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| Full name | Atlante Fútbol Club S.A. de C.V. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Los Potros de Hierro (The Iron Colts)[1] Los Azulgranas (The Blue-and-Garnets) El Equipo del Pueblo (The People's Team) Los Prietitos[2] | |||
| Short name | ATL | |||
| Founded | 18 April 1916; 109 years ago (1916-04-18) (as Sinaloa) 1921; 104 years ago (1921) (as Atlante)[3] | |||
| Ground | Estadio Agustín "Coruco" Díaz Zacatepec,Morelos[4] | |||
| Capacity | 24,313 | |||
| Owner | Emilio Escalante | |||
| Chairman | Jorge Santillana | |||
| Manager | Miguel de Jesús Fuentes | |||
| League | Liga de Expansión MX | |||
| Apertura 2025 | Regular phase: 1st Final phase: Quarterfinals | |||
| Website | www | |||
Atlante Fútbol Club, is a Mexican professionalfootball club based inZacatepec,Morelos, that competes inLiga de Expansión MX, the second level division ofMexican football.Founded in 1916 inMexico City asSinaloa, also later named asLusitania, then asU-53 (honoring a German submarine), andAtlántico (related with the Atlantic Ocean), which due to colloquial use, changed to its current name in 1921.In 1943, Atlante was one of the original members of theLiga Mayor (currently Liga MX).
Atlante has won 3Liga MX titles, two from their original home inMexico City, and the most recent following their 2007 relocation toCancún,Quintana Roo before eventually returning to Mexico City in 2020. It also won twoCopa MX titles and oneCampeón de Campeones, internationally, it won twoCONCACAF Champions Cup/Champions League titles and reached the semifinals in the2009 FIFA Club World Cup.
As of December 2024, Atlante is now headquartered inZacatepec,Morelos and plays its home team matches in theEstadio Agustín "Coruco" Díaz.[4]
Atlante was founded on April 18, 1916, with the name Sinaloa by a group of young Mexican football enthusiasts, led by Refugio "El Vaquero" Martínez. The team began playing in theLaCondesa neighborhood in Mexico City. After changing its name to Lusitania and U-53, Refugio Martínez proposed the name Atlante, after the mighty battles fought at the Atlantic Ocean during World War I.During the 1920s, players such as the Rosas brothers,Manuel "Chaquetas" Rosas and Felipe "Diente" Rosas, as well asJuan "El Trompo" Carreño, helped Atlante to become one of the most popular teams, mostly among the working classes, which led to its most famous and legendary nickname, El Equipo del Pueblo, "People's team". Atlante's legend Juan Carreño scored Mexico's first goal in the Olympic Games inAmsterdam 1928, as well as Mexico national team's first ever goal in aFIFA World Cup during the inaugural match againstFrance inUruguay 1930.
Despite its popularity, the Mexican Federation did not allow the team to be involved in the Mexican championship, theLiga Mayor. In order for Atlante to be allowed into the league, it had to win several proof-matches againstToluca andAmérica, two powerful football clubs. The duels were won by Atlante with scores of 7–2 and 2–1, respectively. Accepted within the Liga Mayor, Atlante formed a major rivalry againstNecaxa, which became the first classic in Mexican football. The games between these two were furious battles, even drawing in points at the end of the 1931–32 tournament.
During the early years of football in Mexico, when famed foreign teams began to challenge the Mexican teams they swept most clubs except one: Atlante. What many do not recall today is that Atlante was the first Mexican team that acquired national fame by knocking down those foreign "giants". In 1929, Atlante defeated Sabaria ofHungary 3–1. In 1930, Atlante twice defeated Sportivo ofBuenos Aires, 2–1 and 3–2. One of their more recalled feats was the 3–2 victory in 1931 overBella Vista ofUruguay, which had three players from the team that won the first World Cup a year before in Montevideo.
In the 1940s, during the final years of World War II, Atlante'sHoracio Casarín began being noticed for his tremendous skill and ability, which also led him to become a major figure in theMexico national team.
Atlante's popularity, continued to grow after the team was portrayed on the big screen in many films of Mexico's golden era of cinema. Some of those films are "Los Hijos de Don Venancio", "Los Nietos de Don Venancio", "El Vividor", "El que con niños se acuesta", among many others. Players Horacio Casarín andMartí Ventolrà were even part of those films' casting.
In 1943, the Mexican Federation founded the Professional League with six clubs of the Primera Fuerza of Mexico City, two clubs from the Liga Occidental (Western League) and two members from the Liga Veracruzana (Veracruz League), being Atlante one of those six clubs of Mexico City. Together, they all became what is known today as theMexican Primera División.
After 4 tournaments, and with the aid of its owner General Jose Manuel Nuñez (a retired militar asked personally by former PresidentLázaro Cárdenas to watch over the team) as well as of its sensational player Horacio Casarín, the team obtained its first championship in the 1946–47 season. The final match againstLeón was attended by 48,622 people, including the current PresidentMiguel Alemán Valdés (he even got into the field after the match in a famous photograph with the champions). Before that, in 1945 the team imposed the Latin American record for more goals in a single season with 121 goals in 30 matches (more than four goals per game). Atlante also became the first Mexican team to be crowned at theChampion of Champions cup (asuper cup scheme championship) during the 1941–42 season.
After the first title, several other teams dominated the championship; nevertheless, Atlante remained as a powerful rival and still a popular team for the working classes, along with its runner-up, Mexican Cup and the Champion of Champions titles in the early 1950s. In 1966, General Jose Manuel Nuñez decided to sell the team to Fernando González, "Fernandón". Poor level and irregular campaigns proceeded the selling, which led Atlante to be relegated from the Primera División toSegunda División in 1976.
The team managed to return to the Primera División for the 1977–78 season. In October 1978, theInstituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) acquired the team in a 100% ownership, promising to make the largest football club in the world with 22 million associates throughout the country. With the financial support of the governmental institution, the team experienced successful campaigns with reinforcements such as the old-time idol Horacio Casarín as head coach and the Mexican football's all-time top goalscorerCabinho, who would become three-time champion striker with Atlante in 1980, 1981 and 1982. Its productive campaigns led them to the 1981–82 final championship match againstTigres UANL, and after regular and extra time, Atlante became runner-up at penalty kicks. Nevertheless, a year later Atlante won its first continental title with theCONCACAFChampions' Cup againstSuriname'sRobinhood.
While the government still owned the team, another institution took over the management activities. The Departamento del Distrito Federal, DDF (the former body which controlled the Mexican Federal District) intended to propel the team with little results. After playing for several years at theEstadio Azteca, the team even had to leave this venue and setting its new battleground at the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes, nowadaysCruz Azul'sEstadio Azul.
In 1989, the DDF sold the team to Jose Antonio García, a businessman owner of the sports' goods & apparel company Garcis. After a failed campaign at a new venue, this time atQuerétaro'sEstadio Corregidora, the team was relegated, again, to the Segunda División.
Right from its ashes, and back to its homeground Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes, now rebaptized as Estadio Azulgrana, Atlante managed to make an incredible come back to the Primera División, after 3 outstanding games againstPachuca in the final series for the Segunda División Championship. After the series' end, which led to extra time, penalty kicks and sudden death, Atlante's goalkeeperFélix Fernández scored the last penalty kick for a 9–8 final score.
In 1992–93, and guided byRicardo La Volpe, Atlante obtained its second championship title againstMonterrey, with the final match played at Monterrey's stadium,Estadio Tecnológico. Atlante's new legends from that championship title included: 2011 U-17 champion coach Raúl Gutiérrez, Felix Fernández, former Atlante coaches Miguel Herrera, José Guadalupe Cruz, and René Isidoro García, Pedro Massacessi, Wilson Graneolatti, Roberto Andrade, Guillermo Cantú, and feared strikersLuis Miguel Salvador and Daniel Guzmán. The team was crowned as champion for the second time in 45 years. By winning the title, Atlante was again able to access the Concacaf Champions Cup, which eventually was lost againstCartaginés ofCosta Rica in the final match.
After winning the championship title, Atlante was eliminated for the next years from the play-off stage, even with important acquisitions such asHugo Sánchez,Jorge Campos & Venezuelan player Gabriel Miranda, among others. Once again, the team faced relegation issues; therefore,Grupo Televisa decided to acquire Atlante and move it back again to theEstadio Azteca. With this boost, Atlante was able to be reinforced by notable players, such asZague, Martín Felix Ubaldi, José Damasceno Tiba, andLuis García, as well as the renamed coachMiguel Mejía Barón, who just had a positive result coaching the National team atUnited States' World Cup 1994. Despite in having memorable campaigns, such as being the first all-championship leader for a short tournament (Invierno 1996), and qualifying for the play-offs in Verano 1997 and Invierno 1997, the team did not accomplished any major results, and even had disastrous moments such as the embarrassing play-off series againstToros Neza in Verano 1997, which was lost in a 9–2 global score.
Several issues occurred in Atlante's history during the last years of the 20th Century, those very issues that were going to define the team's future. Inexperienced head coaches (Zlatko Petricevic, Angel Cappa, Roberto Saporitti and Eduardo Rergis) arriving to the team, weak and vain players, and even a short decision in changing the main uniform's colours of red & blue to orange, made the team and its followers to feel without identity. Fans began switching into other successful teams, and Atlante's local matches began to feel desolated. Awful and boring matches, poorish skill level and players without a real commitment to the team, led Atlante to face again relegation issues to Segunda División, now transformed intoPrimera División A.
Manuel Lapuente, who had recently succeeded with the National team atFrance 1998, had the responsibility to guide the team throughout the Verano 2001 tournament and save the team of an imminent relegation: at the end, Lapuente and his players did not accomplished the goal. However, a ray of light appeared, since the Mexican Federation was looking to expand the Primera División with 2 new teams. After paying a 5 million dollar fee, Atlante was allowed to play a promotion-series' matches against the Primera A's runner-up, which turned out to beVeracruz. Atlante won the series 4–1, allowing them to remain at the top division as one of the new expansion teams.
A serious commitment has been taken since then by the directors' board. After breaking up its relationship with Televisa and Alejandro Burillo Azcárraga (owner of telecomm's company Pegaso) being the sole owner, the youth level program has been developed as the main philosophy, which has made Atlante the team with most youth debuts at Primera División since 2000. FirstCarlos Reinoso, and then Miguel Herrera, both managed to build a new spirited team with its own personality, and with fabulous players such as popularSebastián "Chamagol" González,Luis Gabriel Rey, and the emblematic goalieFederico Vilar, the team returned to the spotlight of the playoffs, arriving in three quarter-final and two semi-final stages. The team suffered a failed relocation to a different venue, this time to theEstadio Azulgrana Neza 86, and back again to Estadio Azteca.
Former players (now head coaches) René Isidoro García and José Guadalupe Cruz struggled to maintain the spirit, strength, and skill of this Atlante's new era. The lack of attendance at their home matches remained as the major problem of the team, due Mexico City teams' lack of attendance at local matches, as well as both the irregular football level and the lack of identity for the team.
On May 14, 2007, Atlante officially left the Estadio Azteca because its games there were not profitable. This was largely due to poor attendance at its home matches. They hoped that the move toEstadio Andrés Quintana Roo ofCancún,Quintana Roo, would grow back its popularity and improve attendance. In a fantastic tournament, Atlante adapted quickly to its new venue and began winning important matches, either at home or visiting. Following a tough play-off againstCruz Azul andGuadalajara, Atlante facedPumas UNAM for the title's final series. On December 9, 2007, only 5 months after arriving at its new venue, and after a great series of matches played by goalie Federico Vilar, as well as remarkable matches ofGiancarlo Maldonado,Gabriel Pereyra,Javier Muñoz,José Joel "El Chicharo" González andClemente Ovalle (who scored the championship goal, 4 minutes before the end of the game), Atlante earned its third championship, growing back its popularity nationwide and especially at its new home city, Cancún.
Atlante won the Apertura 2007 Championship and by doing so, it qualified to theCONCACAF Champions' Cup 2008, where they were eliminated by Costa RicanSaprissa in the quarter-finals. By winning its title, Atlante qualified as well to theSuperLiga 2008, where they were eliminated by theNew England Revolution at the semi-final stage. Atlante joinedSantos Laguna,Cruz Azul, andPumas UNAM at theCONCACAF Champions League in its inaugural season2008–09, where they reached the final match against Cruz Azul. Atlante won the series 2–0, thus being crowned as CONCACAF Club Champion and earning the right to play at the2009 FIFA Club World Cup inAbu Dhabi,United Arab Emirates.
Along with the FIFA Club World Championship, Atlante was invited to replaceCeltic at thePeace Cup inAndalucia, Spain, where it facedMálaga andAston Villa. Atlante was soon eliminated with a single-goal difference against eventual champions Aston Villa.
Atlante acquiredSantiago Solari to reinforce the team. He was the last major figure since Hugo Sanchez's acquisition in 1995, and joined a select group of major international players to play for the club:Grzegorz Lato,Ruben "Ratón" Ayala,Ricardo La Volpe,Cabinho,Miodrag Belodedici,Ilie Dumitrescu, andFaustino Asprilla.
At the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup, Atlante defeatedAuckland City 3–0 at the quarter-final stage. For its next stop at semifinals, it facedBarcelona in a curious match featuring two Mexicans with the same name,Rafael Márquez Álvarez of Barcelona andRafael Márquez Lugo of Atlante, and two teams with the same jersey colors. FIFA eventually ruled out Barcelona to play with the blue-and-red stripes over Atlante. Atlante led the match at the fourth minute, but the final score was a 3–1 defeat. For the third-place match, Atlante was defeated byPohang Steelers in a penalty shootout, missing two of their four shots, and finishing in fourth place.
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt partner |
|---|---|---|
| 1988–89 | Garcis | |
| 1989–90 | Garcis | Tok's |
| 1990–91 | Garcis | |
| 1991–96 | Garcis | Peñafiel |
| 1996–97 | Garcis | DeWalt/Serfin/Herdez |
| 1997–98 | Garcis | Pegaso/Serfin/Herdez |
| 1998–99 | Garcis | Aerolíneas Internacionales/Pegaso/Herdez |
| 1999–00 | Garcis | Pepsi/Pegaso/3 Hermanos |
| 2000–02 | Garcis | Pegaso/Corona/Peñafiel |
| 2002–03 | Garcis | Coca-Cola/Pegaso/Corona/PriceShoes |
| 2003–04 | Garcis | Coca-Cola/Movistar/Corona/PriceShoes |
| 2004–05 | Garcis | Pegaso/Coca-Cola/Corona |
| 2005–06 | Garcis | Pegaso/Miami Life/Coca-Cola/Toyota/Corona |
| 2006–07 | Garcis | Pegaso/Vavito/DuPont/Corona/AztraZéneca |
| 2007–08 | Garcis | Pegaso/Garcis/ADO/SARE/Mexicana/Carrier/Meridian/Corona/Losec-A |
| 2008–09 | Atletica | Pegaso/ADO/SARE/Cancún/Mexicana/Corona/Coca-Cola |
| 2009–10 | Garcis | Pegaso/Cancún/Riviera Maya/Corona |
| 2010–11 | Kelme | Pegaso/ADO/SARE/Cancún/Riviera Maya/Corona |
| 2011–12 | Garcis | Pegaso/ADO/OfficeMax/Cancún/Riviera Maya/Volaris/Corona |
| 2013–20 | Kappa | Pegaso/ADO/Cancún/Riviera Maya/Hard-Rock Hotel/Volaris/Corona/Coca-Cola/OMPP WOFP/Caliente/Mediotiempo.com |
| 2020–22 | Uln | Betcris/Pinturas Acuario/Electrolit |
| 2022–23 | Keuka | Betcris/Kosako/Pinturas Acuario/Electrolit/Megacable/Carl's Jr./Mediotiempo.com |
| 2023–current | Joma | Betcris/Kosako/Jack Link's/Electrolit/Megacable/Carl's Jr./Krispy Kreme/Sportsworld/Passline/Heroes NFT Club/Mediotiempo.com/MCA/Waterloo Coyame |
| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning editions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Top division | Liga Mayor/Primera División/Liga MX | 3 | 1946–47,1992–93,Apertura 2007 | 1945–46,1949–50,1950–51,1981–82 |
| Copa México/Copa MX | 2 | 1950–51,1951–52 | 1942–43,1943–44,1945–46,1948–49,1962–63,Clausura 2013 | |
| Campeón de Campeones | 1 | 1952 | 1947, 1951 | |
| Promotion divisions | Liga de Expansión MX | 3 | Apertura 2021,Apertura 2022,Clausura 2024 | Guardianes 2020,Apertura 2023 |
| Campeón de Campeones de Liga de Expansión MX | 1 | 2022 | 2023,2024 | |
| Ascenso MX | 0 | – | Apertura 2015,Apertura 2016 | |
| Segunda División | 2 | 1976–77,1990–91 | – |
| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning editions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 ContinentalCONCACAF | CONCACAF Champions Cup/Champions League | 2 | 1983,2008–09 | 1994 |
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | CONCACAF Champions' Cup | First Round |  Comunicaciones | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–2 |
| Second Round |  New York Pancyprian-Freedoms | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–3 | ||
| Third Round | Suchitepéquez | 6–0 | 2–2 | 8–2 | ||
| Final |  Robinhood | 5–0 | 1–1 | 6–1 | ||
| 1994 | CONCACAF Champions' Cup | First Round |  Firpo | 2–1 | 4–1 | 6–2 |
| Second Round |  Herediano | 3–1 | 3–3 | 6–4 | ||
| Semi-finals | Alianza | 2–1 | ||||
| Final | Cartaginés | 2–3 | ||||
| 2008 | CONCACAF Champions' Cup | Quarter-finals | Saprissa | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–4 |
| SuperLiga | Group A | Houston Dynamo | 0–4 | 2nd | ||
| D.C. United | 3–2 | |||||
 Guadalajara | 2–0 | |||||
| Semi-finals | New England Revolution | 0–1 | ||||
| 2009 | CONCACAF Champions League | Group C |  Olimpia | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1st |
 Montreal Impact | 2–1 | 0–0 | ||||
 Joe Public | 2–0 | 0–1 | ||||
| Quarter-finals | Houston Dynamo | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | ||
| Semi-finals | Santos Laguna | 3–1 | 1–2 | 4–3 | ||
| Final | Cruz Azul | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 2009 FIFA Club World Cup | Quarter-finals |  Auckland City | 3–0 | |||
| Semi-finals |  Barcelona | 1–3 | ||||
| Third Place |  Pohang Steelers | 1–1 (3–4p) | ||||
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Emilio Escalante |
| Sporting president | Jorge Santillana |
| Director of academy | Pascual Sandoval |
Source:Liga MX
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Miguel de Jesús Fuentes |
| Assistant managers | Horacio MorenoAlfonso Rippa |
| Fitness coach | Marco Hideroa |
| Physiotherapist | Sergio Rojas |
| Team doctors | Ramón Gómez Jesús González |
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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Félix Fernández,Goalkeeper (1989–98, 1999–01, 2002–03) Dionisio "Nicho" Mejía | 1927–28 |
| Juan Carreño | 1931–32 |
 Alberto "Caballo" Mendoza | 1939–40 |
 Martí Ventolrà | 1941–42 |
| Bernardo "Manolete" Hernández | 1967–68 |
 Cabinho | 1979–80 |
| Cabinho | 1980–81 |
| Cabinho | 1981–82 |
| Luis García | 1997 Invierno |
 Luis Gabriel Rey | 2003 Apertura |
 Johan Fano | 2010 Bicentenario |
 Esteban Paredes | 2012 Apertura |
 Giancarlo Maldonado | 2014 Apertura |
 Carlos Garcés | 2015 Apertura |
Árpád Fekete (1978–79)Horacio Casarín (1981–84)
Juan Carlos Lorenzo (1982), (1983)Ignacio Trelles (1983–85)José Antonio Roca (1985–87)Ricardo La Volpe (1988–89)Rafael Puente (1989–90)Ricardo La Volpe (July 1, 1991 – Jan 28, 1996)Javier Aguirre (Feb 1, 1996 – June 30, 1996)Miguel Mejía Barón (1996–98)Juan Andrés Sarulyte (1998–99)Ángel Cappa (Jan 1, 1999 – June 30, 1999)Eduardo Rergis (2000)Roberto Saporiti (Sept 21, 2000 – Dec 31, 2000)Manuel Lapuente (Jan 1, 2001 – June 30, 2001)Carlos Reinoso (2001–02)Miguel Herrera (Feb 16, 2002 – June 30, 2004)José Guadalupe Cruz (July 1, 2004 – Sept 18, 2005)Pedro Monzón (Jan 1, 2005 – June 30, 2005)Sergio Bueno (Sept 24, 2005 – Dec 31, 2005)René Isidoro García (Jan 1, 2006 – Dec 31, 2006)José Guadalupe Cruz (Jan 1, 2007 – June 30, 2010)René Isidoro García (July 1, 2010 – Sept 13, 2010)Eduardo Bacas (Sept 13, 2010 – Dec 31, 2010)Miguel Herrera (Jan 1, 2011 – Dec 31, 2011)Mario García (Jan 1, 2012 – April 17, 2012)José Luis González(interim) (April 17, 2012 – May 7, 2012)Ricardo La Volpe (July 1, 2012 – Jan 28, 2013)Daniel Guzmán (Jan 30, 2013 – June 30, 2013)
Wilson Graniolatti (July 1, 2013 – Sept 2, 2013)Andrés Carevic(interim) (Sept 3, 2013 – Sept 8, 2013)Rubén Israel (Sept 9, 2013 – Jan 12, 2014)Pablo Marini (Jan 13, 2014)Gabriel Pereyra / Gaston Obeledo (2014–2015)Wilson Graniolatti (2015)Eduardo Fentanes (2015–2017)Raúl Gutiérrez (2017)Eduardo Rergis(interim) (2017) Sergio Bueno (2017–2018)Gabriel Pereyra (2018–2019)Alex Diego (2019–2020)Mario García (2020–2023)Daniel Alcántar (2023–2024)Miguel de Jesús Fuentes (2025–)
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