Atlas F.C.
Atlas F.C. waited seventy years between league championships, and the wait ended at Estadio Jalisco on the 12th of December 2021. A penalty shootout against Club León finished 4-3 in Atlas's favor, giving the Guadalajara club its second league title. Atlas is a professional club based in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and it competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Its supporters call the team the Rojinegros, after the red and black on its crest and uniform. Who started this club, and why did they choose those colors? What does a club do when it keeps coming close to glory but rarely wins? And how does a team with so few league titles keep shaping the national side of Mexico?
In August 1916, a handful of friends sat in a Guadalajara bar and decided to start a football team. The spark was a set of stories from friends who had studied at Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, England. The group included Alfonso and Juan José Cortina, the latter nicknamed Lico, and Pedro and Carlos Fernández del Valle. Three Orendain brothers joined them, along with Federico Collignon, who had studied in Berlin.
The name Atlas came from the Titan of Greek mythology who carries the sky. The colors came from Ampleforth, whose uniform was red and black, and the founders copied it for their own team.
St Lawrence, the patron saint of Ampleforth, was also chosen as the patron saint of Atlas. In the club's telling, the red stands for the blood of St Lawrence and the black for his martyrdom. Even today, the crest of Ampleforth College is sometimes seen hanging from a banner inside the stadium.
Ten clubs formed the first professional national league in Mexico, called Liga Mayor, and Atlas was among them. That competition is the one now known as Liga MX. The first trophy came in 1945-46, when Atlas beat Atlante in the Copa MX final. That same year the club also won the supercup, a match between the league champion and the cup champion, beating Veracruz 3-2.
A second Copa MX arrived in 1949-50. The 1950-51 season then brought the first league title, secured with twelve wins in 22 matches. The club still counts the 1950s and 1960s as its golden era, and two more Copa MX trophies followed in 1961-62 and 1967-68.
Just two years after that first league title, a 4-0 loss to Tampico sent Atlas down for the first time. The team came straight back to the top flight the following season.
In the late 1990s, coach Ricardo La Volpe built a team full of talent, with Rafael Márquez, Daniel Osorno, Juan Pablo Rodriguez, Pavel Pardo, Mario Méndez, Omar Briceño and Miguel Zepeda. That side reached the Verano 1999 final against Deportivo Toluca. The tie ended 5-5 on aggregate, extra time settled nothing, and Toluca won the penalty shootout.
The following year, in 2000, Atlas entered the Copa Libertadores for the first time.
The 2000 Copa Libertadores began for Atlas with a preliminary round-robin against Club America, Deportivo Táchira and Deportivo Italchacao. A 2-0 loss to America opened the campaign, and draws with Táchira and Italchacao followed. Then came a 6-3 win over America, a victory over Táchira and a draw with Italchacao, which put Atlas top of the group.
Group 4 of the main competition paired Atlas with River Plate, U. de Chile and Atletico Nacional. The opener on the 23rd of February was a 1-1 draw with River. A 3-2 win at Atletico Nacional in Medellín came next, then a draw with U. de Chile and a loss to River. A 5-1 rout of Nacional, the Colombian champions, preceded a final-match loss to U. de Chile in Santiago. Atlas finished level on points with U. de Chile and went through on goal difference.
In the round of 16, Atlas beat Atlético Junior 5-1 on aggregate. The quarter-final brought two losses to Palmeiras, who went on to finish as runner-up, and a 5-2 aggregate exit.
A coin toss decided the start of the 2008 campaign. The qualifying tournament called InterLiga pitted Atlas against Toluca, Morelia and America, and Atlas ended tied with Toluca on points and goal difference. Atlas won the toss, then beat La Paz of Bolivia 2-1 on aggregate in the first stage.
In the group stage with Boca Juniors, Colo-Colo and Maracaibo, Atlas finished first with eleven points, including notable wins over Boca Juniors and Colo-Colo. Lanus fell 3-2 on aggregate in the round of 16. Boca returned in the quarter-finals, and a 2-2 draw in Buenos Aires gave way to a 3-0 defeat in Guadalajara.
Qualification for 2015 came from a second-place finish in the 2014 Apertura, with Tomás Boy as manager. The group held Independiente Santa Fe, Atletico Mineiro and Colo-Colo. Atlas lost the opener 1-0 to Santa Fe, beat Atletico again at home and finished last after another loss to Santa Fe in Bogotá. Between those defeats came a historic 1-0 win in Brazil that ended a 37-year undefeated home streak for Atletico Mineiro in the competition.
On the 5th of March 2022, a match at Querétaro's stadium broke down into a riot between fans. Videos posted on social media showed groups of men beating, kicking, dragging and stripping victims. According to the Querétaro state civil protection agency, at least 22 men were injured. Liga MX banned Querétaro-affiliated barras, the organized fan groups, from home matches for up to six months. Atlas was awarded a 0-3 win for the abandoned game, which had stood at 0-1.
The 29th of May 2022 brought the third league championship, decided against Pachuca. In the first leg on the 26th of May, Atlas won 2-0 at Estadio Jalisco. Pachuca took the second leg 2-1, but Atlas prevailed 3-2 on aggregate. That made Atlas only the third team in league history to win back-to-back titles, a feat Mexican football describes with the word bicampeones.
Diego Cocca's listed tenure as manager ran from the 11th of August 2020 to the 1st of October 2022, a span that covers both title runs. He returned to the job on the 12th of August 2025.
In July 2025, the owner Grupo Orlegi put Atlas up for sale. Liga MX regulations aimed to end multi-ownership of teams after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In April 2026, the purchase by Grupo PRODI was announced, a company headed by José Miguel Bejos, who also owns the baseball team Pericos de Puebla. The handover was set for the end of the Clausura 2026 tournament.
Andrés Guardado, Jared Borgetti, José de Jesús Corona and Oswaldo Sánchez are among the players the Atlas academy has produced for the Mexico national team. The club has a reputation for a successful youth setup, and many of its graduates have gone on to professional careers at home and abroad.
The club philosophy is to give young players a real chance of promotion to the first team. Many arrive at the academy knowing that a first-team place is a genuine possibility.
The list of national-team players developed there also includes Pável Pardo, Juan Carlos Medina, Jorge Hernández, Joel Herrera, Jorge Torres Nilo, Edgar Ivan Pacheco, Juan Pablo Garcia, Jeremy Márquez and Diego Barbosa. The club's lower youth divisions have also collected many titles, both domestically and internationally.
Estadio Jalisco was constructed on the 31st of January 1960 and is now the third largest stadium in Mexico. It has hosted historic matches, including the Brazil of Pelé in 1970. That year it staged 8 games of the FIFA World Cup, 6 of them in the group stage. The other two were knockout matches at the quarter-final and semi-final stage.
The 1986 FIFA World Cup brought 9 more games to the same ground. Six were group matches, one was a round of 16 tie, and the last two were a quarter-final and a semi-final.
The stands of this stadium belong to a fan base with a name of its own.
La Fiel, meaning The Faithful, is the collective name for Atlas supporters. They earned it by backing a team that rarely lifted trophies. La Barra 51 is the main organized supporter group, and its name recalls the first championship in the Primera División de México in 1951. Famous fans include the Guadalajara natives Canelo Álvarez, Peso Pluma and Alejandro Fernández.
The fiercest rivalry is with city neighbors C.D. Guadalajara, known as Chivas. The derby is called the Clásico Tapatío and is said to be the oldest in Mexican football, dating to 1916. The first meeting was a friendly shortly after Atlas was founded, and it ended 0-0.
The first competitive match came in the 1917 Torneo de Primavera, which translates as the Tournament of Spring. Atlas won 2-1, and Chivas complained about the refereeing. They were so angry that they said they would skip the 1917-18 Liga Amateur de Jalisco unless Justo García Godoy, the president of refereeing, resigned. Godoy did not resign, and Chivas stayed out of the tournament.
Chivas have won more of these derbies, with 16 wins to nine for Atlas and eight draws. Each new Clásico Tapatío adds another line to that ledger.
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Common questions
When was Atlas F.C. founded?
Atlas F.C. was founded in 1916. A group of friends decided to set up the football team in a Guadalajara bar in August 1916.
Why are Atlas F.C. colors red and black?
Atlas F.C. copied the red and black of Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, England. St Lawrence, the patron saint of Ampleforth, became the club's patron saint, with red standing for his blood and black for his martyrdom.
How many Liga MX titles has Atlas F.C. won?
Atlas F.C. has won three league titles, in 1950-51, Apertura 2021 and Clausura 2022. The club has also won four Copa MX titles and five Campeón de Campeones trophies.
Where does Atlas F.C. play its home matches?
Atlas F.C. plays at Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara, the third largest stadium in Mexico, constructed on the 31st of January 1960. It hosted 8 games of the 1970 FIFA World Cup and 9 games of the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
Who is the biggest rival of Atlas F.C.?
The biggest rival of Atlas F.C. is C.D. Guadalajara, known as Chivas, and the derby is called the Clásico Tapatío. It is said to be the oldest football derby in Mexico, dating to 1916.
Which Atlas F.C. youth academy players reached the Mexico national team?
Players developed by the Atlas F.C. academy for the Mexico national team include Andrés Guardado, Jared Borgetti, José de Jesús Corona, Oswaldo Sánchez and Pável Pardo. The club's philosophy gives young players a real chance of promotion to the first team.
Who is buying Atlas F.C.?
Grupo PRODI, headed by José Miguel Bejos, was announced as the buyer of Atlas F.C. in April 2026. The company takes possession at the end of the Clausura 2026 tournament, after Grupo Orlegi put the club up for sale in July 2025.
All sources
16 references cited across the entry
- 3¿Qué equipos han sido Bicampeones en México?29 September 2022
- 4En la élite30 May 2022
- 6NewsMexican soccer league suspends all Sunday matches after fan riotJack Baer — 6 March 2022
- 7NewsMexico Soccer Riot Leaves 22 Injured, Officials SayOscar Lopez — 6 March 2022
- 8NewsAt least 22 injured in brawl at Mexican soccer matchCarlos Rodriguez — 6 March 2022
- 9NewsLiga MX: Queretaro home fans banned for 1 year, 'barras' get 3-year ban; owners must sell clubCeasar Hernandez — 8 March 2022
- 10Aplican Ejemplares Sanciones al Club Querétaro y Toman Medidas de ControlLiga MX — 8 March 2022
- 13Populous designs new stadium for Atlas FC8 October 2026