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| Full name | Club Deportivo Chivas USA | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Goats,Los Rojiblancos (The Red-and-White) | ||
| Founded | August 2, 2004; 20 years ago (2004-08-02) | ||
| Dissolved | October 27, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-10-27) | ||
| Stadium | StubHub Center Carson, California | ||
| Capacity | 27,000 (2005–11) 18,800 (2011–12)[1] | ||
| League | Major League Soccer | ||
Chivas USA (pronouncedCHEE-vahs) were an American professionalsoccer club based in theGreater Los Angeles area. The club competed inMajor League Soccer (MLS) as a member of theWestern Conference. The team played from 2005 to 2014. It was a subsidiary of Mexican clubC.D. Guadalajara, sharing common ownership and branding. The team played its home games atStubHub Center inCarson, 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 andJorge 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 asLos Angeles FC in 2018.[4][5][6]
Mexican businessmanJorge Vergara took ownership of the struggling Chivas de Guadalajara in 2002 and sought to use the rejuvenated club to establish an international brand.[7] In June 2003, the league announced that the2003 MLS All-Star Game would be played against Chivas and that Vergara was interested in purchasing an expansion team.[8] The team, named "Chivas USA", would be affiliated with Chivas and play in either Los Angeles orSan Diego beginning in the 2005 season;[9] a bid from Houston was also considered.[10] On August 2, 2004, Major League Soccer announced that Chivas USA would shareThe Home Depot Center in Carson with the Galaxy, and begin play in 2005 as the league's eleventh team.[11]
In 2005, Chivas USA kicked off its inaugural season in Major League Soccer atThe Home Depot Center with a 2–0 loss to thenMLS Cup ChampionsD.C. United on April 2, 2005, under the guidance of Chivas USA's first head coachThomas Rongen. After a 1–8–1 start (their sole win coming against fellow expansion clubReal 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, formerMLS Coach of the YearBob Bradley became Chivas USA's third head coach, replacing Hans Westerhof. Under Bradley, the2006 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 namedMLS Coach of the Year, becoming the first two-time winner of the award and Chivas USA defenderJonathan Bornstein was named2006 Gatorade Rookie of the Year. After the season ended, Coach Bradley was named interim head coach of theU.S. men's national soccer team and head coach of the U.S. men's Olympic soccer team by theU.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. Chivas USA goalkeeperBrad Guzan was namedMLS's 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 2008 season. Chivas finished the 2007 MLS season atop of the Western Conference. However, they lost in the Conference Semifinals of theMLS Cup 2007 playoffs to theKansas City Wizards, who were the conference's No. 4 seed under new MLS seeding rules despite being in the Eastern Conference.[citation needed]
In 2008 Chivas USA competed in their first official international tournament, playingPachuca in the2008 SuperLiga.Jonathan Bornstein andSacha Kljestan were named to theMLS All-Star team. Goalie Brad Guzan became the first Goat to transfer to a European first division club. The Red-and-White clinched a playoff berth for the third consecutive season, losing toReal Salt Lake in the first round. Kljestan scored the U.S. Soccer Goal of the Year while playing in the2008 Beijing Olympics. He was also named to the MLS Best XI, and was selected as U.S. Soccer's Young Male Athlete of the Year.[citation needed]
Jonathan Bornstein and Sacha Kljestan competed with the U.S. National Team in the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup inSouth Africa. Chivas USA goalkeeperZach Thornton was named to the 2009 MLS All-Star Team. Chivas USA announced the Team Award Winners, naming Thornton the team's Most Valuable Player. Thornton was also named the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and MLS Comeback Player of the Year, and he was nominated to the MLS Best 11.
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 clubAnderlecht, leaving Chivas USA after parts of five seasons. Bornstein played in the2010 FIFA World Cup, starting in two matches for theUnited States as they made it to the Round of 16. On October 27, the team released head coachMartín 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.[12]
On August 29, 2012, Vergara and his wife,Angélica Fuentes, became sole owners of the club, buying out former partners Antonio and Lorenzo Cué.[13] On May 29, 2013, two Chivas USA youth coaches,Dan Calichman andTed 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.[14]
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 Wilmer Cabrera.[12]
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.[15] However, by September 29, 2014ESPN reported that the club would suspend operations at the end of the MLS regular season, according to multiple sources.[16]
On September 30, 2014,Grant Wahl ofSports Illustrated reported that a group of investors headed byHenry Nguyen,Los Angeles Dodgers investorPeter Guber andCardiff City ownerVincent 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 inDowntown Los Angeles.[17]
Chivas USA ceased operations on October 27, 2014, with its player development academy continuing to be operated by MLS until June 2015.[18] A dispersal draft took place after the 2014 season, having the remaining players from the club dispersed to other teams in the league. The league added two teams (New York City FC andOrlando City SC) to increase the total number from 19 to 20, with Kansas City and Houston shifting to the Western Conference to keep the conferences balanced.
Chivas USA's home uniform mirrored that of their parent club,Guadalajara, with a red-and-white striped shirt, blue shorts and blue socks. Chivas USA wore variations throughout its existence (with slight variations in trim, stripe width, number of stripes, and other minor details), and usually complemented this with a dark blue away uniform.
The club badge was also virtually identical to that of Guadalajara, featuring the coat of arms ofthe city, but omitting the stars around the outside of the logo that represent each league title won by Guadalajara.
In January 2014, the team applied for thetrademarks "Los Angeles SC" and "Los Angeles F.C." with logos for both.[19] The filings were leaked prior to the MLS buyout of Chivas USA the following month.[20]
Chivas USA played its home games atStubHub Center, on the campus ofCalifornia State University, Dominguez Hills inCarson, California, approximately 10 miles south of downtownLos Angeles. Built in 2003 as the home stadium forLA Galaxy, the "SHC" is a 27,000-seatsoccer-specific stadium, the second of its kind in MLS,[21] but has hosted other sports such as rugby and football. For its entire existence,Los Rojiblancos shared the stadium with the Galaxy, with whom they competed for theHonda SuperClasico. During their tenure, this arrangement and those of theNFL'sNew York Giants andNew York Jets inMetLife Stadium andNBA'sLos Angeles Clippers andLos Angeles Lakers in theStaples Center were the only cases in themajor professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada of two teams of the same league sharing a venue.
Chivas USA occasionally held home games atTitan Stadium on the campus ofCalifornia State University, Fullerton, and atHarder Stadium on the campus ofUC Santa Barbara, such as in theUS Open Cup when both they and the Galaxy had been drawn to play at home on the same day, but this was generally a rare occurrence.[citation needed]
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,[22] was finally unveiled prior to the match against rivalsLA Galaxy; Extra is a Mexican convenience store chain owned byGrupo Modelo, the makers of Corona beer.[22][23] The chain's logo appeared on the front of Chivas USA jerseys and training jerseys for the rest of that year. On February 16, 2011Corona became the presenting sponsor for Chivas USA.[24]
For the 2014 season, Chivas USA non nationally televised matches were televised byKDOC in English andTime 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 theUnivision family of networks (UniMas,Galavision,Univision Deportes Network).[25]
Until 2012,FS West/Prime Ticket andKDOC 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 MundoFOX22KWHY-TV (Spanish) for the remainder of the 2013 season.[26]
KWKW-AM (ESPN Deportes Radio) provided Spanish-language radio broadcasts.[citation needed]
Footballers who received international caps while playing for Chivas.
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|
|
| Name | Country | Hired | Fired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Rongen |  | September 23, 2004 | May 30, 2005 |
| Javier Ledesma (interim) |  | May 30, 2005 | June 2, 2005 |
| Hans Westerhof | | June 3, 2005 | November 22, 2005 |
| Bob Bradley |  | November 23, 2005 | December 8, 2006 |
| Preki | | January 17, 2007 | November 12, 2009 |
| Martín Vásquez | | December 2, 2009 | October 27, 2010 |
| Robin Fraser | | January 4, 2011 | November 9, 2012 |
| José Luis Sánchez Solá | | December 12, 2012 | May 29, 2013 |
| Sacha van der Most (interim) | | May 30, 2013 | May 30, 2013 |
| José Luis Real | | May 30, 2013 | November 29, 2013 |
| Wilmer Cabrera |  | January 9, 2014 | October 27, 2014 |
This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Chivas. For the full season-by-season history, seeList 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 | Justin Braun | 11 |
| 2011 | MLS | 34 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 41 | 43 | −2 | 36 | 1.06 | 8th | 15th | QR1 | DNQ | 14,830 | Justin BraunNick LaBrocca | 8 | |||
| 2012 | MLS | 34 | 7 | 18 | 9 | 24 | 58 | −34 | 30 | 0.88 | 9th | 18th | SF | 13,056 | Juan Pablo Ángel | 5 | ||||
| 2013 | MLS | 34 | 6 | 20 | 8 | 30 | 67 | −37 | 26 | 0.76 | 9th | 18th | R4 | 8,366 | Erick Torres Padilla | 7 | ||||
| 2014 | MLS | 34 | 9 | 19 | 6 | 29 | 61 | −32 | 33 | 0.97 | 7th | 16th | R4 | 7,064 | 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.
Pachuca – 1:2Santos Laguna – 1:0New England Revolution – 1:1
Tauro – 1:3 aggregate over 2 legsUANL – 1:2Chicago Fire – 0:1San Luis – 1:1Puebla – 1:2Houston Dynamo – 1:1Pachuca – 1:0MLS regular season only, through 2014 season
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