Monterrey

Club de Football Monterrey was founded on 28 June 1945, near the end of World War II by a group of industrial businessmen headed by Ramón Cárdenas Coronado, Enrique Ayala Medina, Paul C. Probert, Rogelio Cantú Gómez and Miguel Margáín Zozaya.

The team's nickname was popularly accepted, after the team's uniform, which is traditionally white with navy blue vertical stripes. Although the original uniform was white with a diagonal blue upper shoulder, the stripes were inspired in 1965, when the Tampico Madero (nicknamed "Jaibas Bravas", or Brave crabs) football team wore them, and the Monterrey team adopted them. Since then, the home uniform consists of vertical blue and white striped jerseys with blue shorts.

In its first professional game, played on 19 August 1945 against San Sebastián de León, Monterrey won 1–0, with José "Che" Gómez scoring the winner. That joy quickly came to an end, first by losing 6–0 to Montezuma, and then having the club's travelling bus involved in a tragic accident in the San Juan de los Lagos roads that would take the lives of many of the club's players and had a big impact on the surviving players. The other Mexican clubs in solidarity loaned players to Monterrey in order to continue playing the tournament, but the club struggled nevertheless; they lost 21 games in a row and conceded 121 goals that year, finishing last in the league. Due to these events, the club decided to stop playing in the league in 1946 in honor of the players who died.

It was not until 1952 when the club resumed action thanks to Dr. Carlos Canseco, president of the Asociación de Fútbol de Nuevo León. The club enrolled in the second division and just 4 years later the club earned promotion to the top division. Once again the joy was short-lived, when the club finished last in their first year back and was relegated once again to the second division after finishing with a record of 4 wins, 7 draws and 13 losses for a total of 15 points, just 1 short of Zacatepec who earned their permanence in the category. The club would once again earn the promotion in the 1959–60 season, and haven't been relegated since then.

The club started off the 1960s in bad shape, barely avoiding relegation with only 2 more points than Club Celaya, who had 19 points, in the 1960–61 season.

In the 1961–62 season the club was again close to relegation, finishing second to last for the second year in a row just one point ahead of Zacatepec, who had 18 points and was relegated. In the following season the club finally managed to have a decent campaign in the first division, finishing 5th in the league.

In the 1963–64 season the club improved their performance and would finish 3rd in the league just 5 points behind champions Guadalajara who had 37 points. In the following two seasons the club would finish third and fourth respectively, narrowly missing out on clinching titles by only a few points. The 1966–67 season was mediocre, as the club finished tied for 8th in the league with Irapuato on 30 points each. This season is also remembered for Jabatos de Nuevo León's promotion to the first division, which meant 2 clubs from Monterrey would be participating in the first division for the first time. However, the following season was even worse, with the club finishing 14th, only four points from relegation.

In 1970 the tournament was split into 2 short tournaments, due to the 1970 World Cup that was taking part in Mexico. In the first stage, the club was placed in group 1 where they managed to finish 2nd with 17 points, one less than group leader Toluca. In the second stage the club finished 7th of eight teams. The following year Monterrey finished runner up to Club América who went on to win the league title that year against Toluca.

In the 1971–72 tournament the club qualified for the play-offs which had been introduced a few years back. The club would lose in quarterfinals to Club América 2–1 on aggregate. The following year the club missed out on the playoffs, finishing tied for 5th with Veracruz and Guadalajara each with 32 points. The following season the club managed to qualify for the quarterfinals where they once again were eliminated, this time by Atlético Español 5–6 on aggregate.

Monterrey played its first match in international tournaments on 5 July 1975 in the 1975 CONCACAF Champions' Cup when they defeated Canadian club Serbian White Eagles FC by a score of 2–0.

In the 1975–76 tournament the club finished in first place with a total of 44 points by means of 16 wins, 12 draws and 10 losses. In quarterfinals the club played Cruz Azul and won 7–2 on aggregate. In the semifinals the club played against Guadalajara who eliminated them, 2–3 on aggregate. During 1975, the Portuguese superstar Eusébio played for the club.

In the 1976–77 and 1977–78 seasons, the club failed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing 4th both times. In the 1978–79 tournament the club once again qualified to the playoffs finishing 1st in group one with a total of 40 points by means of 14 wins 12 draws and 12 losses. This time a short tournament was played by the best 8 teams in the league who were then split into 2 groups. Monterrey was placed in group 2 along with Pumas, Tigres and Zacatepec. After 6 rounds of play the club finished in 3rd place with 6 points, just 2 points behind Pumas who went on to lose against Cruz Azul, the winners of the other group.

In the following season the club finished 3rd in group 1 with 34 points but failed to qualify for the playoffs again. The decade came to an end with "Rayados" having shown great effort, as they qualified a couple times for the playoffs, but failed to win their first league title.

In the year 1989, the anthem of Rayados was created by composer Luis Aguilé. It is considered by Monterrey's fans as one of the symbols of identity of the team.

At the beginning of the decade, Monterrey signed two notable players, Carlos Hermosillo and Manuel Negrete, for the 1990–91 season. The next season, they won their first Copa MX after defeating Juarez 4–2 in the Estadio Tecnológico and then went on to reach the league final of the 1992–93 season, losing to Atlante.

While the early years of the decade seemed promising for Monterrey, the latter half of the decade would prove to be a disappointing one, as financial problems started to become a problem for the club. During this period, the club sold many players who would go on to have successful careers with other teams like Ramón Morales and Sinha. Young talent Jesus Arellano was sold to Guadalajara in 1997, though he returned to the club in 2000 and spent the next eleven years as captain before retiring in 2011.

One of the most memorable moments of this decade was the so-called "Clasico del Descenso" in the 1995–96 season. On 24 March 1996, Monterrey defeated their arch-rivals Tigres 2–1 at Estadio Universitario. Tigres were facing a relegation battle after years of poor results, and needed a victory to avoid being relegated; the defeat meant that Tigres would be relegated for the first and so far only time in their history to the Segunda División.

In 1999, Monterrey was facing a fierce relegation battle of its own against Puebla, culminating on May 9, 1999, when the teams faced each other at the Estadio Tecnológico to decide which team would get relegated. Monterrey only needed a draw to stay in the Primera División, and with a memorable performance from Francisco Javier "El Abuelo" Cruz who had played a vital role in Monterrey's first title win thirteen years before, Monterrey managed to draw 1–1 and stay in Mexico's top flight.

In 2002, Monterrey hired Argentinian coach Daniel Passarella and started to form a strong and competitive side featuring the likes of Guillermo Franco, Walter Erviti, Jesus Arellano and Luis Perez. In the Clausura 2003 tournament, they won their first official title. In the semi-finals, they faced their arch-rivals Tigres for the first time ever in a Liguilla. In the first leg, they won 4–1 at the Estadio Universitario, and despite losing 2–1 at their home ground in the second leg, they managed to advance to the finals with an aggregate victory of 5–3. On June 14, 2003, they defeated Monarcas Morelia 3–1 on aggregate to claim their second league title after 17 years.

Pasarella left in 2004, and afterwards, Monterrey hired Miguel Herrera to be their head coach. He led them to the finals of the Apertura 2004, but the club lost against Pumas. He would lead them to the finals again in the Apertura 2005 tournament, this time losing to Toluca by an aggregate of 6–3. After the loss, Guillermo Franco left the club to play for Spanish club Villarreal. Herrera would remain their head coach until 2007, when he was fired after a poor string of results in the Apertura 2007. For the Clausura 2008, Monterrey hired Ricardo La Volpe to be their head coach, and they managed to reach the semi-finals. This team featured new players such as Humberto Suazo and newly acquired league veteran striker Jared Borgetti. However, the next tournament was a poor one for Rayados, as they finished in 14th place.

In 2009, Monterrey hired coach Víctor Manuel Vucetich and formed a team that would become one of the strongest in the league, with an attack led by Humberto Suazo and new acquisition Aldo de Nigris, a midfield featuring veteran players Luis Ernesto Perez and Jesus Arellano along with Walter Ayovi and a defence led by Jose Maria Basanta, Duilio Davino and goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco. They won their third league title, the Apertura 2009 tournament, with an aggregate 6–4 victory against Cruz Azul in the finals. The first leg was played at the Estadio Tecnológico, where Monterrey overcame a 3–1 deficit to win the game 4–3. The second leg was played at the Estadio Azul, with Monterrey winning 2–1. Thus, after a six-year wait Monterrey lifted their third league title.

In the next tournament, Humberto Suazo left to play for Spanish club Real Zaragoza, but nonetheless, Monterrey managed to finish on top of the table for the first time in their history. However, they would be eliminated in the quarter-finals by Pachuca. Suazo returned to Rayados for the Apertura 2010 tournament, and they managed to win their fourth league title when they defeated Santos Laguna in the finals. Although they lost 3–2 in the first leg, they were able to make a comeback and win 3–0 in the second leg at the Estadio Tecnológico, with Humberto Suazo and Jose Basanta scoring two and one goals, respectively. With an aggregate score of 5–3, Monterrey claimed their fourth title.

Monterrey secured a place in the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League and won the tournament for the first time in their history. They faced Real Salt Lake in the Finals and won 3–2 on aggregate to claim their first CONCACAF Champions League title and the third title in the Vucetich Era.

The following year, they reached the finals of the Clausura 2012 league tournament and the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League. Both finals were against the same opponent, Santos Laguna. Rayados were seeking to win their fifth league title and their second Champions League title. They lost the Clausura 2012 finals against Santos, but won the finals of the Champions League against them to claim their second consecutive CONCACAF title.

Monterrey reached the finals of the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League for the third consecutive time, and faced Santos Laguna in a repeat of the previous year's final. The first leg finished in a 0–0 draw. In the second leg, Santos built a 2–0 lead with goals from Darwin Quintero and former Rayados player Felipe Baloy. However, Monterrey managed to make a dramatic comeback and scored four goals within 30 minutes, starting with a brace from Aldo de Nigris and a goal each from Humberto Suazo and Neri Cardozo, which gave Monterrey their third consecutive CONCACAF Champions League title and the fifth overall title in the Vucetich Era. This solidified them as the best Mexican soccer team of all time. Although they enjoyed tremendous success in the CONCACAF Champions League, they did not return to the following tournament as they could not reach any league finals during the 2012–13 Liga MX season and thus could not get a chance to try to become the first team to win the tournament four times in a row.

Monterrey started the 2013–14 season with a lot of changes. Aldo de Nigris left the club to join Chivas, and Walter Ayovi joined Pachuca. By now, players like Jesus Arellano and Duilio Davino had retired, and long-time club players like Luis Ernesto Perez had left the club. With the arrival of new players like Dorlan Pabon and Leobardo Lopez, Monterrey was ready for the Apertura 2013 tournament. However, a string of poor results and the shock early departure of Pabon would prove to be a threat as Monterrey started the tournament poorly. On August 25, 2013, Rayados announced that Vucetich had stepped down as coach, and thus the Vucetich Era, which earned the club a total of five titles in four years, came to an end.

Rayados hired José Guadalupe Cruz to become the new manager of the team, and although they managed to reach the semi-finals of the domestic cup, the Copa MX, they failed to qualify to the playoffs of the Apertura 2013 tournament. After a bad start to the Clausura 2014, they fired Cruz on February 18, 2014, after only 17 league games coached.

Monterrey replaced Cruz with Carlos Barra, who had worked as an assistant coach for Vucetich. Although they failed to reach the playoffs for the second consecutive tournament, the team kept Barra for the 2014–15 season. Colombian striker Dorlan Pabon re-joined the team, and with new signings such as Stefan Medina and Pablo Barrera, Monterrey started the Apertura 2014 tournament with high expectations. They managed to secure 6th place and returned to the playoffs for the first time since Vucetich had managed the club. The club had a strike partnership of Dorlan Pabon and Humberto Suazo, with Pabon scoring 11 goals. The club reached the semi-finals but lost 3–0 on aggregate against the eventual champions Club América in what would prove to be Suazo's last games with the club before returning to Colo-Colo. Suazo had scored over 102 league goals in a seven-year span and became the all-time top scorer for the club at the time.

The team started the Clausura 2015 tournament in poor form, losing four of their first six games, and on February 15, the team fired Barra and replaced him with two-time Liga MX champion Antonio Mohamed, who had led Club América to the league championship the previous tournament. Mohamed had played for Rayados during his years as a player. He was part of the squad that managed to avoid relegation in 1999. Monterrey did not qualify to the playoffs under Mohamed, but the club were keen on keeping him for the 2015–16 season. That season would prove to be a special one as the team were moving to a new home ground, the Estadio BBVA Bancomer. In the summer, Rayados made new signings, including midfielder Walter Gargano, striker Rogelio Funes Mori and re-signed Jose Maria Basanta, who had left for Italian side Florentina after the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Former club veterans Aldo de Nigris and Luis Ernesto Pérez also returned to the club, along with the promotion to the first team of promising young center back Cesar Montes. Rayados had a formidable attacking trio of Dorlan Pabon, Rogelio Funes Mori and Edwin Cardona, who had signed with Monterrey during the winter of 2015. They narrowly missed the playoffs of the Apertura 2015 tournament, but their offense was lauded by many as one of the best in the league.

After failing to qualify for the playoffs in 2015, the club loaned several players to other clubs in the league. Players such as Stefan Medina and Severo Meza were loaned to Pachuca and Sinaloa, respectively. In the winter of 2016, the team acquired club veteran Walter Ayovi who had left the club in 2013 and River Plate midfielder Carlos Sánchez who had won the Copa Libertadores a few months prior. The team began the Clausura 2016 tournament in great form by winning their first three games. They went on to have their best regular season in years by finishing on top of the league with 37 points, seven points ahead of second place Pachuca. The team's success was primarily due to their attacking trio composed of Pabon, Funes Mori and Cardona, with midfielder Carlos Sanchez providing several goals and assists.

The team entered the playoffs as favourites to win the title. In the quarterfinals, they faced their arch-rivals and defending league champions Tigres UANL, the first leg was played at the Estadio Universitario where Monterrey won 3–1. The away leg was played at the BBVA Bancomer, where Tigres won 2–1 despite several penalties that were controversially awarded to Monterrey. Monterrey advanced to the semi-finals with a 4–3 aggregate victory and extended their record of never being eliminated by Tigres in the playoffs. In the semi-finals, they faced América, losing the first leg at the Estadio Azteca 1–0. In the second leg, they faced them at home and pulled off a dramatic 4–2 victory, in what was described by some pundits as one of the best games in the history of the playoffs. They advanced to the league finals where they would face Pachuca. Controversy arose when it was confirmed that Carlos Sanchez would not be able to play the finals as the Uruguay national team had called him up for the upcoming Copa América Centenario. In the league finals against Pachuca, Monterrey lost the first leg 1–0 at the Estadio Hidalgo, with the sole goal coming from striker Franco Jara. The second leg took place at the Estadio BBVA Bancomer in what was its first ever final since it was inaugurated the year before. On May 29, in front of 53,000 spectators, the final was played. Monterrey opened the scoring in the 39th minute with a shot from Dorlan Pabon to level the aggregate 1–1. Veteran goalkeeper Óscar Pérez had several key saves for Pachuca, and in the closing minutes of the game, a header from Victor Guzman in the 93rd minute gave the title to Pachuca in what was described by the Mexican media as a heart-breaking defeat for Monterrey.

The following tournament ended in disappointment as the team narrowly failed to qualify to the playoffs of the Apertura 2016. However, it also saw the return of Rayados to the CONCACAF Champions League after a three-year absence, having won the tournament three times in a row under Vucetich. The team had high hopes to redeem itself after their league title loss; however, the team was shockingly eliminated in the group stage after finishing second in their group behind Panamanian club Arabe Unido.

In the Apertura 2017 season, Monterrey finished the regular season in first place with 37 points and advanced to playoffs. In quarterfinals, Monterrey beat Atlas 2–1 in the first leg and 4–1 in the second, a 6–2 aggregate. Monterrey faced Morelia in semifinals, winning 1–0 in the away leg and 4–0 in the home leg, a 5–0 aggregate. Monterrey advanced to the final against arch rival Tigres, In the first leg, the teams tied 1–1 at the Estadio Universitario. In the second leg at the Estadio BBVA Bancomer, Tigres beat Monterrey 2–1 with goals from Eduardo Vargas and Francisco Meza. In May 2018, Mohamed resigned from his position shortly after being eliminated from the Clausura 2018 playoffs by Club Tijuana. He left the club having won two titles and breaking the club record amount of points for short seasons, but was criticized for various playoff failures.

After announcing the appointment of Diego Alonso in July 2018, the club would have a great run in the Copa MX. Despite beating Querétaro 1–0 in the quarter-finals and Pachuca on penalties in the semi-finals, the club would fall short, losing 2–0 to Cruz Azul in Copa MX Apertura final. Monterrey would finish third in the Liga MX Clausura and fifth in the Liga MX Apertura, giving them a playoff spot in both competitions. They would advance to the semifinals in the Clausura playoffs, beating Necaxa but losing to Tigres on a league position decider after a 1–1 draw. In the Apertura playoffs they would have to face the same faith, going on to the semi-finals of the competition, beating Santos Laguna 3–0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals until facing Cruz Azul and falling short on a league position decider after a 1–1 draw. In the CONCACAF Champions League, they would go on to win the continental tournament after convincingly beating Sporting Kansas City 10–2 on aggregate in the semi-final and finally beating rivals Tigres in the CONCACAF Champions League final. This championship was significant to the city, and seen as a kind of revenge for the domestic final lost to Tigres, and is known in the city as "the star that shines the most".

In the Apertura 2019 season, Diego Alonso would be dismissed from his post having more defeats than victories in the Apertura.

On 14 October, Antonio Mohamed was reappointed as the manager of Monterrey. The club would find themselves in a good run in the Club World Cup, advancing to the semi-finals after beating Al Sadd 3–2, but were eventually eliminated by losing to Liverpool after a stoppage time winner from Roberto Firmino. The club would beat Al Hilal on penalties, earning a third place medal in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup. That same month, despite the club finishing 8th on the Apertura general table, they would go on to reach the championship finals against América and defeat them in penalties, winning 4–2 and securing their 5th championship league trophy.