S.D. Aucas

Aucas
Full nameSociedad Deportiva Aucas
NicknamesÍdolo de Quito (The Idol of Quito)[1]
Ídolo del Pueblo (The Idol of the People)[2]
Papá Aucas[3]
Equipo Oriental[4]
Founded6 February 1945 (1945-02-06)
GroundEstadio Gonzalo Pozo Ripalda
Quito, Ecuador
Capacity18,799
ChairmanDanny Walker
ManagerNorberto Araujo
LeagueEcuadorian Serie A
2025First stage: 9th of 16
Second hexagonal: 3rd of 6
Websitewww.aucas.ec/wordpress/

Sociedad Deportiva Aucas (Spanish pronunciation: [sosjeˈðað ðepoɾˈtiβa ˈawkas]), also known as "Papá Aucas", is a football club based in Quito, Ecuador. They play in the top tier of Ecuadorian football and have spent the majority of their history in the top-flight Serie A. The team is amongst the most popular in the city because of its long history in the Serie A. The team also has a major rivalry in L.D.U. Quito, which they contest one of the most prestigious derbies in all of Ecuador, and the most prestigious in Quito.

On December 2025, Red&Gold Football, a joint venture between German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and American Major League Soccer (MLS) club Los Angeles FC, became partners with the club, forming a long-term commitment in order to identify and develop elite talent across the continent.[5][6][7][8]

Overview

The team is named after the Auca tribe, who are also called Huaorani. The club originally belonged to Royal Dutch Shell, which had been operating oil fields in the east of Ecuador where the Aucas live. The club's main uniforms colours, yellow and red, were taken from the colours used by Shell to market their products and services. The alternate uniform is grey, except for the commercial advertisements and numbers and names of players, which are red.

Players who have played for Aucas include Argentinian and nationalised Ecuadorian forward Ariel Graziani, forward Nicolás Asencio, forward Agustin Delgado, forward Édison Maldonado, Ecuador international defender Giovanny Espinoza, and the 1990 FIFA World Cup Colombian goalkeeper René Higuita.

Aucas won their first Serie A title in 2022 under the tenure of Venezuelan manager César Farías by winning the competition's second stage without losing a single game and then beating Barcelona in the finals. This win also qualified them to the 2023 Copa Libertadores, the first time they competed in the continental tournament.

Honours

National

Regional

  • Campeonato Amateur del Fútbol de Pichincha
    • Winners (6): 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951
  • Campeonato Professional Interandino
    • Winners (2): 1959, 1962
  • Segunda Categoría de Pichincha
    • Winners (7): 1971, 1972, 1985, 1986, 2010, 2011, 2012

Performance in CONMEBOL competitions

2023: Group Stage
2024: First Qualifying Stage
2002: First Round
2004: Second Round
2016: First Round
2020: First Round
2021: Group Stage

Players

Current squad

As of 20 August 2025

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
1 GK  ARG Ivan Faustino Chaves
2 DF  ARG Santiago Morales
3 DF  ECU John Ontaneda
5 MF  ECU Thiago Serpa
6 MF  ARG Agostino Spina (on loan from Huracán)
7 FW  BOL Bruno Miranda
10 FW  ECU Ayrton Preciado
11 MF  ECU Romario Bolaños
12 GK  ECU Jefferson Cabezas
13 GK  ECU Hamilton Piedra
14 MF  COL Stiven Tapiero
16 DF  ECU Luis Gustavino
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF  ECU Andrés Mena
19 DF  ECU Carlos Cuero
21 MF  ECU Piero Guzman
28 MF  ECU Ederson Quiñónez
29 FW  ECU Luis Arroyo
31 DF  ECU Byron Carabali
36 FW  ECU Nicolás Sotomayor
37 DF  ECU Alex Zova
55 DF  ECU Virgilio Olaya
89 FW  ARG Alexander Sosa
91 MF  ECU Danny Luna
99 MF  DOM Erick Japa

Out on loan

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
MF  ECU Michael Carcelén (on loan to Querétaro)
MF  ECU Diego Espinoza (on loan to Deportivo Quito)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW  ECU Cristhoper Zambrano (on loan to Al Taawoun)
FW  ECU Edison Gruezo (on loan to Querétaro)

World Cup players

The following players were chosen to represent their country at the FIFA World Cup while contracted to Aucas.

Managers

References

  1. ^ "El 'Potro' Figueroa aún es el ídolo del 'Ídolo' de Quito". Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  2. ^ "El 'Ídolo del Pueblo', a las puertas de la gloria". Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  3. ^ "El Papá Aucas es de primera". Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Koob Hurtado listo para militar en el equipo Oriental". Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  5. ^ "RED&GOLD FOOTBALL TO PARTNER WITH S.D. AUCAS OF ECUADOR". Red&Gold Football. 17 December 2025.
  6. ^ "RED&GOLD FOOTBALL SE ASOCIA CON S.D. AUCAS DE ECUADOR". S.D. Aucas.
  7. ^ "RED&GOLD FOOTBALL COLABORARÁ EN EL FUTURO CON EL S.D. AUCAS DE ECUADOR". FC Bayern Munich. 17 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Red&Gold Football to Partner with S.D. Aucas of Ecuador". Los Angeles FC. 17 December 2025.