On August 28, Grandfather's Day is celebrated in Mexico and on the occasion of this celebration, we would like to take this opportunity to remember a couple of players who were not only Guadalajara’s legends on the field, but also formed 100% Red and White families off the field; in fact, both had grandchildren who have emulated their steps and were also an important part of our club.
But,Who?
We are talking about none other than Tomás Balcázar and Raúl 'Pina' Arellano, who were part of the most successful squad in the history of El Rebaño Sagrado: El Campeonísimo. That memorable team won eight league titles between 1956 and 1970.
How did they collaborate during their time?
- Balcázar won the first of those titles as a player and later was assistant to Javier de la Torre in 5 more.
- Arellano was league champion in 6 of those championships.
The lineage of Don Tomás
Silvia Balcázar, Tomás' daughter, married Javier Hernández Gutiérrez, who played for Tecos, Puebla and Morelia. He was also a World Cup player in Mexico 86 and coach of El Rebaño's Second Division between 2009 and 2010. From this union came 'Chicharito', who needs no letter of introduction.
- Javier Hernandez joined the Chivas youth academy at the age of 9.
- He debuted in the First Division with a goal in the AP06 Game Day 7 against Necaxa and was part of the team that won the league championship that same semester.
- He was the leagues top goal scoring champion in the 2010 Bicentennial Tournament with 10 goals in 11 games.
- He left Chivas for a move to the Old Continent to sign with Manchester United. He has also played for Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, West Ham and Sevilla.
- He scored 127 goals in Europe.
- He has played in 3 World Cups.
- He is the top scorer in the history of the Mexican National Team with 52 goals.
The Arellano dynasty
- Don Raúl's son, Omar Arellano Nuño, was formed in the Rojiblanca youth academy and debuted in the maximum circuit with the Guadalajara squad in the Prode 85 Tournament. He was League champion in the 1986-1987 season. He was also coach and assistant coach of the Red and White First Team.
- The third member of this family is Omar Arellano Riverón, who debuted with the Tuzos del Pachuca, but joined the Rebaño Sagrado in the AP07. He scored 18 goals in Liga and several of them were against América. The 'Pina' was part of the revelation team of the continent that achieved the runner-up position in the 2010 Libertadores Cup, in the Final of which they faced Inter of Porto Alegre.
Red and White Grandfather and Grandson
Another proud "rojiblanco" who also had a grandson who was part of El Rebaño Sagrado is Miguel Salcedo Bueno, who played for the team in the early 1950s and was a teammate of the engineer Javier de la Torre.
His grandson is none other than Carlos Salcedo, who joined Guadalajara in CL15 and won a Copa MX and a Supercopa MX. He has played for several teams in Europe and played in the World Cup in Russia 2018.
