C.F. Pachuca (women)

Pachuca Femenil
Full nameClub de Fútbol Pachuca Femenil
Nickname(s)Las Tuzas (The Gophers)[1]
Las Diosas del Viento (The Goddesses of The Wind)
FoundedDecember 5, 2016 (2016-12-05)
GroundEstadio Hidalgo,
Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico
Capacity30,000[2]
OwnerGrupo Pachuca
ChairmanArmando Martínez Patiño
ManagerOscar Fernando Torres
LeagueLiga MX Femenil
Clausura 20252nd (champions)
Websitehttps://tuzos.com.mx/webtuzos/2022/

Club de Fútbol Pachuca Femenil, commonly known as Pachuca Femenil or simply Pachuca, is a Mexican professional women's football club based in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico. The team competes in the Liga MX Femenil and has been the women's section of C.F. Pachuca since 2016.[3] Estadio Hidalgo serves as the venue for the team home matches.

Pachuca Femenil is one of the most competitive teams in Liga MX Femenil, having reached the league final in four occasions, and winning one of them.[4] Pachuca was also the first women's football team in Mexico to win an official tournament when they won the now defunct Copa MX Femenil in 2017.[5]

History

Founding and first title

Club de Fútbol Pachuca Femenil was founded on 5 December 2016, the same day that Liga MX Femenil was announced to the public. Eva Espejo was appointed by the club as the first manager of the team in history in early 2017.[6]

Prior to the inaugural season of the Liga MX Femenil in the second half of 2017, Pachuca and 11 other teams participated in a preparation tournament organized by the Mexican Football Federation called the Copa MX Femenil.[7] during this competition, Pachuca went undefeated and emerged as the champions by defeating Tijuana in the final with a 9–1 score. By winning this tournament, Pachuca became the first women's football team in Mexico to win an official tournament.[8]

First league tournament

Pachuca inaugurated Liga MX Femenil by playing the league's first match in history on 28 July 2017 against Pumas at Estadio Hidalgo as part of the Apertura 2017 tournament. The match ended in a 3–0 victory in favor of Pachuca.[9]

Pachuca would end up having a successful Apertura 2017 tournament by finishing the regular phase of the tournament in the 5th place in the general standings, classifying to the liguilla semi-finals. In the semi-finals, Pachuca defeated favorites Tigres with a 4–3 aggregate score to reach the final against Chivas. Pachuca ultimately lost the final to Chivas with a 2–3 aggregate score.[10]

2020 to 2023

After more than three years at the helm, Eva Espejo decided to step down as manager to take the position of sporting director of the club in late 2020. During her tenure as manager, Espejo led Pachuca to its first title and league final.[11] As sporting director, Espejo appointed Spanish manager Toña Is as her successor.[12]

In April 2022, Juan Carlos Cacho was appointed as manager of the team near the end of the regular phase of the Clausura 2022 tournament after the previous manager, Octavio Valdez, was dismissed by the club due to indiscipline.[13][14] Cachos's appointment as manager was the fourth time the club had appointed a manager since Eva Espejo step down as manager in December 2020. Under Cacho, the team had rough patch in the final games of the regular phase of the Clausura 2022, but it was able to recover to have a successful run to the final in the liguilla phase, eliminating favorites América and Monterrey in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.[15][16] Pachuca once again lost the final against Chivas with a 4–3 aggregate score.[17]

Ahead of the Apertura 2022 tournament, Pachuca made the surprising signing of Spanish international player, Jenni Hermoso, who was previously at Barcelona.[18] Hermoso signing with Pachuca was considered by commentators to be a sign of the grow of Liga MX Femenil and women's football in Mexico in a relatively short period of time, as foreign players were allow to play in the league for the first time a year prior to Hermoso's arrival to Pachuca.[19]

With Hermoso and Charlyn Corral, Pachuca returned to a league final once more during the Clausura 2023 tournament. During this tournament, Pachuca broke the league's record of goals scored during the regular season of a tournament by scoring 53 goals, with 38 of the 53 goals being scored by Hermoso (18) and Corral (20).[20] Pachuca finished the regular phase of the tournament in the 5th place, three points away from the top of the table. In the liguilla, Pachuca beat Chivas and Monterrey in the quarter-finals and semi-finals to play the final against Club América. Pachuca once again ended up falling short in the final, losing to América by a 4–2 aggregate score.[4]

Grounds

Estadio Hidalgo serves as the home venus of Pachuca Femenil. The first match played by Pachuca at this stadium was the Liga MX Femenil inaugural match against Pumas during the Apertura 2017 tournament.[9]

Additionally, Pachuca Femenil also has an exclusive training facility, which is located within the larger C.F. Pachuca training complex. This facility, named the Malena Patiño Pavilion in honor of the mother of Grupo Pachuca's president, Jesús Martínez, was inaugurated in 2018 and it was the first training facility in Mexico built exclusively for a women's football team.[21]

Personnel

Club administration

Position Staff
Chairman Armando Martinez Patino
Sporting director Alan Calleja

Coaching staff

Position Staff
Manager Oscar Fernando Torres
Assistant manager Sergio Santana
Fitness coach Gastón Gualandra
Team doctor Adriana Vivanco
Team doctor assistant Fabiola Santander

Managerial history

Name Years
Eva Espejo 2017–2020
Toña Is 2021
Jaime Correa 2021
Octavio Valdez 2022
Juan Carlos Cacho 2022–2023
Oscar Fernando Torres 2024–

Players

Current squad

As of 5 March 2025[22]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  MEX Esthefanny Barreras
2 DF  MEX Kenti Robles
3 DF  NGA Osinachi Ohale
4 DF  MEX Fernanda Canseco
5 MF  USA Vanessa Millsaps
6 MF  MEX Karla Nieto
8 DF  COL Yirleidys Minota
9 FW  MEX Charlyn Corral
10 FW  MEX Myra Delgadillo
11 MF  MEX Mónica Ocampo (captain)
13 DF  MEX Alexandra Godínez
15 DF  MEX Mariana Cadena
17 FW  USA Ayo Oke
19 DF  ESP Andrea Pereira
20 FW  MEX Fabiola Ibarra
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF  ARG Nina Nicosia
22 GK  MEX Carmen López
23 DF  USA Daniela Flores
25 MF  MEX Nayeli Díaz
27 MF  MEX Ella Sanchez
28 MF  MEX Julia Valadez
30 FW  NGA Chinwendu Ihezuo
33 DF  MEX Selene Valera
34 MF  MEX Mara Terrazas
35 DF  USA Rebekah Valdez
GK  MEX Stefani Jiménez
DF  MEX Jocelyn Orejel
MF  MEX Natalia Mauleón
FW  MEX Paola García

Honours

National competitions

  • Copa MX Femenil

References

  1. ^ http://tuzos.com.mx/t1516/jornada-2-en-el-torneo-de-copa-de-la-ligamx-femenil-tuzas-6-2-morelia/
  2. ^ "Estadio Hidalgo, el huracán que se lleva todo a su paso". Medio Tiempo (in Spanish). 18 July 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  3. ^ "México tendrá Liga MX femenil a partir de 2017". El Financiero (in Spanish). 2016-12-06. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  4. ^ a b Guzmán, Marcel (2023-06-05). "Maldición Tuza: El Pachuca pierde su tercera final en la Liga MX Femenil". ClaroSports (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  5. ^ g.carrillo (2017-05-06). "Pachuca, primer Campeón del futbol Femenil". Record.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  6. ^ "¿Quién es Eva Espejo, la primera entrenadora en ganar el título de Liga MX Femenil?". ESPNdeportes.com (in Spanish). 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  7. ^ "Realizarán sorteo para Copa MX Femenil". ESPNdeportes.com (in Spanish). 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  8. ^ g.carrillo (2017-05-06). "Pachuca, primer Campeón del futbol Femenil". Record.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  9. ^ a b Giraudi, Matias (2020-07-28). "Fiesta pa' ellas". www.oncediario.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  10. ^ "Chivas, primer campeón de la Liga MX Femenil". ESPNdeportes.com (in Spanish). 2017-11-25. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  11. ^ "Relación entre Pachuca y Eva Espejo llega a su fin; será DT de Rayadas" (in Mexican Spanish). 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  12. ^ Collazo, Jonathan (2020-12-15). "Entrenadora campeona del Mundo ve a Liga MX Femenil al nivel de España". Mediotiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  13. ^ "Sorpresa en la Liga MX Femenil: Pachuca destituye a Octavio Valdez". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  14. ^ Torres, Mauricio (2022-04-11). "Juan Carlos Cacho es nuevo entrenador de Tuzas". Diario AS (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  15. ^ Univision. "Con golazo de Charlyn Corral, Pachuca vence y elimina al América en la Liga MX Femenil". TUDN (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  16. ^ "Así se jugará la Gran Final de la Liga BBVA MX Femenil". Azteca Deportes (in Spanish). 2022-05-17. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  17. ^ OnceDiario. "Final Félix". www.oncediario.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  18. ^ "Oficial: Jennifer Hermoso es fichada por el Pachuca Femenil". ESPNdeportes.com (in Spanish). 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  19. ^ Rupinski, Eugene (2022-06-21). "Jenni Hermoso signs with Pachuca". FMF State Of Mind. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  20. ^ OnceDiario. "Tarde histórica". www.oncediario.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  21. ^ ESTO (2018-06-01). "Inauguran en Pachuca en Pabellón Malena Patiño". ESTO (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  22. ^ "LIGA MX Femenil – Página Oficial de la Liga Mexicana del Fútbol Profesional". www.ligafemenil.mx.