Leones Negros UdeG
Association football club in Mexico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Club Deportivo Leones Negros de la Universidad de Guadalajara, simply known as Leones Negros UdeG or Leones Negros, is a Mexican professional football club based in Guadalajara, Jalisco. It competes in Liga de Expansión MX, the second level division of Mexican football, and plays its home matches at the Estadio Jalisco. Founded in 1970 as Venados UdeG, the club respresents the Universidad de Guadalajara, it changed to its current name in 1972.
(as Venados UdeG)
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| Full name | Club Deportivo Leones Negros de la Universidad de Guadalajara | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Leones Negros (Black Lions) | |||
| Short name | UDG | |||
| Founded | 1 January 1970 (as Venados UdeG) | |||
| Ground | Estadio Jalisco Guadalajara, Jalisco | |||
| Capacity | 56,713 | |||
| Owner | UdeG | |||
| Chairman | José Alberto Castellanos Gutiérrez | |||
| Manager | Alfonso Sosa | |||
| League | Liga de Expansión MX | |||
| Clausura 2026 | Regular phase: 15th Final phase: Did not qualify | |||
| Website | www | |||
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Domestically, Leones Negros UdeG has won one Primera División title and one Copa México. Internationally, the club has won one CONCACAF Champions Cup.
History
The Universidad de Guadalajara football club, nicknamed Leones Negros (Black Lions) started in the Tercera División de México, where they played for two seasons after which they gained promotion to Segunda División de México.
They reached the top division by acquiring the Primera División's franchise of Torreón, Coahuila (Club Torreón) and moving it to Guadalajara, Jalisco after the 1973-1974 season and renaming it Club Deportivo Leones Negros de la Universidad de Guadalajara.
During their first years in the Primera División de México they had several skilled Brazilian players, reason for which noted sports broadcaster Ángel Fernández started to call them "Leones Negros" (the Black Lions), a nickname that stuck and remains part of the folklore of Mexican football.
In the 1975–76, 1976–77 and 1989–90 seasons, the team achieved the runners-up in the Primera División.[1] In addition, in 1978 the club won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup together with the clubs Comunicaciones F.C. from Guatemala and Defence Force F.C. from Trinidad and Tobago.[2]
Disappearance of los Leones Negros de la UdeG
After 20 years in top flight football the team was in decline, alleged questionable financial dealings, a very poor squad and hardly any local fans (who are loyal to more popular teams like Guadalajara, better known as "Chivas" and to a lesser extent, Atlas) Leones Negros were acquired by the FMF, to make way for the reduction in the number of teams in the Primera División. Their last game was on May 27, 1994 against Atlas, in which they lost 2–1.
New Era
After the disappearance of the team by the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol, the franchise maintained the third division reserve squad, that become the main team, the club obtained a title in the verano 1997 tournament, gaining promotion to the Primera División 'A' de México where they stayed until the franchise was sold and moved to Orizaba, Veracruz in 2002. During this time the franchise was named Atlético Bachilleres,[3] name it had since the 1970s when the reserve team was established.
Between 2002 and 2009 the team played as Cachorros UdeG in te Segunda División de México in the Norte region and a few seasons back was close to gaining promotion to the Primera División 'A' de México, first losing the final against, Académicos and then losing to Chivas La Piedad. For the Apertura 2007 season they changed stadium to Estadio Municipal Santa Rosa in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, but have stated that some of their home games will still played at their traditional home in twice worldcup host Estadio Jalisco. In 2009, Cachorros UdeG became the reserve team of the club, a situation that remained until 2014, when it became Leones Negros UdeG Premier.[4]
Return to the Primera División A
For some time businessmen, among them Jorge Vergara, tried to return the team of Club Universidad de Guadalajara to the top divisions of football in Mexico, this was achieved through the purchase of the franchise of the Primera División 'A''s C.D. Tapatío for $800,000 USD from Guadalajara of which C.D. Tapatío was a subsidiary.
On May 21, 2009 it was confirmed that team Club Universidad de Guadalajara entered the Primera División 'A' de México instead of C.D. Tapatío, which disappeared completely.
Apertura 2013 Champions and promotion to Liga MX
In the Apertura 2013 tournament, Leones Negros finished 5th and entered the Liguilla, where they reached the final and ended as Champions beating Necaxa 2–1, earning the right to compete in the Final de Ascenso and the possibility to be promoted to the 2014–15 Liga MX.
After a hard Clausura 2014 tournament, Leones Negros ended in 4th place, but lost in the quarterfinals against Oaxaca. However, as Apertura 2013 champions, they played the Final de Ascenso against Estudiantes Tecos, who were the Clausura 2014 Champions.
After two very disputed games, both of them ended in a tie, the Promotion was defined in a penalty shoot-out, in which goalkeeper Humberto "Gansito" Hernández scored the final and decisive penalty, giving the Leones Negros the promotion and the right to play in the 2014–15 Liga MX season.
Club Universidad de Guadalajara was officially relegated after only one season in the Mexican top flight on May 9, 2015. Despite winning the match against Cruz Azul 2–0, relegation rivals Puebla managed to obtain a 2–2 tie, thus giving them more percentage in the relegation table. As a result, UdeG returned to Ascenso MX. In the Clausura 2018 tournament the team was close to returning to Liga MX, however, in the final of the championship the team was defeated by Cafetaleros de Tapachula.
In June 2020, UdeG became a member of the Liga de Expansión MX when it replaced Ascenso MX.[5]
Honours
Domestic
| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning years | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Top division |
Primera División | 0 | — | 1975–76, 1976–77, 1989–90 |
| Copa México | 1 | 1990–91 | 1974–75, 1988–89 | |
| Promotion divisions | Liga de Expansión MX | 1 | Clausura 2025 | Clausura 2024 |
| Campeón de Campeones de la Liga de Expansión MX | 0 | – | 2025 | |
| Ascenso MX | 1 | Apertura 2013 | Clausura 2018 | |
| Campeón de Ascenso | 1 | 2014 | — | |
| Segunda División | 0 | — | 1973–74 | |
| Copa México de la Tercera División | 0 | — | 1971–72 |
International
| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning years | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Continental CONCACAF |
CONCACAF Champions Cup | 1 | 1978 | — |
Friendly
- Copa de Guadalajara con Pelé: 1975
- Copa Pacífica: 2024
Personnel
Coaching staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Alfonso Sosa |
| Assistant managers | Víctor Mendoza |
| Julio Herrera | |
| Goalkeeper coach | Roberto Hernández |
| Fitness coach | Sergio Hernández |
| Physiotherapist | Alan Fuentes |
| Team doctor | Eduardo Ortega |
Players
First-team squad
- As of 18 April 2026[6]
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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Managers
Ignacio Jáuregui (1976–1978)- Gustavo Peña (1978–1979)
Árpád Fekete (1979–1981)- Ignacio Trelles (1986–1989)
- Alberto Guerra (1989–1992)
- Sergio Díaz (2009)
Belarmino de Almeida (2009–2010)- Héctor Medrano (2010–2011)
- Alfonso Sosa (2011–2015), (2021–)
- Daniel Guzmán (2015–2016)
- Joel Sánchez Ramos (2016–2017)
- Jorge Dávalos (2017–2019), (2019–2021)
- Ricardo Rayas (2019)
Reserves
Cachorros de Sayula
The team participated in the Tercera División, finished as champions in the 1997–98 season, losing to Atlético Carmen.
Cachorros UdeG
The team participated in the Segunda División, after the dissolution of Bachilleres UdeG, finished as runners-up in the Clausura 2005, losing to Académicos 4–0 on aggregate.
UdeG "B"/UdeG Premier
The team competes in the Liga Premier, finished as runners-up of the Serie B in the Clausura 2018, losing to Orizaba 6–1 on aggregate. It also finished as runners-up twice in the Torneo de Filiales de la Liga Premier.
UdeG "C"/UdeG "TDP"
The team competes in the Liga TDP, finished as champions in the 2015–16 season, defeating Valle Verde Jiquipilas 6–5 on aggregate. It also won the Torneo de Filiales de la Liga TDP in the 2024–25 season, defeating Deportiva Venados "TDP" 2–1 on aggregate.
Leones Lagos de Moreno
The team was based in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, and participated in the Liga TDP, it was not eligible for promotion.
