Dorados de Sinaloa

History

First promotion and relegation

Dorados was founded on August 8, 2003, in the Primera División 'A', the second tier of the Mexican football system. On December 20, they won their first title in the Apertura 2003 tournament, with Guadalupe Castañeda scoring the decisive goal against Cobras de Juárez in the final. In the following tournament, Dorados finished as runners-up.

On May 29, 2004, Dorados secured promotion to the Primera División after defeating León in the promotion play-off. Remarkably, the club achieved top-flight status just one year after its founding. In an effort to remain in the top division, Dorados made several high-profile signings, including Sebastián Abreu, Pep Guardiola and Jared Borgetti. However, after two years in the Primera División, Dorados was relegated following the Apertura 2006 tournament.

Dorados claimed the title in the Clausura 2007 tournament, which allowed them to participate in the promotion play-off, but ultimately fell to Puebla. In October 2012, Dorados emerged as the Copa Mx champion following their victory over Correcaminos in the final.

In May 2013, Grupo Caliente, known for its casino operations, acquired a majority ownership in the club.

Return to Primera División and Relegation

On May 23, 2015, Dorados once again secured promotion to Mexico's top flight after defeating Necaxa in the promotion play-off. However, just a year later, they were relegated after finishing at the bottom of the relegation table.

Dorados secured the Apertura 2016 title, earning a spot in the promotion play-off, but were ultimately defeated by Lobos BUAP.

In September 2018, Diego Maradona was appointed head coach of Dorados. He made his debut on 17 September with a 4–1 victory over Cafetaleros de Tapachula. Maradona guided Dorados to two consecutive finals, though they fell short in both, losing to Atlético San Luis. In June 2019, Maradona's lawyer announced that he would be stepping down from the role, citing health reasons.

Liga de Expansión

In the spring of 2020, Ascenso MX was restructured into Liga de Expansión MX, a competition designed to foster the development of young footballers. Following this change, Dorados began functioning as a reserve team for both Tijuana and Querétaro, as all three clubs are owned by the same group. Since then, Dorados has reached the league playoffs in only four of the eleven tournaments it has contested, largely because of the club’s new policy of prioritizing playing time for young players over the pursuit of titles.

In the fall of 2024, the team was relocated to Tijuana due to concerns about the public safety situation in Sinaloa.

Rivalry

When the Dorados de Sinaloa arrived at Primera División A in 2003, a rivalry was born. When the franchise was first created in 2003, Dorados became champions in their first tournament, becoming the first team to ever accomplish this feat in Primera A. In their second tournament, Dorados made it to the final once again, falling to Club León. Despite losing this final, Dorados and León played the promotion game to Primera División de México where Dorados were victorious. Dorados and Leon have played a total of four finals, with each team winning two.

Since the relegation of Dorados to the Ascenso MX, the two sides have not played in a league match.

Honours

Domestic

;Notes

• shared record

Personnel

Management

Coaching staff

Players

First-team squad

Notable players

• Argentina Carlos Casartelli
• Argentina César Gradito
• Argentina Diego Latorre
• Argentina Pablo Gabriel Torres
• Argentina Milton Caraglio
• Argentina Gaspar Servio
• Argentina Gabriel Hachen
• Brazil Flavio Rogerio
• Brazil Iarley
• Brazil Lucas Silva
• Chile David Henriquez
• Colombia Andrés Orozco
• Colombia Yimmi Chara
• Costa Rica Óscar Rojas
• Ecuador Jefferson Montero
• Ecuador Vinicio Angulo
• Ecuador Segundo Castillo
• Ecuador Walter Ayovi
• Mexico Miguel Becerra
• Mexico Everaldo Begines
• Mexico Jared Borgetti
• Mexico Omar Briceño
• Mexico Guadalupe Castañeda
• Mexico Jorge Iván Estrada
• Mexico Hugo García
• Mexico Carlos Alberto Hurtado
• Mexico Héctor López
• Mexico David Mendoza
• Mexico Aurelio Molina
• Mexico Luis Padilla
• Mexico Mario Padilla
• Mexico Christian Patiño
• Mexico Carlos Pinto
• Mexico Aldo Polo
• Mexico Sergio Quiróz
• Mexico Lorenzo Ramírez
• Mexico Jaime Ruiz
• Mexico Diego Mejia
• Mexico Alfredo Frausto
• Mexico Mario Osuna
• Mexico Javier Güemez
• Mexico Joel Sánchez
• Mexico Cirilo Saucedo
• Mexico Christian Valdéz
• Mexico Cuauhtémoc Blanco
• Mexico Fernando Arce
• Mexico Elio Castro
• Mexico Raúl Enríquez
• Mexico Moisés Velasco
• Panama Roberto Nurse
• Spain Pep Guardiola
• United States Joe Corona
• Uruguay Sebastián Abreu
• Uruguay Héctor Giménez
• Uruguay Nelson Maz
• Uruguay Jonathan Lacerda

Coaches

• Mexico Juan Carlos Chávez (2003–2004)
• Costa Rica Alexandre Guimarães (2004)
• Mexico José Luis Real (2004–2005)
• Mexico Carlos Bracamontes (2005)
• Spain Juanma Lillo (2005–2006)
• Mexico Jose Luis Saldivar (2006)
• Mexico Jacques Passy (2006)
• Uruguay Hugo Fernández (2006–2008)
• Argentina Jorge Almiron (2008–2009)
• Mexico Ricardo Rayas (2009–2011)
• Mexico Francisco Palacios (Interim) (2011)
• Uruguay Robert Dante Siboldi (2012)
• Mexico Francisco Ramirez (2012–2014)
• Mexico Diego Torres (2014)
• Mexico Eduardo Fentanes (Interim) (2014)
• Argentina Carlos Bustos (2015)
• Mexico Omar Briceño (Interim) (2015)
• Colombia Luis Fernando Suarez (2015–2016)
• Mexico José Guadalupe Cruz (2016)
• Mexico Gabriel Caballero (2016–2017)
• Mexico Diego Ramirez (2017–2018)
• Mexico Francisco Ramírez (2018)
• Argentina Diego Maradona (2018–2019)
• Mexico José Guadalupe Cruz (2019)
• Mexico David Patiño (2020)
• Mexico Rafael García (2021–2024)
• Uruguay Sebastián Abreu (2024–2025)
• Mexico Cirilo Saucedo (2025)

References

References

1. "Dorados de Sinaloa: Vinicio Angulo se olvida del Gran Pez y refuerza a club de Ecuador".
2. "Comunicado Oficial".
3. "Historia Dorados". Dorados de Sinaloa.
4. (27 May 2013). "Adquiere Hank Rhon a Dorados de Sinaloa". Proceso.
5. (14 June 2019). "Maradona out as Dorados manager, cites health". ESPN.
6. (26 June 2020). "Asamblea Ordinaria de Clubes del 26 de Junio del 2020".
7. (17 June 2025). "Por la violencia en Sinaloa, los Dorados seguirán jugando como locales en Tijuana".
8. "Dorados de Sinaloa".