Atlético Español was a football team which played between 1971 and 1982 in the

Primera División de México Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divi ...

. They played out of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

History

Atlético Español Fútbol Club On September 19, 1971, when a group of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

entrepreneurs / business people decided to buy the franchise of what was then known as

Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Club Necaxa, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Aguascalientes (city), Aguascalientes. It competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican ...

and change their name to Atlético Español. The reason for the name change was due to their nationality and ideology in the world of business. The branded club were modeled on the defunct team

Real Club España Real Club España, A.C., simply known as Real España or Club España, is a Mexican sports club based in Mexico City. The club hosted a large variety of sports and other activities such as aerobics, basque pelota, cue sports, billiards, canoein ...

, with a similar name and kit to the predecessor. The team would immediately obtain the nickname ''Toros'' because in their badge was a bull next a football and the initials AE. ''Español'' characterized itself to be a team which was a fighter, but their start was not the ideal one since in the 1971–72 season they were a point away from descending to the 2nd division. Other teams fighting to avoid relegation that season were Club de Fútbol Torreón,

Irapuato FC Club Deportivo Irapuato is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Irapuato, Guanajuato, that currently competes in Liga Premier de México, Liga Premier, the third level division of Mexican football league system, Me ...

and Club Veracruz, in the end

would be the team to be relegated. For the 1972–73 season Atlético Español would reach the semifinals against

Club León Club León is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in León, Guanajuato, León, Guanajuato, that competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football league system, Mexican football. The club was founded in 1944 ...

losing 5–4 in the third leg going all the way to penalties.. In 1973–74 they would reach the final against a strong

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

. They would play a two legged tie in which Atlético Español would win the first leg 2–1 but lose the second 3–0, becoming the runner-up of the league. In 1975 Atlético Español would win their first and only international title in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup 1975, they played the final against

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

defeating them 5–1 in aggregate. In 1976 they disputed the

Copa Interamericana The Copa Interamericana () was an international association football, football competition endorsed by CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) and CONMEBOL (South America). Established in 1969, it was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACAF ...

against

Club Atlético Independiente () is an Argentine professional sports club, which has its headquarters and stadium in Avellaneda, a city of the Buenos Aires Province. The club is best known for its Association football, football team, which plays in the Argentine Primera Divi ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Both games were played in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and after an aggregate score of 2–2 penalties needed to take place, ''Español'' losing the shootout to ''Independiente'' 4–2. Season 1980–81 ''Español'' would once again get into the liguilla getting 4th in group A led by

, who would lose the final against

Pumas de la UNAM Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., simply known as Pumas UNAM, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1954 as Club Deportivo Universidad, and they play ...

. For the season of 1981–82 they would dispute their ultimate ligulla getting to the quarterfinals versus

Club de Fútbol Atlante Atlante Fútbol Club, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Mexico City, that competes in Liga de Expansión MX, the second level division of Mexican football league system, Mexican football. Founded in 1916 as ...

, round they would lose 5–3 in aggregate. After 11 years as Atlético Español, the club owners unexpectedly sold the franchise, which was acquired by the Mexican television network

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

. On July 21, 1982, the name and colours reverted to that of

, hoping to revive the tradition the team had left in

Statistics

These are the statistics of Atlético Español in the

: In

Copa México Copa MX, also known as Copa Corona MX for sponsorship reasons, was an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic cup tournament for clubs at the highest and second levels of Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Copa ...

: *GP – Games Played *W – Win *D – Draw *L- Loss *GF – Goals in Favour *GC – Goles en Contra GA – Goals Against *Pts – Points *DIF – Goal Difference

Honours

National

International

International record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atletico Espanol Defunct football clubs in Mexico City Association football clubs established in 1971 Association football clubs disestablished in 1982 1971 establishments in Mexico 1982 disestablishments in Mexico CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning clubs