| Full name | Asturias Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Asturianos (Asturians) | |
| Short name | AST | |
| Founded | 7 February 1918; 107 years ago (1918-02-07) (as Club Asturias) | |
| Dissolved | 1950; 75 years ago (1950) | |
| Ground | Parque Asturias Mexico City | |
| Capacity | 25,000 | |
| 1949–50 | 5° | |
Asturias Football Club (currentlyCentro Asturiano de México) was a Mexicansports club based inMexico City. Founded in 1918 asClub Asturias, the club played in theLiga Mexicana de Football Amateur Association (1919–1922), and also played in theCampeonato de Primera Fuerza/Liga Mayor (1922–1943).Asturias was one of the founding members of theLiga Mayor (currently Liga MX), the first professional league in Mexico, which it participated from 1943 to 1950.
Asturias would overcomeReal Club España, club along which were known as the "foreign legion (Legión extranjera)" in the 1943–44 season after finishing with a similar record. The first final in theMexican professional league was won by Asturias after beating R.C. España by 4–1 and thus becoming the first champion in the professional era. The club was managed by Ernesto Pauler.
Besides having the honour of being the first champion in the professional league, Asturias also holds the record for most amateur cup tournaments with 8 titles (5 Copa México titles, one Copa Tower and two Copa Eliminatoria titles).
The club was established as "Club Asturias" on February 7, 1918 when a group ofAsturian immigrants—including, among others, José Menéndez Aleu, Ángel H. Díaz, Antonio Martínez and Higinio Gutiérrez Peláez—got together and decided to establish a football club that would represent their Asturian heritage.[1]
The main goal was to unite all theSpaniards who had emigrated fromAsturias toMexico, and so imitatively the club enrolled into thePrimera Fuerza but the league would only admit the club if they beatGermania,América andTigres. They managed to beat Germania by 3–0, Tigres by 1–0 but only drew 3–3 against América, so the club would not be allowed to join the league. The club decided to form its own league calling it "Unión Nacional de Association Foot-Ball". The league would be played in the Campo Asturias which was constructed in the Paseo de la Reforma ofMexico City. The league would not charge any fee to watch the games, which encouraged locals to attend this league and not thePrimera Fuerza. With this problem in hand thePrimera Fuerza changed its mind and allowed the club to take part in the upcoming 1919 tournament. In 1920 the club hiredScottish former player Gerald Brown and the club managed to wins its first tournament by winning the 1920 Copa Covadonga. In 1921 the club changed its name to "Sección Deportiva del Centro Asturiano".
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This club would go on to win important cups like the Copa Centenario in 1921. The club would also win the mostCopa Mexico in its history before being dissolved in 1996 winning a total of eight, one more thanNecaxa. This club also had the honour of being the first champion in the professional era after financing the 1943–44 tournament tied withReal Club España, where a decisive game had to play in the Asturias Park where the club defeatedReal Club España 4–1.
The club would go on to play a few more years in the league, finishing no better than fifth until after the 1949–50 tournament along withReal Club España andMoctezuma de Orizaba retired from the league due to differences with the Federation.[2]Necaxa (México), an oldPrimera Fuerza member who didn't accept professionalism in 1943, re-joined to fill the vacant place.
Club's participations in theLiga Mexicana de Football Amateur Association (1919–1922)[3] andCampeonato de Primera Fuerza/Liga Mayor (1922–1943).
| Year | Position | Games played | Won | Tied | Lost | Goals Scored | Goals Against | Points | Postseason place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919–20 | 3 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 14 | 20 | Third Place |
| 1921–22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Was not Held |
| 1922–23 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 10 | 24 | Champion |
| 1923–24 | 3 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 25 | 9 | 20 | Third Place |
| 1924–25 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 11 | |
| 1925–26 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 35 | 5 | |
| 1926–27 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 24 | 31 | 8 | |
| 1927–28 | 2 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 39 | 28 | 18 | Runner Up |
| 1928–29 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 25 | 7 | |
| 1929–30 | 4 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 34 | 22 | 17 | |
| 1930–31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Was not Held |
| 1931–32 | 3 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 40 | 34 | 20 | Third Place |
| 1932–33 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 18 | 5 | Avoided Relegation |
| 1933–34 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 29 | 17 | 13 | Runner Up |
| 1934–35 | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | ?? | |
| 1935–36 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 16 | 7 | |
| 1936–37 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 24 | 5 | |
| 1937–38 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 31 | 14 | 14 | Runner Up |
| 1938–39 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 30 | 27 | 16 | Champion |
| 1939–40 | 5 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 32 | 33 | 12 | |
| 1940–41 | 5 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 25 | 20 | 12 | |
| 1941–42 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 30 | 42 | 9 | |
| 1942–43 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 28 | 35 | 10 |
After the1942–43 season[3] the league became professional and changed its name toLiga Mayor.
Club's participations in theLiga Mayor (1943–1950).
| Year | Position | Games played | Won | Tied | Lost | Goals Scored | Goals Against | Points | Postseason place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943–44 | 1 | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 57 | 32 | 27 | Champion |
| 1944–45 | 5 | 24 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 72 | 66 | 26 | |
| 1945–46 | 10 | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 71 | 74 | 28 | |
| 1946–47 | 9 | 28 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 53 | 65 | 25 | |
| 1947–48 | 15 | 28 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 41 | 62 | 19 | |
| 1948–49 | 5 | 28 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 58 | 44 | 30 | |
| 1949–50 | 5 | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 50 | 49 | 28 |
After this season, Asturias,Real Club España andMoctezuma retired from the league due to differences with the Federation.Necaxa (México), an oldPrimera Fuerza member which didn't accept professionalism in 1943,[3] re-joined for next season.
