Tauro F.C.

Tauro Fútbol Club is a professional football club based in the district of Pedregal, 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 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. Their meetings are known as the "El Clásico" in Panama.^[1]

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; 41 years ago (1984)
Ground	Estadio Rommel Fernández
Capacity	32,000
Chairman	Alvaro Vargas
Manager	Felipe Baloy
League	Liga Panameña de Fútbol
Home colours Away colours

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 FC, 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 FC, 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]}

Rivalries

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

Honors

• Liga Panameña de Fútbol
  • Champions (17) 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, Apertura 2024
  • Runners-up (9): 1990, 1994–95, 1998–99, 2000–01, Clausura 2002, 2008 (A), 2008 (C), Apertura 2009, 2018 Apertura, 2019 Apertura, 2023 Clausura

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 (2024)

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 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 (1988–1989)
• Miguel Ángel Mansilla (1991–1993)
• José Andrade (1994)
• Miguel Ángel Mansilla (1994–1999)
• José Alfredo Poyatos (2000)
• Gonzalo Soto (2002–2004)^[2]
• José Alfredo Poyatos (2004–2006)^[3]
• Thomas Kempe (2006)^[4]
• Rubén Guevara (2006)^[5]
• Miguel Ángel Mansilla (2007–2008)
• Gonzalo Soto (2008–2010)
• Christian Saborío
• Juan Carlos Cubillas (2010–2011)^[6]
• Sergio Angulo (2011–2012)^[7]
• Gonzalo Soto (2012)^[8]
• Rolando Palma (2012–2014)
• Jorge Dely Valdés (2014)^[9]
• José Alfredo Poyatos (2015)^[10]
• Mike Stump (2015)^[11]
• Jorge Dely Valdés (2015)^[12]
• Rolando Palma (2015–2018)^[13]
• Sergio Angulo (2018)^[14]
• Juan Carlos Garcia (2018)
• Saul Maldonado (2018–2020)
• Rafael Mea Vitalli (2020)
• Javier Ainstein (2020)
• Julio Dely Valdés (2020–2021)
• Enrique Kike Garcia (2021)
• Rolando Palma (2021–2022)
• Francisco Perlo (2022–2023)
• Diego Gutierrez (interim) (2023)
• Felipe Baloy (2023–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