Club Deportivo Dorados de Sinaloa, commonly known as Dorados, is a Mexican professional football club that competes in Liga de Expansión MX, the second tier of Mexican football. It serves as a reserve team for Tijuana. In September 2024, the club was relocated to Tijuana, Baja California and has since played its home matches at Estadio Caliente.
Dorados was founded in August 2003, in the Primera División A and secured promotion to Mexico's top flight just one year later. In 2016, the club was relegated and has since competed in the Liga de Expansión.
Dorados was founded on August 8, 2003, in the Primera División 'A', the second tier of the Mexican football system. On December 20, they won their first title in the Apertura 2003 tournament, with Guadalupe Castañeda scoring the decisive goal against Cobras de Juárez in the final. In the following tournament, Dorados finished as runners-up.
On May 29, 2004, Dorados secured promotion to the Primera División after defeating León in the promotion play-off. Remarkably, the club achieved top-flight status just one year after its founding. In an effort to remain in the top division, Dorados made several high-profile signings, including Sebastián Abreu, Pep Guardiola and Jared Borgetti. However, after two years in the Primera División, Dorados was relegated following the Apertura 2006 tournament.
Dorados claimed the title in the Clausura 2007 tournament, which allowed them to participate in the promotion play-off, but ultimately fell to Puebla. In October 2012, Dorados emerged as the Copa Mx champion following their victory over Correcaminos in the final.
In May 2013, Grupo Caliente, known for its casino operations, acquired a majority ownership in the club.
On May 23, 2015, Dorados once again secured promotion to Mexico's top flight after defeating Necaxa in the promotion play-off. However, just a year later, they were relegated after finishing at the bottom of the relegation table.
Dorados secured the Apertura 2016 title, earning a spot in the promotion play-off, but were ultimately defeated by Lobos BUAP.
In September 2018, Diego Maradona was appointed head coach of Dorados. He made his debut on 17 September with a 4âÂÂ1 victory over Cafetaleros de Tapachula. Maradona guided Dorados to two consecutive finals, though they fell short in both, losing to Atlético San Luis. In June 2019, Maradona's lawyer announced that he would be stepping down from the role, citing health reasons.
In the spring of 2020, Ascenso MX was restructured into Liga de Expansión MX, a competition designed to foster the development of young footballers. Following this change, Dorados began functioning as a reserve team for both Tijuana and Querétaro, as all three clubs are owned by the same group.
In September 2024, the team was relocated to Tijuana due to concerns about the public safety situation in Sinaloa.
When the Dorados de Sinaloa arrived at Primera División A in 2003, a rivalry was born. When the franchise was first created in 2003, Dorados became champions in their first tournament, becoming the first team to ever accomplish this feat in Primera A. In their second tournament, Dorados made it to the final once again, falling to Club León. Despite losing this final, Dorados and León played the promotion game to Primera División de México where Dorados were victorious. Dorados and Leon have played a total of four finals, with each team winning two.
Since the relegation of Dorados to the Ascenso MX, the two sides have not played in a league match.
The team participated in the Segunda División, finishing as runners-up in the Clausura 2009, losing to Universidad del Fútbol 5âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
The team participated in the Serie B of the Liga Premier, Dorados Premier changed its name to Dorados "B", after Dorados de Sinaloa was relegated from Liga MX to Ascenso MX in 2016.
The team competes in the Liga TDP, winning the Torneo de Filiales de la Liga TDP in the 2020âÂÂ21 season, defeating Cimarrones "B" 1âÂÂ0 on aggregate.