] | Name[34] | Season | LEAGUE | 2ND DIV | CUP | CDC | CON | LIB | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adalberto López[35] | 1946 - 50 (5) | 126 | - | 9 | 1 | - | 136 | |
| 2 |  Mauro Boselli[35] | 2013 - 18 (5) | 105 | 20 | - | 1 | 4 | 130 | |
| 3 | Marcos Aurelio[35] | 1944 - 48/ 1951 - 56 (6) | 98 | 10 | - | 108 | |||
| 4 | Roberto Salomone[35] | 1971 - 77 (6) | 95 | 9 | 104 | ||||
| 5 | Luis Estrada[35] | 1965 - 73 / 1978 - 79 (9) | 90 | 11 | 1 | - | 102 | ||
| 6 |  Tita | 1990 - 94/ 1995 - 97 (6) | 88 | 2 | - | 7 | - | 97 | |
| 7 | Oswaldo Martinolli | 1955 - 61 (5) | 74 | 15 | 2 | - | 91 | ||
| 8 |  Ángel Mena | 2019 - 2024 (4) | 67 | 2 | - | 7 | 76 | ||
| 9 | Sergio Anaya | 1966 - 72 (7) | 53 | 7 | - | 60 | |||
| 10 | Alberto Etcheverry | 1958 - 61 (3) | 37 | 20 | 57 | ||||
| 11 | Luis Montes | 2011 - 2022 (11) | 47 | 7 | 1 | - | 1 | 56 | |
| 12 | Luis Luna | 1945 - 1962 (17) | - | 6 | - | 53 | |||
| 13 | Carlos Peña | 2011 - 15 / 2017 (6) | 38 | 6 | 5 | - | 3 | 52 | |
| 14 | Alberto Jorge | 1976 - 80 (4) | 51 | - | 51 | ||||
| 15 | Juan José Valiente | 1970-1972 (2) | 45 | 45 | |||||
| 16 | Cabinho | 1983 - 85 (2) | 44 | 44 | |||||
| 17 | Everaldo Begines | 1997 - 00 (3) | 43 | - | 1 | - | |||
| 18 | Hector Carlos Álvarez | 2005/2006-2007 | - | 44 | - | ||||
| 19 | Elías Hernández | 2013 - 2018/2021 - Act. (5) | 36 | - | 2 | - | 3 | - | 41 |
| 20 |  Nelson Sebastián Maz | 2011-2014 | 9 | 27 | - | 1 | 37 | ||
| 21 |  Isaac Ayipei | 1992-1995 (3) | 35 | - | 1 | - | 36 | ||
| 22 | Luis Nieves | 2006-2012 (6) | 36 | - | |||||
| 23 | Sigifredo Mercado | 1995 - 99 / 2000 - 01 / 2003 (6) | 33 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 35 | |
| 24 |  Víctor Dávila | 2020-2023 | 30 | - | 3 | 33 | |||
| 25 |  Fredy Bareiro | 2007-2008 | - | 30 | - | 30 | |||
| 26 | Martín Peña | 1990 - 92 / 1995 - 99 / 2001 (7) | 26 | - | 1 | - | 27 | ||
| 27 | Bardo Fierros | 2004 - 2007 | - | 27 | - | ||||
| 28 | Mauricio Romero | 2007 - 2008 | 26 | 26 | |||||
| 29 | Missael Espinoza | 1997-1998 / 1999-2002 (4) | 23 | - | 23 | ||||
Antonio López Herranz (1951–52), (1955–56), (1957–58)Luis Grill Prieto (1966–67), (1970)Antonio Carbajal (1969–70), (1970–72)
Árpád Fekete (1981)Juan Ricardo Faccio (1982)Árpád Fekete (1983–85)Pedro García Barros (1987–88)Víctor Manuel Vucetich (1989–1993)Sebastiao Lazaroni (1993–94)Roberto Saporiti (1994)Carlos Miloc (1995–1996)José Luis Saldívar (1996)Carlos Reinoso (1997)Aníbal Ruiz (1997–98)Alberto Guerra (1998)Carlos Reinoso (1999–00)José Luis Saldívar (2000)Enrique López Zarza (March 27, 2001 – April 16, 2001)Pablo Centrone (2001–03)Efraín Flores (2002)Carlos Reinoso (2003)José Luis Saldívar (2005)Sergio Bueno (January 1, 2007 – June 30, 2008)Mario García (July 1, 2008 – October 13, 2008)Luis Scatolaro (May 28, 2009 – June 4, 2009)Salvador Reyes (July 1, 2009 – October 24, 2009)José Luis Salgado (January 1, 2010 – July 24, 2010)Sergio Orduña (August 7, 2010 – August 22, 2010)Pintado (September 10, 2010 – December 31, 2010)Tita (January 1, 2011 – September 14, 2011)Pedro Muñoz (September 15, 2011 – December 31, 2011)Gustavo Matosas (January 1, 2012 – November 24, 2014)
Juan Antonio Pizzi (November 24, 2014 – January 28, 2016)Luis Fernando Tena (February 2016 – August 2016)Javier Torrente (August 2016 – August 2017)Gustavo Díaz (September 2017 – September 2018)Ignacio Ambríz (September 2018 – May 2021)Ariel Holan (May 2021 – April 2022)
Renato Paiva (May 2022 – November 2022)Nicolás Larcamón (November 2022 – December 2023)Jorge Bava (December 2023 – September 2024)Eduardo Berizzo (September 2024 – September 2025)Ignacio Ambríz (September 2025 – Present)
Media related toClub León at Wikimedia Commons
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