Club Deportivo Irapuato, is a professional football club based in Irapuato, Guanajuato. The club competes in Liga Premier (Primera Premier), the third level of Mexican football, and plays its home matches at Estadio Sergio León Chávez. Founded in 1911, it was the first football club founded in Guanajuato. Throughout its history the club was also named as Real Irapuato (2002–2004), Club Irapuato Por Siempre (2008–2013) and Club Atlético Irapuato (2019–2020).
Irapuato has mostly played in the promotion divisions (second and third levels). From 2000 to 2004, the team briefly rose to prominence in the Liga MX reaching the playoffs. Historically, Irapuato has spent over 26 years in the Primera División, never quite excelling to challenge for the title.
The team was relegated from the Primera División in 2004 but not because of their on-field performance, but because of financial irregularities. In 2013, the team then took a turn for the worse being relegated to Segunda División de México, the Third Division of Mexico for a year.
The team briefly returned to the Liga de Ascenso in May 2014 when the Ballenas Galeana franchise was relocated to Irapuato, and also changed its name to Club Irapuato, once again giving Irapuato a football team.
History
The club dates back to 1910 in the city of Irapuato, Guanajuato where a club was founded under the name Club Mutualista Irapuatense by Pedro Garnu and by Diego Mosqueda who was an important person in the sports development in the city, and would later go on to establish the club's rival Club León in the 1920s. In its first years many clubs were formed in order to create a futbol league in Guanajuato Deportivo Irapuato, Internacional, Club Marte, ISCO and León inaugurated the league in 1925.
The first tournament was won by Club Marte because the tournament was not finished due to problems between Irapuato and ISCO. In 1928 the club reached the final and played against Deportivo Internacional; the club's squad was made up by Kurt Lenk as keeper Antonio Aguilar and José Núñez playing defender Julián Ramírez, Francisco Belman and Salvador Silva in the mid field and Antonio "El Gato" Baltazar, Crisoforo Juárez, Secundino Alvarado, Teofilo and Juan Aguilera playing as forwards. The club came out with a 1–0 victory, winning its first league title. This club wore a white shirt with black shorts and socks.
The club that plays today under the name Club Deportivo Irapuato was founded in 1948 where it had trouble staying in the league. in the late 1940s there were various clubs that represented the city of Irapuato and it was until 1948 when they decided to merge in order to become more competitive and so they did and joined the Segunda División de México in 1949. The men in charge of the merge were Oscar Bonfiglio and Jesús Vaca Gaona both had participated in the 1928 Olympic games in Amsterdam. The club would once again change its name this time to Club Deportivo Irapuato A.C which many people believe to be the date when the club was established.
Promotion to Primera División
The club was one of the first clubs to inaugurate the Segunda División de México in the 1949–50 tournament where after 3 seasons the club won its first promotion. The club made its debut to the Primera División de México in the league on 22 August 1954 against Zacatepec who they beat 4–5. In the second round the club played at home in the Estadio Revolución stadium against Puebla who they also defeated 4–0. The club also revived its rivalry which had stopped in the late 1930s against León, that game ended in a 1–1 draw. The club's best tournament was the 1963–64 Mexican Primera División season where the club finished 4th place with 32 points; Guadalajara finished with 33 points.
Relegation In the 1971-72 season the club found itself playing in group 2 with clubs Monterrey, Guadalajara, Puebla, Atlante, Pachuca, Pumas, Toluca and Torreón. At the end of the tournament the club finished last and had to play a relegation series against the other last place teams. The series was played against Torreón, Atlético Español, and Veracruz. the first match was played against Veracruz who defeated them 3–1 the first leg, the second leg ended in a 0–0 draw. The last game was played against Torreón in the Estadio Jalisco where Irapuato lost 1–0 and were relegated for the first time in 18 years to the Segunda División de México.
Segunda División Back in the Segunda División the club became a top club reaching the final in its first year back against Petroleros de Ciudad Madero. The first game was played in Irapuato which they won 1–0. It seemed the club would clinch its promotion having the second match at home, but surprisingly Ciudad Madero came out with a 2–0 victory and so earning its promotion.
In the 1974–75 season, the club had its second opportunity when they once again reached the final this time playing against Tecos. The club would lose that final match 1–0. It took place in the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
The club would get a third opportunity to earn a promotion in 1978; this time against Zacatepec. This time a series was played. The first match ended in a 1–0 victory for Zacatepec. The second match ended in a 4–1 victory for Zacatepec and so the club would lose its third promotion series in 6 years.
Second promotion In the 1980s the club had a streak of qualifying to the quarterfinals but not been able to reach the final. After four years the club finally reached the final in the 1984-85 tournament under the management of Diego Malta Solano against Pachuca. The first match was played in Irapuato where they took a 2–1 advantage. in the return match Irapuato came out with a win and finally earn the promotion after 13 years. Notable players from that club were Anselmo Romero, Rafael Lira, Jesús Montes, Eugenio Constantino and Teodoro Orozco.
Second relegation In the 1990-91 season Irapuato got relegated to the Segunda División for the second time. In 1994, Irapuato joined the newly formed Primera División 'A' de México and got the opportunity to return to the Primera División.
1999–00 promotion In the Invierno 99 season, Irapuato faced Zacatepec in the Final, they beat them 3–1 in the first leg with goals from Cristián Ariel Morales, and Martín Rodríguez in the second leg things got complicated when Zacatepec tied the game, but Morales and Rodriguez scored and they took the championship with an overall score of 5–3.
In the Verano 2000 season, the champion Irapuato made it to the final, again this time facing Cruz Azul Hidalgo if Irapuato would win they would be promoted to the Primera División, the first leg was played in Hidalgo and the score was 2–2 Martín Rodríguez and Jesús Gutiérrez scored the two goals for Irapuato. The second leg and Promotional Final was played in The Sergio León Chávez on 10 June 2000. The final score was 2–2 Cristián Morales and Martín Rodríguez scored for Irapuato, Alejandro Corona and James Owusu-Ansah scored for Cruz Azul Hidalgo. In extra time no one scored so they went to penalties, Cruz Azul Hidalgo's Pedro Resendiz, Josef Nemec, scored the penalties but Erik Marín, and Mario Ramírez missed. However, Irapuato's Martín Rodríguez, Cristián Morales, Víctor Saavedra and Héctor Gómez scored the penalties the final score was 4–2 in penalties. Irapuato would return to the Primera División almost a decade after being relegated in 1991.
First disappearance Suddenly, on 26 December 2001, Grupo Pegaso announced that Irapuato was sold and moved to the city of Veracruz, Veracruz and renamed Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz for its spot in the Primera División after the original Veracruz franchise was sold and moved to Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas and renamed Jaguares de Chiapas, and therefore, the city Irapuato was left without a team for the Verano 2002 season. Also, in the Invierno 2002 season or Apertura 2002, it was announced that Querétaro, a Segunda División team was also sold and moved to Irapuato under the name Real Irapuato. In their first season, they made it to the final against La Piedad and eventually won the Apertura 2002 championship in penalties.
First reappearance For the Apertura 2002, Querétaro, a team from the Primera División 'A' de México was sold and transferred to Irapuato after La Piedad was dissolved in the Primera División and later sold and transferred to the city of Querétaro, Querétaro.
2002–03 promotion In the 2003, season Irapuato made it to the 2002-03 promotional final against Clausura 2003 champions and arch rivals León. The first leg was played on 18 June 2003 when Irapuato won the Clásico del Bajío and the first game in Leon's home 2–1 with a goal from Ariel González and an own goal from Gorsd, the second leg was played in Irapuato and in the last moments of the game Josias Ferreira scores a goal ending the game 1–0 and returning Irapuato to the Primera División.
Second disappearance After the Clausura 2004, Irapuato ended up with 6 wins, 8 ties and 5 losses with a total of 26 points. It was announced that the club was sold and relocated to the city of Colima, Colima, but the FMF reduced the league from 20 to 18 teams, and Irapuato was joined with Querétaro to dissolve both of those teams.
Second reappearance and third relegation Irapuato was the city without a soccer team for 1 year, but it was announced that Mérida F.C., a team from the Segunda División was transferred to Irapuato for the Apertura 2005. After the Clausura 2006, the team was playing for a survival to stay in the league, but they relegated to the Tercera División de México after losing in a playoff against Delfines de Coatzacoalcos.
Return to Liga de Ascenso Apertura 2008: Promoted from the Segunda División from Pachuca Juniors and renamed "Club Irapuato Por Siempre". They made it all the way to the final, but lost to Querétaro on the road after tied 0–0 at their home turf. Clausura 2009: Bad Torneo, with 20 points (17th overall and 4th in Group 2). Apertura 2009: Changed format to one full standings from 3 groups from the federation and reduced the teams to 17. Clinched Homefield and 1st round bye with a first-place finish of a total of 32 points. They made it all the way to the final for the second time in 3 Torneos, but lost to Necaxa in extra time at home after losses 1–0 on the road in the first leg. Bicentenario 2010: They maintain their roster, but finished 11th place with 20 points. Apertura 2010: Increased the teams to 18. They brought Cuauhtémoc Blanco to Irapauto for 1.5 seasons. They made it all the way to the final for the third time in 5 Torneos, but lost to Veracruz (the top seed in the playoffs) in full-time on the road after tied 1–1 at their home turf in the first leg with their 26 points and finished in the top 4.
Clausura 2011 Champions In the Clausura 2011 Season, Irapuato was crowned Champion by defeating Tijuana in the final with a score of 2–1. The First Leg was played in Tijuana, Baja California and it ended in a 1–1 draw goals were scored by Luis Alberto Valdez at 8' for Irapuato, and Alejandro Molina at 60' for Tijuana. The Second Leg was played in Irapuato and ended in a 1–0 win for Irapuato crowning them as Champions of the Clausura 2011, the goal was scored by José Cruz Gutiérrez in the 85' minute of the game.
Squad 1 Adrián Martínez 2 Margarito González 8 Jorge Manrique 10 Cuauhtémoc Blanco 11 Ariel González 13 Gandhi Vega 16 Arturo Alvarado 18 Esteban Alberto González 21 José Luis López 27 Gerardo Gomez 44 Juan Carlos Arellano Substitutes 6 Francisco Razo 7 Alejandro Castillo 45 José Cruz Gutiérrez 23 Javier Saavedra 28 Luis Alberto Valdés 29 José Guadalupe Martínez 58 Efraín Cruz 5 Ezequiel Brítez
2011 promotional final 1st leg After being crowned Champions of the Clausura 2011 season. Irapuato faced Tijuana the Apertura 2010 Champions again, for a spot in the Primera División.