This article needs references that appear in reliable third-party publications. Primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia article. Please add more appropriate citations from reliable sources. (February 2008)

Deportivo Toluca

Full name	Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club S.A. de C.V.
Nickname(s)	Los Choriceros; Los Escarlatas; Diablos Rojos (Red Devils)
Founded	February 12, 1917
Ground	Nemesio Díez Toluca, Mexico, Mexico (Capacity: 27,000)
Owner	Valentín Díez Morodo
Chairman	Fernando Corona
Manager	Jose Manuel de la Torre
League	La Primera División
Clausura 2009	Quarter-Finalists 2nd (league)
Home colours Away colours

Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club is a Mexican professional football club. Toluca's stadium Nemesio Diez Riega is located in Toluca, State of Mexico in Mexico. Toluca plays in the Primera División de México and has been champion nine times. The owner is Valentin Diez.

[edit] History

Oldest picture of club toluca in 1917

Brothers Román and Gerardo Ferrat alongside Filiberto Navas created the Deportivo Toluca Futbol Club. In 1950, the team joined the recently formed segunda division, advancing to Primera División de México in 1953.

The team won two consecutive championships in 1966 and 1967 under coach Ignacio Trelles. In 1975 Toluca won the championship one more time. Coached by Uruguayan Ricardo de León, Toluca played a style of game that was consistently criticized as ultra-defensive but won the championship by defeating Leon in the final-four mini-tournament 1-0, with the lone goal being scored by Ecuadorian Ítalo Estupiñan. This is the only time the Mexican Championship has been decided by a round-robin, two-legged, mini-tournament.

In 1997 Enrique "Ojitos" Meza became the coach of the team, after reaching the finals of the Mexican league with Toros Neza (now disappeared). Toluca resurged, its tactical scheme was very offensive, which was very characteristic of its coach. It was not atypical to see scores like 5-3. The offensive idea suited perfectly the Paraguayan Jose Saturnino Cardozo, who became the best scorer of the league in four occasions.

Toluca won the championship in 1998, the first one in twenty years. With Enrique Meza Enriquez as coach, Toluca won the championship three times in a period of three years.

In the Invierno 2001 tournament Ricardo Lavolpe became the coach of Toluca. He, along with Cardozo and Vicente Sanchez had one of the most successful and exciting teams in years. However, Lavolpe left Toluca with a few weeks left in the season, but without him, they still won their 7th title.

At the end of the Apertura 2005 tournament, the team became champions again, beating CF Monterrey by an aggregate of 6-3, after the questionable decisions of Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez "El Chiquidracula", who expelled three players from Monterrey on their first foul committed.

In Apertura 2006, they tied in the first leg (1-1) but suffered a loss in the Estadio Nemesio Diez (2-1) against C.D. Guadalajara.

In the Clausura 2007 tournament, Toluca had one of their worst seasons, finishing in last place. In the Copa Libertadores 2007, they made it to the round of 16, where they were subsequently eliminated by Cucuta Deportivo from Colombia. Following the elimination from both tournaments, Gallego resigned from his position stating the need for a year off as his reason for resigning from Club Toluca. Jose Pekerman, former coach of the Argentine national team, was appointed as head coach of Club Toluca on May 30, 2007. In the Apertura 2007, Toluca had a much better finish than the previous tournament, placing 2nd place out of 18 only behind league leader Santos Laguna. They were ultimately eliminated by league runner-up Pumas in the quarter-finals of the Apertura 2007 playoffs.

Club Toluca failed to qualify for the 2008 Copa Libertadores. On the Apertura 2008, Toluca had a weak start under their new coach, Jose Manuel "El Chepo" De La Torre, on one point going on a four game streak of only draws. On the last five games of the regular season, they reversed the tying streak, making 13 points out of a possible 15, ending the regular season in 2nd place overall with 27 points and thus advancing to the playoffs. Their goalkeeper Hernan Cristante set a record by not allowing any goals for 762 minutes.

[edit] Stadium

Nemesio Diez stadium during a match of Toluca.

Nicknamed La Bombonera, is one of the oldest football stadiums in Mexico. Opened on August 18, 1954, with a capacity of 27,000 seats, it is located in the city of Toluca, Mexico, near Mexico DF. Because of its location this stadium has hosted two World Cups (1970 and 1986). One former nuance about this stadium is that it did not have a lighting system which forced the local team, as a tradition to play with sunlight. However, this has changed with Toluca's entry into the Copa Sudamericana because CONMEBOL has a policy stating that all teams participating in the cup must have a lighting system available in their stadiums.

[edit] Squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Hernan Cristante 2 DF Diego Novaretti 3 DF Francisco Gamboa 4 DF Miguel Almazán 5 MF Martín Romagnoli 6 DF Manuel de la Torre 7 MF Néstor Calderón 9 FW Héctor Mancilla 10 MF Sinha (captain) 11 FW Carlos Esquivel 12 GK Alfredo Talavera (on loan from Guadalajara) 13 MF Moisés Velasco 14 DF Edgar Dueñas 15 MF Antonio Ríos 16 DF Carlos Alberto Galeana

No. Position Player 18 FW Isaác Brizuela 19 FW Raúl Nava 20 FW Alonso Granados 21 MF Diego de la Torre 23 DF Jonathan Arias 24 DF José Manuel Cruzalta 26 MF Ervín Alejandro Trejo 27 MF Vladimir Marín 30 GK Miguel Ángel Centeno 36 DF Alfonso Granados 39 DF José García 70 FW Manuel Zarate 87 MF Francisco González

[edit] Honours

• Primera División de México: (9) 1966-67, 1967-68, 1974-75, Verano 1998, Verano 1999, Verano 2000, Apertura 2002, Apertura 2005, Apertura 2008

• Segunda División de México: (1) 1952-53

• Copa México: (2) 1955-56, 1988-89

• Campeón de Campeones: (4) 1966-67, 1967-68, 2002-03, 2005-06

[edit] International

• CONCACAF Champions' Cup: (2) 1968, 2003

[edit] National Friendly

• Copa Orgullosamente Mexiquense: 1998

• Copa Chihuahua-El Heraldo: 2008

[edit] International Friendly

• III Torneo Pentagonal Internacional de la Ciudad de México: 1960

• Cuadrangular Internacional de Singapur: 1999

• Trofeo Hispanomexicano: 2003

• México-Sudáfrica: 2008 Sub-15

[edit] Club President's List

[edit] Notable players

[edit] Top Goalscorers in a Season

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Toluca MySpace
• Unofficial site