Atlas F.C.

Atlas was founded in a bar in Guadalajara, Mexico, where a few friends recalled their friends experience while studying at the Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, England. In August 1916, Alfonso and Juan José "Lico" Cortina, Pedro "Perico" and Carlos Fernández del Valle, the three Orendain brothers and Federico Collignon (who had studied in Berlin) finally decided to set up a football team. They chose the name "Atlas" based on the Titan of Greek mythology of the same name, and chose red and black as the club's colors.

The first title for the club was the Copa MX in 1945–46, where they beat Atlante in the final. That same year, they won the supercup (league vs. cup champion) against Veracruz 3–2. Four years later, Atlas won their second Copa MX, in the 1949–50 season. The following year, in the 1950–51 Mexican Primera División season, Atlas won its first league title, with twelve wins in 22 matches. However, just two years later, Atlas was relegated for the first time after losing 4–0 against Tampico. But the following season, Atlas made an immediate return to the top flight.

Atlas had a golden age in the late 1990s under the management of Ricardo La Volpe, with promising players such as Rafael Márquez, Daniel Osorno, Juan Pablo Rodriguez, Pavel Pardo, Mario Méndez, Omar Briceño, and Miguel Zepeda, but even though they had a team with enormous talent and reached the Verano 1999 final, they couldn't conquer the title and lost against Deportivo Toluca in a match defined by penalties after a 5–5 draw on aggregate and with extra time.

In 2000, Atlas participated in the Copa Libertadores for the first time. They began their campaign in a round-robin preliminary stage where they played against Club America, Deportivo Táchira, and Deportivo Italchacao. Their first match was a 2–0 loss to America, followed by draws against Tachira and Italchacao. However they would recover and finish top of the group after beating America 6–3 and then beating Tachira, followed by a draw against Italchacao. As a result, Atlas gained entry into the proper competition in group 4 alongside River Plate, U. de Chile and Atletico Nacional. The Guadalajara-based club's first match was on 23 February, a 1–1 draw against River. Their next match was a 3–2 win against Atletico Nacional in Medellín. The club then drew against U. de Chile and lost to River, followed by a 5–1 rout of Colombian champions Nacional, but a loss in their final match against U. de Chile in Santiago. Although Atlas finished level with U. de Chile on points, a better goal difference would see them go through. In the round of 16, the Mexican club defeated Colombian club Atlético Junior 5–1 on aggregate and were through to the quarter-finals, where their run would end after losing twice to eventual runner-up Palmeiras and being eliminated 5–2 on aggregate.

In 2008, Atlas made their second appearance in the Copa Libertadores. Their campaign started with a qualifying tournament called InterLiga where they faced Toluca, Morelia, and America. At the end of the InterLiga they were tied on points and goal difference with Toluca, so a coin toss decided who would advance to the next round. Atlas won the coin toss and advanced to the first stage, where they defeated Bolivian club La Paz 2–1 on aggregate. In the group stage with Boca Juniors, Colo-Colo, and Maracaibo, Atlas finished first with eleven points, including notable victories against Boca Juniors and Colo-Colo. In the round of 16 they would eliminate Lanus 3–2 on aggregate. In the quarter-finals, they were matched up with Boca Juniors again. In the first leg, played in Buenos Aires, Atlas secured a 2–2 draw, but in the second leg in Guadalajara, Boca won 3–0 and eliminated the club.

Atlas qualified for the 2015 Copa Libertadores after finishing second on the table in the 2014 Apertura. The team was led by Tomás Boy and was matched up in the group stage with Independiente Santa Fe, Atletico Mineiro, and Colo-Colo. In their first match they lost 1–0 to Santa Fe, but in the second match they had a historic 1–0 victory against Atletico Mineiro in Brazil, which ended a 37-year undefeated home streak for the club in the Copa Libertadores. Atlas later beat Atletico again at home, but exited the competition with a last-placed finish in the group and a loss to Santa Fe in Bogotá.

On 12 December 2021, Atlas ended a 70-year title drought when they defeated Club León at the Estadio Jalisco via penalties 4–3 and won their second league title.[5]

Atlas 1916 first team

On 5 March 2022, during a match between Atlas and Querétaro at Querétaro's stadium, a riot broke out between fans attending the match.[6] Videos posted on social media showed groups of men beating, kicking, dragging and stripping victims.[7] According to the Querétaro state civil protection agency, at least 22 men were injured.[8] The Liga MX sanctioned Atlas by banning Atlas-affiliated barras from attending home matches for up to six months in response to the riots.[9][10]

Atlas won its third league championship on 29 May 2022 against Pachuca. In the first leg on 26 May, Atlas defeated Pachuca at Estadio Jalisco 2–0, and although they lost the second leg 2–1, they won 3–2 on aggregate to become only the third team in league history to win back to back titles.

Atlas are renowned for having a successful youth academy setup. In the last few decades, Atlas have developed many players who have gone on to have professional careers domestically and internationally. Many young players enter the Atlas youth academy knowing that they'll have a strong possibility to play with the first team due to the club philosophy of allowing youth players the opportunity to be promoted to the first team. Although Atlas has only won the league championship three times, their academy has been famous for developing players for the Mexico national football team in the past few decades like Jared Borgetti, Daniel Osorno, José de Jesús Corona, Pável Pardo, Oswaldo Sánchez, Rafael Márquez, Juan Carlos Medina, Jorge Hernández, Mario Méndez, Miguel Zepeda, Juan Pablo Rodriguez, Juan Pablo Garcia, Joel Herrera, Jorge Torres Nilo, Edgar Ivan Pacheco, Andrés Guardado, Jeremy Márquez, Diego Barbosa and many more. The club's lower youth divisions have achieved many titles domestically as well as internationally.

Panoramic view of Estadio Jalisco

Atlas currently plays in the Estadio Jalisco, which is the third largest stadium in Mexico and was constructed on 31 January 1960. It is a venue that has played host to historic matches and teams including Pelé's Brazil in 1970. In total, It was host for 8 games in the 1970 FIFA World Cup, 6 of which were from group stage matches, and two were quarter and semi-finals. Subsequently, the stadium was again host for 9 games in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, 6 of which were group stage matches, 1 was round of sixteen and the last 2 were quarter and semi-finals.

Atlas fans are as a whole collectively known as La Fiel (The Faithful), while La Barra 51 is the main organized supporter group. La Barra 51's name recalls Atlas' first championship in the Primera División de México in 1951. Through the team's struggling performance La Fiel has earned its name, supporting the team for 70 years without any major accomplishments.

• Liga MX
  • Winners (3): 1950–51, Apertura 2021, Clausura 2022
  • Runners-up (3): 1948–49, 1965–66, Verano 1999

• Copa MX
  • Winners (4): 1945–46, 1949–50, 1961–62, 1967–68
  • Runners-up (2): 1995–96, Apertura 2013

• Campeón de Campeones
  • Winners (5): 1946, 1950, 1951, 1962, 2022
  • Runners-up (1): 1968

• Segunda División de México
  • Winners (3): 1954–55, 1971–72, 1978–79

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Club Atlas.

• Official website
• (in Spanish) Atlas Discussion Forum