Atlético Celaya

The Club Atlético Celaya was a Mexican football club from Celaya, Guanajuato. The club was formed in 1994 when the two second-division clubs Atletico Cuernavaca (Morelos) and Escuadra Celeste de Celaya (Guanajuato) merged. Another team, Atlético Español, was also merged at a later date.

History

All merging clubs have brought a piece of their old identity into the new formed club: from Atlético Cuernavaca were taken the name to the new club (although its name is also identical with former Atlético Español), from Celeste de Celaya were taken their light blue colors and from Atlético Español the mascot, the bull, which has also given the new team their nickname toros (bulls).

Atlético Celaya has taken the second-division position of their predecessors and has immediately reached the top-level. The first year in Primera División was also their most successful season ever. First, they could win their group and in the play-offs they could make their way up to the finals in which they lost only due to the away-goal-rule after playing 1:1 and 0:0 with Necaxa.

Celaya

Celaya is a city and its surrounding municipality in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, located in the southeast quadrant of the state. It is the third most populous city in the state, with a 2005 census population of 310,413. The municipality for which the city serves as municipal seat, had a population of 415,869. The city is located in the geographic center of the municipality, which has an areal extent of 553.18 km² (213.58 sq mi) and includes many smaller outlying communities, the largest of which are San Miguel Octopan, Rincón de Tamayo and San Juan de la Vega.

There are many smaller towns around Celaya including Rincón de Tamayo, Tarimoro, Salvatierra, La Moncada, Panales Jamaica (Cañones), Panales Galera, La Calera, La Estancia, La Noria, La Acebuche, Cacalote, and Charco Largo.

General Álvaro Obregón defeated Pancho Villa in the Battle of Celaya, 1915. Celaya was also the Guanajuato state capital for a short period.

An explosion in a gunpowder and fireworks warehouse in September, 1999, killed over 60 people and injured over 300 people.