Mérida F.C.

This article is about the Mexican football club. For the Venezuelan club, see Estudiantes de Mérida.

CF Mérida.

Full name	Mérida Fútbol Club
Nickname(s)	Venados (the Bucks), Ciervos (Deers), Astados (Horned)
Founded	2003
Ground	Estadio Carlos Iturralde, Mérida, Yucatán, México (Capacity: 21,050)
President	Arturo Millet Reyes
Manager	Ricardo Valiño
League	Liga de Ascenso
Apertura 2010	17th
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Club de Fútbol Mérida is a Mexican football club based in Mérida, Yucatán. As of the 2010/11 season they are playing in the Liga de Ascenso, at the second tier of the Mexican football league system. For the Clausura 2011 season they became the filial team of Atlante, whilst until that point they had been the subsidiary team of Monarcas Morelia.^[1]

History

Origins and first Merida franchise

Mérida F.C. was founded in 2003 by the brothers Arturo and Mauricio Millet Reyes, who obtained the franchise of Nacional de Tijuana.^[2] The brothers wanted to maintain a Primera División A presence in Mérida after Atlético Yucatán became defunct at the end of the 2002/03 season. The first short tournament the Venados (The Bucks) participated in was Apertura 2003. The club had its best showing when it reached the semifinals of the Clausura 2004 tournament, eventually losing to Sinaloa 3-1 on aggregate.

Loss of franchise in 2005 and continuation at lower levels

After the Clausura 2005 tournament, the Millet brothers announced that they would be selling the team to Irapuato FC due to economic problems, citing lackluster attendance and poor support from the local government. Nevertheless, the brothers formed a team that participated in an amateur league in Yucatán and also opened a training facility in Argentina to scout local talent. Mérida F.C. returned to the professional ranks when they participated in the Tercera División in 2006/07. During 2007, the brothers oversaw the construction of a training facility located at the Unidad Deportiva Tamanché. By the 2007/08 season Merida was participating in the Segunda División.^[2]

Return of second level franchise with Morelia

On June 16, 2008, Arturo Millet Reyes announced that he had acquired the filial team of Morelia.^[3] Millet Reyes has stated that his intention is to maintain the team in Mérida for an extended period of time, unlike in previous years. He also received a guarantee that if the Venados were to be promoted to the Primera División that the team would remain in Mérida.^[4]

On November 11, 2008, the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación (FMF) granted the club the certification required to be promoted to the Primera División.^[5]

In the Clausura 2009 season Merida defeated Club Tijuana 1–0 on aggregate to win the Clausura title. Merida lost the subsequent promotion play-off for the Primera Division de Mexico, after a defeat by Querétaro FC on penalties.

Sale of franchise to Atlante

On 4 December 2010 the brothers Arturo and Mauricio Millet Reyes announced that Mérida F.C. would no longer form part of the Liga de Ascenso and that Monarcas Morelia would decide if a team would stay in the city, but that talks were also underway with Atlante F.C. regarding the creation of a link with them.^[6]

The Merida franchise was subsequently sold to Atlante and they became that team's filial team for the Clausura 2011, whilst the original Atlante filial team (Atlante UTN) swapped franchises to become the subsidiary team for Morelia.^[1]

Stadium

The home stadium for Mérida F.C. is the Estadio Carlos Iturralde, which seats 21,050 people and was founded in June 1987. Due to the stadium undergoing renovation, the Venados played their first five home games at the Unidad Deportiva Tamanché, which only seats around 2,500 people. Plans are in place to build a new stadium in Ucú, a suburb town eight kilometers west of Mérida. The new stadium, whose construction is scheduled to begin in January 2009 and completed by 2011, will seat 28,500 fans.^[7]

Crest

The clubs first crest consisted of the original colors Black, White and blue which the club used from 2003 till 2011.That same year the club was sold to the Azcárraga family and a new crest was brought in.The new crest has the city's name as well as a start which represents the Clausura 2009 Primera A championship.

• 

  First Badge 2003-2011

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Antonio Pérez 20 DF Andrés Carevic 33 GK Román Fuente 34 MF Fernando Herrera Espinoza 40 GK Nicolás Hidalgo 41 FW Íñigo Rey Ortega 42 DF Daniel Rangel 43 DF José Daniel García 44 DF Fabián Centurión 48 DF Erick Ponce (on loan from Club Universidad de Guadalajara) 49 DF Tomás Charles 50 MF Rafael Navarrete

No. Position Player 51 GK José Álamo 52 FW Édson Jaramillo 53 FW Kevin Zapata 54 DF Gerardo Castillo 55 MF Rodrigo Ampudia 56 DF José Guadalupe Zavala 57 MF Pedro Zamora 58 FW Ever Guzmán (on loan from Monarcas Morelia) 59 MF Víctor Aguado 60 FW Diego Jiménez 64 FW Marco Gómez 69 GK Alfredo Frausto

• Last updated: October 29, 2011

Club Honors

• Primera División A: 1

Clausura 2009

• Segunda División: 1

Apertura 2008

References

1. ^ ^{a b} 2010/11 Liga de Ascenso (Clausura 2011) results, table and explanation of team changes at RSSSF
2. ^ ^{a b} Mario Peniche Gorocica (15 February 2008). "EL MÉRIDA FC, UNA ORGANIZACIÓN" (in Spanish). Historia de los Venados del Mérida F.C.. Mape Sports. http://mapesports.blogspot.com/2008/02/historia-de-los-venados-del-mrida-fc.html. Retrieved 12 February 2011. 
3. ^ "Retornan los Venados" (in Spanish). Diario de Yucatán. 2008-06-17. http://www.yucatan.com.mx/noticia.asp?cx=10$0405000000$3844202. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "Los Venados regresan para quedarse, dice Arturo Millet Reyes" (in Spanish). Diario de Yucatán. 2008-06-17. http://www.yucatan.com.mx/noticia.asp?cx=10$0405000000$3844387. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ "Certifican a los Venados" (in Spanish). Diario de Yucatán. 2008-11-11. http://www.yucatan.com.mx/noticia.asp?cx=10$0405060000$3953467. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ Herbert O. Martínez Fuente (4 December 2010). "El Mérida FC no sigue en la Liga de Ascenso" (in Spanish). Yucatan.com.mx. http://www.yucatan.com.mx/20101204/nota-4/44121-el-merida-fc-no-sigue-en-la-liga-de-ascenso-.htm. Retrieved 13 February 2011. 
7. ^ "Estadio de “primer nivel”" (in Spanish). Diario de Yucatán. 2008-06-18. http://www.yucatan.com.mx/noticia.asp?cx=10$0405000000$3844976. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Official Site (Spanish)