Tauro F.C.

Tauro

Full name	Asociacion Deportiva Tauro Fútbol Club
Nickname(s)	Los Toros de Pedregal (The Bulls of Pedregal) El Club de Panamá (Panama's Club)
Founded	1984;40 years ago (1984)
Ground	Estadio Rommel Fernández
Capacity	32,000
Chairman	Alvaro Vargas
Manager	Francisco Perlo
League	Liga Panameña de Fútbol
Home colours Away colours

The Tauro Fútbol Club is a professional soccer club based in the district of Pedregal east of Panama City, Panama. It was founded on 22 September 1984 and has participated in the Panamanian Football League (LPF) since 1988. Its founder, Giancarlo Gronchi, was a fan of Juventus and for that reason the colours of the club and uniform are black and white. They have won thirteen championships between 1989 and 2017, making them the most successful club in the league.

Their traditional rival has been Plaza Amador, ever since the founding of the LPF, originally as the Asociación Nacional Pro Fútbol (ANAPROF), in 1988. Their meetings are known as the "El Clásico" in Panama. ^[1]

History

Tauro FC's origins date to 1984, when tannery owner Giancarlo Gronchi, an immigrant from Italy, decided to create an internal football league for his company. From that came the idea of forming a company team. At that time, there were leagues formed of teams representing various Panamanian companies, as well as leagues formed of teams from the various immigrant colonies in Panama. Tauro competed in those leagues, as well as the Panamanian District League, from its founding on 22 September 1984 to 1988.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 1988, Tauro joined six other teams in forming ANAPROF, Panama's first national professional league. This was a significant turning point in Panamanian football, which at the time was a smaller soccer presence in the region.^{[ citation needed ]}

Gronchi's favorite Italian team was Juventus, and in the honor of that Italian power, Tauro also competed in black and white striped jerseys. They club won its first title in 1989, and during the 1990s was the dominant team in Panamanian football.^{[ citation needed ]}

What followed was the glory days of Tauro, which won championships in 1989, 1991, 1996–97, 1997–98, and 1999–2000. Closely identified with the club's success in those years was Uruguayan Miguel Angel Mansilla, who managed the team on five occasions, interspersed with three stints managing Panama's national team.^{[ citation needed ]}

Perhaps the most memorable title of that run came in 1996–97, when Patricio Guevara's 9th-minute goal lifted Tauro to a championship victory over the AFC Euro Kickers. That strike ended a five-year championship drought, and was followed by a repeat win over Deportivo Árabe Unido in 1997–98. The club won a fifth crown in 1999–2000, upsetting archrivals C.D. Plaza Amador. Plaza Amador was favored because they had signed striker Víctor René Mendieta, widely considered one of the best players in Panamanian history.^{[ citation needed ]}

Tauro has continued to win championships in the Apertura/Clausura era. In 2003, they swept the season under the direction of Colombian manager Gonzalo Soto. In Clausura 2006, they followed the leadership of ex-player Ruben Guevara to another crown. In Apertura 2007, Mansilla returned to lead the club to a tenth championship (the fifth under his direction).^{[ citation needed ]}

The club's tenth title came in Apertura 2010, under the leadership of Juan Carlos Cubillas. The club has also won titles in Clausura 2012 and Apertura 2013, with titles coming under ex-players Sergio "Checho" Angulo and Rolando Palma. In all, four former Bullfighters have won titles as both managers and players.^{[ citation needed ]}

Club facts

• Achievements at local level
• 13 championships in first category of Panamanian football.
  • Seasons in first division: 41
  • Best position in the league: 1° (12 times)
  • Sub-Championships: 8
  • First gol: Carlos Maldonado (26/2/1988 vs Plaza Amador)
  • First player ejected: José Alfredo Poyatos (26/2/1988)
• Achievements in international tournaments:
  • Participations in the CONCACAF Champions League : 6

Rivalries

Tauro and Plaza Amador have been continuous rivals since ANAPROF started in 1988. Both teams are from Panama City itself, but do not play in the same stadium. The rivalry is referred to as "El Clásico" in Panama.

• Plaza Amador
• Árabe Unido
• San Francisco F.C.

New shield

As current champions of the LPF in 2017, Tauro FC redesigned its club shield. ^[2]

Honors

• Liga Panameña de Fútbol
  • Champions (16; record)1989, 1991, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–00, Apertura 2003, Clausura 2003, Clausura 2006, Apertura 2007, Apertura 2010, Clausura 2012, Apertura 2013, Clausura 2017, Clausura 2021
  • Runner-up (8): 1990, 1994–95, 1998–99, 2000–01, Clausura 2002, 2008 (A), 2008 (C), Apertura 2009, 2018 Apertura, 2019 Apertura

National League Finals

Season	Champion	Runner-up
1989	Tauro FC	Deportivo La Previsora
1991	Tauro FC	AFC Euro Kickers
1996-97	Tauro FC	AFC Euro Kickers
1997-98	Tauro FC	Árabe Unido
1999-00	Tauro FC	CD Plaza Amador
2003 (a)	Tauro FC	Árabe Unido
2003 (c)	Tauro FC	Alianza FC
2006 (c)	Tauro FC	Árabe Unido
2007 (a)	Tauro FC	San Francisco FC
2010 (a)	Tauro FC	San Francisco FC
2012 (c)	Tauro FC	Chepo FC
2013 (a)	Tauro FC	San Francisco FC
2017 (c)	Tauro FC	Árabe Unido

Players

Current squad

As of 8 February, 2024.Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF   COL Camilo Villegas 3 DF   PAN Rodolfo Rodríguez 4 DF   PAN Érick Díaz 5 DF   PAN Luis Asprilla 6 MF   PAN Irving Gudiño 8 MF   COL Juan Diego Ospina 10 FW   PAN Cristian Quintero 12 GK   PAN Álex Rodríguez 14 FW   COL Yilton Díaz 15 MF   PAN Nicholas Anderson 16 MF   PAN Rudy Yearwood 21 FW   PAN Ramsés de León

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 FW   PAN Hilberto Peralta 23 MF   PAN Moisés Véliz 24 DF   PAN Roberto Chen 25 DF   PAN Jan Carlos Vargas 28 DF   PAN Ángel Díaz 30 GK   PAN Celino Hinojosa 40 MF   PAN Kevin Bernal 47 FW   PAN Ricardo French 50 GK   PAN Alberto Ruiz 52 MF   PAN Zinedine Herrera 77 MF   PAN Yair Jaén 99 MF   PAN Omar Browne

Non-playing staff

Board of directors

Position	Name
President	Alvaro Vargas
Vice-president	Moises Zebede
Secretary	Carlos Martans
Treasurer	Alejandro Pino
Fiscal	Luis Moreno

Management hierarchy

Position	Name
Manager	Saul Maldonado
Assistant manager	Rafael Mea Vitali
Physical trainer	-
Goalkeeping coach	-
Physiotherapist	-
Physiotherapist	-
Head doctor	-
Utility Management	-
Utility Assistant	-
Reserve Manager 1	Ricardo Mammarella
Reserve Manager 2	Hector D. Chianelli

Historical list of coaches

• Christian Saborío (1988)
• Miguel Ángel Mansilla (1988–89)
• Miguel Ángel Mansilla (1991–93)
• José Andrade (1994)
• Miguel Ángel Mansilla (1994–99)
• José Alfredo Poyatos (2000)
• Gonzalo Soto (July 2002 – Apr 2004) ^[3]
• José Alfredo Poyatos (Apr 2004–) ^[4]
• Thomas Kempe (Jul 2006 – Oct 2006) ^[5]
• Rubén Guevara (Oct 2006) ^[6]
• Miguel Ángel Mansilla (2007–08)
• Gonzalo Soto (2008–10)
• Christian Saborío
• Juan Carlos Cubillas (April 2010 – Nov 11) ^[7]
• Sergio Angulo (Dec 2011 – April 12) ^[8]
• Gonzalo Soto (May 2012 – Nov 12) ^[9]
• Rolando Palma (December 2012  – August 2014)
• Jorge Dely Valdés (Aug 2014 – Dec 14) ^[10]
• José Alfredo Poyatos (Jan 2015 – March 15) ^[11]
• Mike Stump (March 2015 – May 15) ^[12]
• Jorge Dely Valdés (May 2015 – Oct 15) ^[13]
• Rolando Palma (Oct 2015–Mar 2018) ^[14]
• Sergio Angulo (Mar 2018–) ^[15]
• Juan Carlos Garcia
• Saul Maldonado (September 2018 – August 2020)
• Rafael Mea Vitalli (August 2020 - November 2020)
• Javier Ainstein (November 2020 - December 2020)
• Julio Dely Valdés (December 2020 - May 2021)
• Enrique Kike Garcia (May 2021 - December 2021)
• Rolando Palma (December 2021 - Present)

International participations

Main article: Panamanian football clubs in CONCACAF competitions

• CONCACAF Champions League: 6 appearances

2008-09  : Group stage

2010-11  : Preliminary round

2011-12  : Group stage

2012-13  : Group stage

2014-15  : Group stage

2018  : Quarter-finals

• CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 4 appearances

1990  : First round

1991  : Second round

1992  : Third round

1997  : First round

References

1. "El Clásico de Panamá: cómo surgió la rivalidad entre CD Plaza Amador y Tauro FC". Fútbol Centroamérica (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
2. "Tauro rediseña su imagen". 5 July 2017. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
3. Soto quiere triunfar con Tauro F.C Archived 12 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine  – Panamá América (in Spanish)
4. Alfredo Poyatos dirigirá al Tauro en lo que resta del torneo Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine  – La Prensa (in Spanish)
5. ANAPROF: THOMAS KEMPE ES EL NUEVO ENTRENADOR Un Tauro con estilo alemán Archived 8 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine  – Crítica (in Spanish)
6. Técnico del Tauro se marchó Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine  – Panamá América (in Spanish)
7. No hay fracaso, según Cubillas Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine  – La Prensa (in Spanish)
8. Tauro presenta a Sergio Angulo como nuevo técnico Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine  – PanamaFutbol (in Spanish)
9. Colombiano Gonzalo Soto vuelve al banquillo del Tauro Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine  – Telemetro (in Spanish)
10. "Palma resigns, Jorge Dely Valdes new Tauro coach". 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
11. Alfredo Poyatos debutó con victoria en pretemporada del Tauro Archived 2015-08-23 at the Wayback Machine  – Somos Lasele (in Spanish)
12. Mike Stump nuevo técnico del Tauro Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine  – RPC (in Spanish)
13. Tauro FC se encomienda a Jorge Dely Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine  – Crítica (in Spanish)
14. Jorge Dely Valdés sale del Tauro, Rolando Palma regresa Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine  – RPC (in Spanish)
15. Archived 20 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine  – Metro Libre(in Spanish)

External links

• Official website
• Non-official site (Página realizada en su momento por el periodista panameño Adán De Gracia E.)
• Tauro FC Page-ANAPROF Site ^{[ permanent dead link ]}