Dorados de Sinaloa
Football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Club Deportivo Dorados de Sinaloa, commonly known as Dorados, is a Mexican professional football club that competes in Liga de Expansión MX, the second tier of Mexican football. It serves as a reserve team for Tijuana. In September 2024, the club was relocated to Tijuana, Baja California and has since played its home matches at Estadio Caliente.[3]
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| Full name | Club Deportivo Dorados de Sinaloa[1] | ||
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| Nicknames | Dorados (The Dorados) El Gran Pez (The Great Fish)[2] El Aurinegro (The Black Aurine) | ||
| Short name | DORA | ||
| Founded | 8 August 2003 | ||
| Ground | Estadio Caliente Tijuana, Baja California | ||
| Capacity | 27,333 | ||
| Owner | Grupo Caliente | ||
| Chairman | José Antonio Núñez | ||
| Manager | Paco Ramírez | ||
| League | Liga de Expansión MX | ||
| Apertura 2025 | Regular phase: 15th Final phase: Did not qualify | ||
| Website | www | ||
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Dorados was founded in August 2003, in the Primera División A and secured promotion to Mexico's top flight just one year later. In 2016, the club was relegated and has since competed in the Liga de Expansión.[4]
History
First promotion and relegation
Dorados was founded on August 8, 2003, in the Primera División 'A', the second tier of the Mexican football system. On December 20, they won their first title in the Apertura 2003 tournament, with Guadalupe Castañeda scoring the decisive goal against Cobras de Juárez in the final. In the following tournament, Dorados finished as runners-up.
On May 29, 2004, Dorados secured promotion to the Primera División after defeating León in the promotion play-off. Remarkably, the club achieved top-flight status just one year after its founding. In an effort to remain in the top division, Dorados made several high-profile signings, including Sebastián Abreu, Pep Guardiola and Jared Borgetti. However, after two years in the Primera División, Dorados was relegated following the Apertura 2006 tournament.
Dorados claimed the title in the Clausura 2007 tournament, which allowed them to participate in the promotion play-off, but ultimately fell to Puebla. In October 2012, Dorados emerged as the Copa Mx champion following their victory over Correcaminos in the final.
In May 2013, Grupo Caliente, known for its casino operations, acquired a majority ownership in the club.[5]
Return to Primera División and Relegation
On May 23, 2015, Dorados once again secured promotion to Mexico's top flight after defeating Necaxa in the promotion play-off. However, just a year later, they were relegated after finishing at the bottom of the relegation table.
Dorados secured the Apertura 2016 title, earning a spot in the promotion play-off, but were ultimately defeated by Lobos BUAP.
In September 2018, Diego Maradona was appointed head coach of Dorados. He made his debut on 17 September with a 4–1 victory over Cafetaleros de Tapachula. Maradona guided Dorados to two consecutive finals, though they fell short in both, losing to Atlético San Luis. In June 2019, Maradona's lawyer announced that he would be stepping down from the role, citing health reasons.[6]
Liga de Expansión
In the spring of 2020, Ascenso MX was restructured into Liga de Expansión MX, a competition designed to foster the development of young footballers. Following this change, Dorados began functioning as a reserve team for both Tijuana and Querétaro, as all three clubs are owned by the same group.[7][8]
In September 2024, the team was relocated to Tijuana due to concerns about the public safety situation in Sinaloa.[9]
Rivalry
When the Dorados de Sinaloa arrived at Primera División A in 2003, a rivalry was born. When the franchise was first created in 2003, Dorados became champions in their first tournament, becoming the first team to ever accomplish this feat in Primera A. In their second tournament, Dorados made it to the final once again, falling to Club León. Despite losing this final, Dorados and León played the promotion game to Primera División de México where Dorados were victorious. Dorados and Leon have played a total of four finals, with each team winning two.
Since the relegation of Dorados to the Ascenso MX, the two sides have not played in a league match.
Honours
Domestic
| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning years | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Top division |
Copa MX | 1 | Apertura 2012 | — |
| Promotion division | Primera División A/Ascenso MX | 4s | Apertura 2003, Clausura 2007, Clausura 2015, Apertura 2016 | Clausura 2004, Apertura 2007, Clausura 2008, Apertura 2012, Apertura 2018, Clausura 2019 |
| Campeón de Ascenso | 2s | 2004, 2015 | 2007, 2017 |
- Notes
- record
- s shared record
Personnel
Management
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Chairman |  José Antonio Núñez |
| Director of football | Juan Pablo Santiago |
Source: [citation needed]
Coaching staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Paco Ramírez |
| Assistant managers | Christian Ortega Takuya Shiozawa Miguel Pulido |
| Goalkeeper coach | Daniel Zamora |
| Fitness coach | Héctor Barba |
| Physiotherapist | Juan García |
| Team doctor | Hernando Casillas |
Players
First-team squad
- As of 3 August 2025[10]
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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Notable players
Carlos Casartelli- César Gradito
- Diego Latorre
- Pablo Gabriel Torres
- Milton Caraglio
- Gaspar Servio
- Gabriel Hachen
Flavio Rogerio- Iarley
- Lucas Silva
David Henriquez
Andrés Orozco- Yimmi Chara
Óscar Rojas
Jefferson Montero- Vinicio Angulo
- Segundo Castillo
- Walter Ayovi
Miguel Becerra- Everaldo Begines
- Jared Borgetti
- Omar Briceño
- Guadalupe Castañeda
- Jorge Iván Estrada
- Hugo García
- Carlos Alberto Hurtado
- Héctor López
- David Mendoza
- Aurelio Molina
- Luis Padilla
- Mario Padilla
- Christian Patiño
- Carlos Pinto
- Aldo Polo
- Sergio Quiróz
- Lorenzo Ramírez
- Jaime Ruiz
- Diego Mejia
- Alfredo Frausto
- Mario Osuna
- Javier Güemez
- Joel Sánchez
- Cirilo Saucedo
- Christian Valdéz
- Cuauhtémoc Blanco
- Fernando Arce
- Elio Castro
- Raúl Enríquez
- Moisés Velasco
Roberto Nurse
Pep Guardiola
Joe Corona
Sebastián Abreu- Héctor Giménez
- Nelson Maz
- Jonathan Lacerda
Coaches
- Juan Carlos Chávez (2003–2004)
- Alexandre Guimarães (2004)
- José Luis Real (2004–2005)
- Carlos Bracamontes (2005)
- Juanma Lillo (2005–2006)
- Jose Luis Saldivar (2006)
- Jacques Passy (2006)
- Hugo Fernández (2006–2008)
- Jorge Almiron (2008–2009)
- Ricardo Rayas (2009–2011)
- Francisco Palacios (Interim) (2011)
- Robert Dante Siboldi (2012)
- Francisco Ramirez (2012–2014)
- Diego Torres (2014)
- Eduardo Fentanes (Interim) (2014)
- Carlos Bustos (2015)
- Omar Briceño (Interim) (2015)
- Luis Fernando Suarez (2015–2016)
- José Guadalupe Cruz (2016)
- Gabriel Caballero (2016–2017)
- Diego Ramirez (2017–2018)
- Francisco Ramírez (2018)
- Diego Maradona (2018–2019)
- José Guadalupe Cruz (2019)
- David Patiño (2020)
- Rafael García (2021–2024)
- Sebastián Abreu (2024–2025)
- Cirilo Saucedo (2025)
Reserves
Dorados de Los Mochis
The team participated in the Segunda División, finishing as runners-up in the Clausura 2009, losing to Universidad del Fútbol 5–2 on aggregate.
Dorados "B"/Dorados Premier
The team participated in the Serie B of the Liga Premier, Dorados Premier changed its name to Dorados "B", after Dorados de Sinaloa was relegated from Liga MX to Ascenso MX in 2016.
Dorados "C"/Dorados "TDP"
The team competes in the Liga TDP, winning the Torneo de Filiales de la Liga TDP in the 2020–21 season, defeating Cimarrones "B" 1–0 on aggregate.