Club Deportivo Chivas USA was a Major League Soccer franchise based in Carson, California, that played from 2005 to 2014 as a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guadalajara. The team’s visual identity was closely tied to its parent club, sharing its name, colors, and crest design throughout its existence.
Design and History
The Chivas USA logo was essentially the C.D. Guadalajara crest with the club name changed. According to the official Chivas website, the Guadalajara shield design, which dates to 1908, was kept intact for Chivas USA with only the name change. The crest contains the shield of the city of Guadalajara and the traditional uniform colors of the Mexican club, which were originally selected based on the red and white striped jerseys of the Brussels-based Belgian club for which the team’s founder once played.[1][2]
One documented difference between the Chivas USA and Guadalajara crests was the omission of the ten stars that surround the parent club’s shield. Those stars symbolize league championships won by Chivas in Mexico’s Primera División, and the Chivas USA version did not include them.[1]
In 2014, Major League Soccer purchased the franchise from Jorge Vergara and Angelica Fuentes. Under the purchase agreement, Vergara and Fuentes retained all branding and licensing rights to the Chivas name, with MLS permitted to continue using the Chivas USA brand on a transitional basis. The league announced the club would be rebranded with a new team name and logo in connection with the sale to a new owner.[3]
Prior to the league’s purchase, reports in February 2014 indicated that Chivas Guadalajara Licensing LLC had filed trademark applications for potential rebrand names including “Los Angeles SC” and “Los Angeles FC,” with proposed logos featuring red, black, and gold color schemes.[4][5]
Meaning and Symbolism
“Chivas” is the nickname of the Guadalajara-based club, a name that originated from a 1948 match against Tampico when a reporter was surprised by Guadalajara’s victory. The name was initially used as an insult by rival fans but became a symbol accepted by the club’s supporters.[1]
The Chivas USA crest incorporated the coat of arms of the city of Guadalajara, maintaining the visual connection to the parent club’s heritage. The official Chivas website quoted general manager Whit Haskel as saying the name, colors, and shield of C.D. Guadalajara represented “pride, honor and passion” for millions of fans in Mexico and around the world.[1]
In 2014, the team’s final home jersey introduced a new goat shield element at the jock tag, described by MLS as a tribute to the team’s “goats” nickname. The jersey also featured the name “Chivas USA” printed in white lettering on the back neck, distinguishing it from the nearly identical Guadalajara kit.[6][7]
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