Club Tijuana
Association football club in Mexico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente, simplified as Club Tijuana, and also known as Xolos de Tijuana, is a Mexican professional football club based in Tijuana, Baja California. It competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football, and plays its home matches at the Estadio Caliente.[3][4] Founded in 2007, it competed in the second level division until 2011, when they won promotion to Liga MX. The club's badge is the founder's (Jorge Hank) hairless Xoloitzcuintle.[5] Tijuana is one of seven Mexican clubs that have never been relegated.
El Xolaje (The Xolos-Crowd in Mexican Spanish)
La Jauría[2] (The Pack)
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| Full name | Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Los Xolos[1] El Xolaje (The Xolos-Crowd in Mexican Spanish) La Jauría[2] (The Pack) | |||
| Short name | TIJ | |||
| Founded | 14 January 2007 | |||
| Ground | Estadio Caliente Tijuana, Baja California | |||
| Capacity | 27,333 | |||
| Owner | Grupo Caliente | |||
| Chairman | Jorge Hank Inzunsa | |||
| Manager | Sebastián Abreu | |||
| League | Liga MX | |||
| Apertura 2025 | Regular phase: 7th Final phase: Quarter-finals | |||
| Website | xolos.com.mx | |||
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Domestically, Club Tijuana has won one Liga MX title, obtaining it only a year and a half after their promotion.[6][7]
On 21 May 2011, the club earned promotion to top division, winning the Campeón de Ascenso 2011 by defeating Irapuato 2–1 on aggregate.
History
The club is the 2nd latest in a long line of league teams in the city of Tijuana. Gallos Caliente was instituted in the summer of 2006 but it disappeared that same year. Then some businessmen from Tijuana bought the Guerreros de Tabasco and moved it to Tijuana, becoming Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente. The team and owner announced the construction of Estadio Caliente, a new stadium with a capacity for 33,333 people near Grupo Caliente's Agua Caliente Racetrack. Jorge Alberto Hank, the son of Jorge Hank Rhon, is the president of the team.
The team advanced to the Primera División de México with a win at home over Irapuato, 2–1 on May 21, 2011.[8]
Jorge Alberto Hank and Gog Murguia Fernandez, the vice president, became the youngest executives in the history of Mexican first-tier football.
The First Title
The team obtained its first title in the Apertura 2010 tournament, after having finished as general leader during the regular tournament, which gave them a direct pass to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals the Xolos faced Albinegros de Orizaba. In both semifinal legs, the Xolos and Albinegros finished 0–0, with the aggregate score 0–0 too. The position that the Xolos had during the regular tournament permitted them to pass to the final against the Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz. In the first leg the "Xolos" had a surprise 2–0 win in the Estadio Luis "Pirata" Fuente in Veracruz, while in their field they won again 1–0 and this way Tijuana obtained half a ticket towards the first tier of Mexican football, the Primera División Mexicana.[9][10]
Promotion to Liga MX
The final of the Clausura 2011 of the Liga de Ascenso was between Tijuana and Irapuato. The first leg was played on May 11 in Tijuana's stadium. The game finished 1–1. The second leg played was in Irapuato, in the Estadio Sergio León Chavez. Irapuato won the game 1–0, being crowned champion of the Clausura 2011 afterwards. With Tijuana winning the Apertura 2010 title, the Promotion Final was going to be, yet again, Tijuana vs Irapuato. The first leg was played in Irapuato on May 18 and it remained 0–0.[11] Played in Tijuana's Estadio Caliente, the second leg saw the Club Tijuana being crowned champion of the Promotion Final with a result of 2–1. Thus Tijuana replaced the Necaxa as the new Primera Division Team in Mexico.[12]
Liga MX Debut
Kicking off their inaugural season in the Primera Division, Tijuana signed José Sand,[13] Leandro Augusto, Fernando Arce, Egidio Arévalo[14] and Dayro Moreno moved to Tijuana for a fee of US$3.5 m.[15] during summer 2011.
Tijuana opened the 2011–12 season with a 2–1 home loss to Morelia. American Joe Corona scored the club's first top-flight goal in the defeat. They would earn their first victory as a top-flight club in a 3–1 victory at Santos Laguna on August 6; however, after five consecutive home matches without a victory manager Joaquin del Olmo was sacked and replaced by Antonio Mohamed.
After having finished the 2011 Apertura with just three wins against nine draws and five losses, Tijuana would have more success in the 2012 Clausura. Behind the league's top defense (allowing just 11 goals in 17 matches), Tijuana finished with seven wins and seven draws against just three defeats and earned their first playoff berth in the top flight, where they would fall to Monterrey.
Apertura 2012 Champions
Xolos continued their strong defense in the 2012–13 Liga MX season. In the 2012 Apertura, Xolos allowed joint-fewest goals with 15 while finishing tied atop the table with Toluca. Seeded #2 in the La liguilla, they would avenge the previous season's defeat to Monterrey before rallying from a 2–0 deficit against León in the semi-finals. They won the Liguilla over Toluca with a 4–1 aggregate victory, achieving the title in the shortest time after promotion to the top flight in Mexican history.[16]
Xolos faltered in the Clausura, finishing in 10th place, two points outside of Liguilla qualification. However, invited to Copa Libertadores, Tijuana made a run to the quarter-finals before falling to Atlético Mineiro.
Stadium
The Estadio Caliente, a multi-use stadium in Tijuana, Baja California, was officially inaugurated on November 11, 2007, in a game between Club Tijuana and Pumas Morelos. The attendance was 13,333, then the stadium capacity. In July 2009, the capacity was increased to 16,000. Stadium owner Jorge Hank Rhon's main reason for constructing the stadium was his wish to have a professional football club in the city. Because the Mexican Football Federation says that teams participating in the First Division must have a stadium with a capacity over 15,000, Club Tijuana officially became qualified for promotion to the Primera División de México when the capacity was increased. The construction of the stadium was planned in two parts. The first part finished the ground and lower sections of the stadium. In the second phase, the stadium's capacity was increased.[17] Club Xoloitzcuintles added 4,000 seats to its home field of Estadio Caliente, pushing its capacity to 20,000, according to the team's management. The team also remodeled the players’ dressing rooms and resurfaced the dirt parking lot with a stone surface. Among the construction projects is the installation of stadium lights, which should not be an issue.[18]
Finances and ownership
Controversy surrounded the lease, because the team would have ties to a company whose major business is that of betting on sports events, including football. The case was presented to high authorities in the Mexican Football Federation, where it was ruled that no action would be taken against Xoloitzcuintles De Caliente or its parent company.
Personnel
Current technical staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Sebastián Abreu |
| Assistant coaches | Bruno Silva  Carlos Pinto Sergio Almaguer |
| Goalkeeper coach | Óscar Dautt |
| Fitness coach | Raziel Alba |
| Team Doctors | Daniel Saldivar Marian Cruz |
| Assistant Doctors |  Christian Delgado Jesús Soto Raúl López |
Management
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Jorge Alberto Hank Inzunza |
| Vice-chairman | Gog Murguia Fernandez |
| Sporting chairman | José Antonio Núñez |
| Director of football | Juan Pablo Santiago |
| Director of academy | Ignacio Ruvalcaba |
| Director of strategic planning | Jeronimo Vera |
| Director of marketing and commercialization | Esteban de Anda |
| Sports adviser | Ignacio Palou |
Source: Liga MX
Players
First-team squad
- As of 9 March 2026[19]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve teams
- Xolos Hermosillo
- Reserve team that plays in the Liga TDP, the fourth level of the Mexican league system.
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt partner | Sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Ardex | Caliente | |
| 2007–08 | Atletica | Casas GEO/Nissan/TVC Deportes/Mexicana/Burger King | |
| 2008 | Voit | ||
| 2009–10 | Atletica | Casas GEO/Nissan | |
| 2011 | Kappa | Casas GEO/Nissan/TVC Deportes/Volaris | |
| 2011–13 | Nike | Casas GEO/ABC/Waldo's/Monte de Baja California | |
| 2013–14 | Nike | Boing!/Casas GEO/ABC/Calimax/ARCO/Grupo Eco | |
| 2015–2017 | Adidas | Boing!/Carl's Jr./Calimax/Farmacias del Ahorro | |
| 2017– | Charly | Tecate/Afirme/Telcel/Carl's Jr./Nissan/Calimax/Coca-Cola/Powerade/Volaris/FOX Sports/Coppel/SuKarne/ABC/Gonher/Weber's Bread/Evervital RedNtense/Seguros Confie/BH Fitness/Petsa Express/King Xolo Locker Room |
Statistics
Friendly competitions
| Date | Home team | Result | Away team | Tournament | Venue | Spectators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 26, 2023 | Club Tijuana |
1–2 | Club América |
Tour Aguila | Snapdragon Stadium | TBD |
| February 19, 2022 | Club Tijuana |
2–3 |  San Diego Loyal |
Club Friendly | Torero Stadium | 4,500 |
| July 10, 2021 | Club Tijuana |
1–0 | San Diego Loyal |
Club Friendly | Torero Stadium | 6,000 |
| January 31, 2018 | Club Tijuana |
2–3 |  Toronto FC |
Club Friendly | Torero Stadium | 6,000 |
| December 28, 2013 | Club Tijuana |
3–3 | Club América |
Los Angeles Clasico | Dignity Health Sports Park | 25,000 |
| October 13, 2013 | Club Tijuana |
1–1 | Santos Laguna |
Club Friendly | Toyota Field | - |
| July 6, 2013 | Club Tijuana |
5–2 | Club América |
San Diego Clasico | Petco Park | 29,000 |
| June 30, 2012 | Club Tijuana |
1–1 | Club América |
San Diego Clasico | Qualcomm Stadium | 19,880 |
| February 22, 2012 | Club Tijuana |
5–2 | Chivas USA |
San Diego Clasico | Torero Stadium | 6,000 |
| March 2, 2011 | Club Tijuana |
2–2 | LA Galaxy |
San Diego Clasico | Torero Stadium | 6,000 |
International competitions
| Year | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 13 | Lost quarter-finals |
| Total | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 13 |
| Year | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 10 | Lost semi-finals |
| Total | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 10 |
Records
| Rank | Name | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raul Enriquez |
81 |
| 2 |  Dayro Moreno |
47 |
| 3 | Duvier Riascos |
23 |
| 4 | Dario Benedetto |
21 |
| 5 |  Fidel Martínez |
21 |
| Rank | Name | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Javier Gandolfi |
243 |
| 2 | Juan Carlos Núñez |
221 |
| 3 | Richard Ruiz |
191 |
| 4 | Raul Enriquez |
190 |
| 5 | Joe Corona |
180 |
Honours
Domestic
| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning years | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Top division |
Liga MX | 1 | Apertura 2012 | — |
| Copa MX | 0 | — | 2019–20 | |
| Promotion division | Primera División A/Liga de Ascenso | 1 | Apertura 2010 | Clausura 2009, Clausura 2011 |
| Campeón de Ascenso | 1 | 2011 | — |
Managers
Víctor Rangel (2007)
Wilson Graniolatti (2008 – 2009)- Juan Antonio Luna (2009 – 2010)
- Joaquín del Olmo (2010 – 2011)
Antonio Mohamed (2011 – 2013)- Jorge Almirón (2013)
César Farías (2013 – 2014)- Daniel Guzmán (2014 – 2015)
- Rubén Omar Romano (2015)
- Raúl Chabrand (2015)
- Miguel Herrera (2015 – 2017)
- Eduardo Coudet (2017)
- Diego Cocca (2017 – 2018)
Oscar Pareja (2018 – 2019)
Gustavo Quinteros (2020)- Pablo Guede (2020 – 2021)
- Robert Siboldi (2021)
- Sebastián Méndez (2021 – 2022)
- Ricardo Valiño (2022 – 2023)
- Miguel Herrera (2023 – 2024)
- Juan Carlos Osorio (2024 – 2025)
Women's section
Club Tijuana (Women), founded in 2014, that participated in the US-based Women's Premier Soccer League[20] in the summer and in the Liga Mayor Femenil in the winter. In their first year, they finished in the middle of the competitive Pac-South division of WPSL before becoming Mexican national champions.[21] Since 2017 participates in the Liga MX Femenil.
In pop culture
The 2016 documentary film Club Frontera by Chris Cashman focuses on the Xolos and the positive perspective of Tijuana.[22]
