Fundidores Monterrey

Fundidores Monterrey (English: Monterrey Smelters), officially Fundidores, are an American football team based in Monterrey, Mexico. The Fundidores compete in the North Division of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional, the top American football league in Mexico. The team plays its home games at the Estadio Nuevo León Unido.

Fundidores
EstablishedSeptember 28, 2016 (2016-09-28)
Based inMonterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
Home fieldEstadio Borregos
Head coachCarlos Strevel
LeagueLiga de Fútbol Americano Profesional
DivisionNorth Division
ColoursGold and Black
         
Nickname(s)El Reino de Fuego (The Kingdom of Fire)
WebsiteOffcial Fundidores website
Current uniform

History

Monterrey has an important American football tradition. It is home of two of the most popular college football teams: the Auténticos Tigres of the Autonomous University of Nuevo León and the Borregos Salvajes of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education. The city was also home for a short time to the Mexico Golden Aztecs of the Continental Football League.

In the late 90s, Monterrey had a semi-professional team playing in the Liga Nacional Master (Master National League), Cerveceros de Monterrey (Monterrey Brewers), who were national champions in 1995.[1]

The Fundidores (Spanish for smelters or founders) were founded on September 2016 as part of the 2017 LFA's expansion, this expansion also included another team in the North of Mexico: the Dinos Saltillo.[2] The name is a reference to the city's Steel Foundry Company, that operated from 1900 to 1986 in what is now the Fundidora Park.

The team debuted at the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional in the 2017 season. On week 2, at the game against the Dinos, former NFL player, Chad Johnson, made its debut (and only appearance) with the team and scored on a 41-yard touchdown reception to help the Fundidores win the game.[3] Monterrey ended the season with a 2–5 record, not qualifying for the playoffs.[4]

For the 2018 season, the Fundidores failed again to qualify for the playoffs after finishing with a 2–5 regular season record.[5]

Stadiums
Estadio Tecnológico hosted Fundidores home games during 2017.
Fundidores Monterrey stadiums
Stadium Tenure
Estadio Tecnológico2017
Estadio Nuevo León Unido2018–2019
Estadio Borregos2020–present
Estadio Borregos currently hosts the Fundidores.

For their first season in Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional, the Fundidores played their home games at the Estadio Tecnológico which had been used previously for football matches by C.F. Monterrey, but, in that moment, Fundidores were the only tenant, since Monterrey had already moved to the Estadio BBVA Bancomer.[6]

On 9 April 2017 Fundidores played their last match at Estadio Tecnológico before it was demolished.[7]

For the 2018 season, Fundidores moved to Estadio Nuevo León Unido, a stadium with a 1,500 spectators capacity and artificial turf owned by the Government of Nuevo León.[8]

In 2020, the team moved to Estadio Borregos, with a capacity of 10,057 spectators, a major upgrade, since Estadio Nuevo León Unido could only accommodate 1,500 people. The stadium is owned by the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education and it is used by college football team Borregos Salvajes Monterrey.[9][10]

Rivals
  • Dinos Saltillo: Both teams are from northern Mexico and divisional rivals since the establishment of the divisional system in the LFA in 2017. Besides that, the rivalry dates back to the times of the Liga Nacional de Futbol Americano (National American Football League) in the late 90s, when both cities (Saltillo and Monterrey) had fierce matches between their two teams: the Dinosaurios (Dinosaurs) and the Cerveceros (Brewers).[11] The rivalry goes beyond the gridiron, since both teams fight season after season to get the best college players from Nuevo León and Coahuila.[12]

Roster
Fundidores Monterrey roster
Quarterbacks
  •  9 Marco Antonio Santana
  • 15 Julio Vázquez

Running backs

  • 12 Jalen Conwell
  • 20 Manuel Alanís
  • 22 Adrián Flores
  • 23 Joel Rodríguez
  • 28 Jesús Miguel Gutiérrez
  • 34 Rubén Martínez

Wide receivers

  •  4 Aaron Williams
  •  6 Rolando Medina
  •  8 Aarón Mendoza
  • 11 A. J. Benson
  • 14 Luis Enrique de la Torre
  • 16 Sergio García
  • 81 Daniel Lozano
  • 84 Marcos Treviño
 Offensive linemen
  • 58 Edgar Cortés
  • 63 Elijah Watson
  • 68 Jacob Czaja
  • 72 Pedro Pineda
  • 73 Josué López
  • 77 Jesús Guarro
  • 78 Raymundo Vega

Defensive linemen

  •  1 Máximo González
  •  2 Maximiliano Soto DE
  •  3 Uriel Martínez
  •  7 Andrew Salas DE
  • 91 Mario Soto DT
  • 92 Javier Alejandro
  • 97 Martín Maldonado
 Linebackers
  •  5 Christian Hernández
  • 10 Óscar Escalante
  • 45 Mauricio Félix
  • 48 Luis Rosado
  • 54 Enrique Zepeda
  • 55 Lázaro Guajardo
  • 88 Itan Salas

Defensive backs

  • 13 Carlos Escalante S
  • 17 Carlos Díaz
  • 18 Cosme Lozano S
  • 21 Javier García
  • 24 Sergio Cantú
  • 25 Carlos Escamilla
  • 26 Jorge Cantú
  • 31 Cristhian Zazueta
  • 33 Patricio Garza CB

Special teams

  • 44 Brad Mikoluff K/P
Italics indicate International player
Roster updated 2020-02-16

Staff
Fundidores Monterrey staff
Front office
  • Owner – Óscar Pérez
  • General Manager – Andrés Guerra

Head coach

  • Head Coach – Carlos Strevel
  

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive Coordinator – Alejandro Blancas
  • Quarterbacks – Alejandro González
  • Running Backs – Francisco Estrada

Defensive coaches

  • Defensive Coordinator – Julio López
  • Defensive line/Defensive ends – Eduardo Barrera
  • Defensive Backs – Raúl Martínez

Season-by-season
Season Head coach Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
2017 Leopoldo Treviño 2 5 .286 3rd (North) – – — —
2018 Israel González 2 5 .286 3rd (North) – – — —
2019 Israel González 3 5 .375 2nd (North) 0 1 .000 Lost to Raptors in divisional game
2020 Carlos Strevel 3 1 .750 TBD – – – –

Notable players

References
  1. "Recordar es volver a vivir". Zócalo (in Spanish). 17 February 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  2. "Fundidores de Monterrey y Dinos de Saltillo, nuevos clubes de la LFA". ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). September 28, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  3. "WATCH: Chad Johnson makes touchdown catch in Mexico look so easy". CBS Sports. April 4, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  4. "Derriten a Fundidores". El Norte (in Spanish). April 9, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  5. "Fundidores cae y es eliminado" (in Spanish). Multimedios. April 7, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  6. "Encuentra Fundidores de Monterrey estadio" (in Spanish). Regio Deporte. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  7. "Fundidores despedirá al Estadio Tecnológico" (in Spanish). LFA. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  8. "Estadio Nuevo León". www.indenl.gob.mx. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  9. "Fundidores jugará en el estadio Borregos del Tec de Monterrey". LFA.mx (in Spanish). LFA. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  10. "¡Todo listo! Conoce el nuevo Estadio Borregos del campus Monterrey". Tec.mx (in Spanish). ITESM. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  11. "Inició la era jurásica en Saltillo". Vanguardia (in Spanish). 9 October 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  12. "Fundidores Vs. Dinos sí es un Clásico: Coach Tito González" (in Spanish). LFA. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
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