Sociedad Deportiva Aucas (), 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.

In 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.

Overview

thumb|left|Aucas' 1945 Campeonato Amateur del Fútbol de Pichincha winning squad

thumb|Superclásico in Quito, 2005

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

  • Serie A
  • Winners (1): 2022
  • Serie B
  • Winners (3): 1974 E2, 1991 E2, 2014
  • Segunda Categoría
  • Winners (2): 1986 E2, 2012

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

  • Copa Libertadores: 2 appearances

::2023: Group Stage

::2024: First Qualifying Stage

  • Copa Sudamericana: 6 appearances

::2002: First Round

::2004: Second Round

::2016: First Round

::2020: First Round

::2021: Group Stage

::2025: First Round

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

World Cup players

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

  • Giovanny Espinoza (2002)
  • Damián Enrique Lanza (2006)
  • Hernán Galíndez (2022)

Former presidents

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left"

|-

!Name

!Years

|-

| Federico Hulswit

|1945-1950

|-

| Guillermo Alarcón

|1951

|-

| Cristóbal Cornejo

|1952

|-

| Gabriela Landeta

|1953

|-

| Francisco López Campana

|1954

|-

| Agustín Arias

|1955

|-

| Héctor Álvarez

|1955

|-

| Félix Vega

|1956

|-

| Eduardo Moreano

|1956-1957

|-

| Bolívar Pico

|1958

|-

| Víctor Cortez

|1959

|-

| Astor Fabián Vizcaíno

|1959

|-

| Eduardo Pérez

|1960

|-

| Astor Fabián Vizcaíno

|1961-1964

|-

| Conto Patiño Martínez

|1965

|-

| Astor Fabián Vizcaíno

|1966-1967

|-

| Jaime Wandeberg

|1968

|-

| José Zúñiga Villalobos

|1969

|-

| Jorge Wohlgemuth

|1970

|-

| Hernán Chiriboga

|1971

|-

| Gustavo Herdoíza León

|1971-1972

|-

| Marco Tulio Cordero

|1973-1974

|-

| Mario Ferri

|1974

|-

| Gustavo Herdoíza León

|1975-1976

|-

| Enrique Zaldumbide

|1977-1978

|-

| Luis Rosanía Dávila

|1979-1980

|-

| Lenín Rosero

|1981-1982

|-

| Jaime Del Castillo Bedach

|1983

|-

| Diego Del Castillo Dedach

|1983

|-

| Guillermo Herrera

|1984

|-

| Jaime Bowen

|1984-1989

|-

| Guillermo Herrera

|1990

|-

| Humberto Rodríguez Ortiz

|1991-1992

|-

| Alberto Ayala

|1993

|-

| Ramiro Montenegro López

|1994-2004

|-

| Fernando Hinojosa

|2005-2007

|-

| Ramiro Montenegro López

|2008-2009

|-

| Luis Alonso Moreno

|2009-2010

|-

| Alberto Ayala

|2010-2012

|-

| Ramiro Gordón

|2012-2013

|-

| Mónica Gordón

|2013

|-

| Rodrigo Espinoza

|2013-2014

|-

| Ximena Moreta

|2014-2016

|-

| Darwin Romero

|2016-2018

|-

| Danny Walker

|2018-present

|}

Managers

  • Ernesto Guerra (1975, 1986–1987, 1989)
  • Carlos Cuvi (1995)
  • Polo Carrera (1995)
  • Leonel Montoya (1996)
  • Alfredo Encalada (1994, 1996)
  • Homero Mistral Valencia (1995, 1996–1997)
  • Juan Ramón Silva (1998–1999)
  • Ramiro Blacut (1999–2000)
  • Gerardo Pelusso (2001–2002)
  • Salvador Raguza (2002)
  • Adan Machado (2002)
  • Carlos Sevilla (2003)
  • Luis Fernando Suárez (2003–2004)
  • Javier Álvarez Arteaga (2004–2005)
  • Dragan Miranović (2005–2006)
  • Diego Aguirre (2006)
  • Fausto Carrera (2006)
  • Juan Amador Sánchez (2006–2007)
  • Fernando Rodriguez Riolfo (2007)
  • Carlos Berrueta (2007)
  • Miguel Ángel Zahzú (2008)
  • Carlos Calderón (2008)
  • Marco Etcheverry (2009)
  • Polo Carrera (2009)
  • Alfredo Encalada (2011–2012)
  • Julio Asad (2012–2013)
  • Juan Ramón Silva (2014)
  • Carlos Ischia (2015–2016)
  • Tabaré Silva (2016)
  • Armando Osma (2009, 2016–2017)
  • Darío Tempesta (2017, 2020–2021)
  • Luis Soler (2018)
  • Eduardo Favaro (2019)
  • Gabriel Schürrer (2019)
  • Héctor Bidoglio (2021)
  • César Farías (2022–2023)
  • Santiago Escobar (2023)
  • Gerardo Espinoza (2024)
  • Jorge Alfonso (2024)

References

  • Sociedad Deportiva Aucas on FEF (archived)
  • Sociedad Deportiva Aucas on FIFA
  • Sociedad Deportiva Aucas on YouTube