Mohamed's Toluca Joins the Club's Historic Elite

Six titles in seven finals. In just 21 months. Any fan of a rival club would sign up for that run without a second thought, and the man who built it at Toluca has a name: Antonio Mohamed. The Argentine arrived, put together a solid project and turned the "Diablos Rojos" into the undisputed benchmark of Mexican soccer over the last two years.

The résumé is striking: the Clausura 2025 and the Apertura 2025 to complete the Liga MX double, the Campeon de Campeones 2025, the Campeones Cup 2025, the Concacaf Champions Cup 2026 and the Leagues Cup 2026. The only blemish on that recent record was the Campeon de Campeones 2026 final, lost to Cruz Azul. Outside of that, nothing but wins.

With that body of work on the table, it's only natural that comparisons begin with the great Toluca generations of the past. And that inevitably brings up Enrique Meza's Toluca side from the late '90s, the team that snapped a 23 year title drought and won three championships: Verano 1998, Verano 1999 and Verano 2000. Mohamed, far from getting drawn into the debate, prefers to focus on the positive side of the conversation.

If they're comparing us, that's a win for us. Just sitting at that table is a win. The fact that they're even putting us in that conversation is a win.Antonio Mohamed

Two generations, two styles

Mohamed himself has made it clear there's no argument to be had, in his view, about the quality of soccer on the field: he believes that Meza's "Ojitos" Toluca played the best soccer in club history. That roster had names still remembered fondly in Toluca: Jose Saturnino Cardozo, Sinha, Rafael Garcia, Salvador Carmona, Victor Ruiz, Jose Manuel Abundis, Carlos Maria Morales and Fabian Estay.

What clearly sets the two teams apart is international reach. The current Toluca side added the Campeones Cup, the Concacaf Champions Cup and the Leagues Cup, competitions the Meza generation never had the chance to play in those formats. Behind this current run is also significant investment from the club since 2025, which gave Mohamed a deep roster to compete on every front. That's where Paulinho emerged, winning three scoring titles, two of them already under the "Turco," along with Alexis Vega, who regained his form and established himself among the tournament's top Mexican players, with Jesus Gallardo and Marcel Ruiz as key pieces of the machine.

Other chapters that also matter

The club's recent history has other names worth mentioning. Ricardo La Volpe led the team through most of the Apertura 2002, a title won just before he departed to take over the Mexican national team, and the Concacaf 2003 crown came under Ricardo Ferretti. Americo Gallego, between 2005 and 2007, won the Apertura 2005 and the Campeon de Campeones, though he lost the Concacaf 2006 final to America and the Apertura 2006 final to Chivas, with players like Hernan Cristante, Vicente Sanchez and Bruno Marioni leading the way. Jose Manuel de la Torre, for his part, won the Apertura 2008 and the Bicentenario 2010 before he too moved on to coach the national team.

Is this the best Toluca team in history? The question remains open, but in terms of titles, star power and international scope, Mohamed's team already has more than enough arguments to earn a seat at that table.