Full name | Club Deportivo Chivas USA |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | The Goats, Los Rojiblancos (The Red-and-Whites) |
Founded | August 2004 |
Dissolved | October 2014 |
Stadium |
StubHub Center Carson, California |
Capacity | 27,000 (2005–11) 18,800 (2011–14) |
League | Major League Soccer |
Club Deportivo Chivas USA was an American professional soccer club that was located in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California while competing in Major League Soccer (MLS). It was originally a subsidiary of the Mexican club C.D. Guadalajara.
The club was the eleventh MLS team upon its entry into the league in 2004. Chivas USA was intended to be seen as a "little brother" to its parent club C.D. Guadalajara, one of the most widely supported and successful teams in Mexico. Chiva is Spanish for "goat", seen as a tough and resilient animal in Mexico, and is the nickname of C.D. Guadalajara.
Chivas USA played its home games at the StubHub Center in Carson, which it shared with its rival, the LA Galaxy. The club was originally owned by Antonio Cue and Jorge Vergara, who also owns C.D. Guadalajara. In 2014, MLS purchased the club from Vergara with plans to sell to new owners.
The club ceased operations after the 2014 regular season. A new expansion franchise in Los Angeles will begin play in 2018.
Founded on August 2, 2004, as Major League Soccer's then-eleventh team, Los Angeles-based Club Deportivo Chivas USA achieved some success in MLS. In 2007, the Mexican-owned club finished first in the Western Conference, qualifying for the playoffs for the second year in a row.
In 2005, Chivas USA kicked off its inaugural season in Major League Soccer at The Home Depot Center with a 2–0 loss to then MLS Cup Champions D.C. United on April 2, 2005, under the guidance of Chivas USA's first head coach Thomas Rongen. After a 1–8–1 start (their sole win coming against fellow expansion club Real Salt Lake), Thomas Rongen was named Chivas USA's sporting director and assistant coach Javier Ledesma became the club's interim head coach. On June 3, 2005, Hans Westerhof was named Chivas USA's second head coach. After a disappointing season, Westerhof did not return to coach the team in 2006.