CD Olimpia

Olimpia was originally founded as a baseball club named Nacional Olimpia on June 12, 1912, by Héctor Pineda Ugarte, Carlos Bram, Arturo Bram, Enrique Buk, Santiago Buk, Miguel Sanchez, Samuel Inestrosa Gómez, and Ramón Escobar. The name was dedicated to the ancient Olympic Games that were held in Olympia, Greece in 1896. Due to baseball being the more popular sport in Honduras at the time, Olimpia would not form a football team until later in 1917.

Regional and amateur era

In 1927, the Liga Morazán was organized as the first football governing body in Tegucigalpa. The founding teams included Honduras Athletic, América, Herrera, and Olimpia. To secure affiliation with the league, Olimpia was required to cease its baseball operations, as the league's statutes prohibited a single club from operating multiple sports departments. Consequently, during a session convened by club president Humberto Díaz, the membership voted unanimously to transition exclusively to football. That same year, Olimpia won the inaugural regional league title, successfully defending it in 1928. In September 1928, the Honduran Sports Federation (Federación Deportiva de Honduras) made an effort to establish a national football champion as part of the Second National Sports Week. C.D. Marathón, the champion of the North Coast region, traveled to Tegucigalpa to face Olimpia, the champion of the Central and Comayagua zones. In a series of three matches held at El Campo La Isla. Olimpia finished the three-match series against Marathón with two wins and one draw (1–0, 1–1, and 2–1), and was crowned as the first national champion of the one-off tournament. These matches ignited the club rivalry known as El Clásico Nacional between Olimpia and Marathón. Olimpia would go on to win the 1929, 1930, 1931, 1935, 1936, and 1937 editions of the Liga Morazán, alternating title wins with F.C. Motagua and establishing the local rivalry known as the Honduran Superclásico.

In 1947, the Honduran Amateur League was created and organized by the Federación Nacional de Cultura Física y Deportes (National Federation of Physical Culture and Sports) for the first four editions. The remaining thirteen editions were organized by the Federación Nacional Deportiva Extraescolar de Honduras (National Extracurricular Sports Federation of Honduras). Stuck in a transitional phase for a decade, Olimpia would not its first national championship until 1957, as they defeated Vida, Hibueras, and C.D. Honduras en route to the title. They defended their title successfully in 1958, 1959, 1961, 1963, and 1964. No championship was awarded in 1960. In 1964, the final season of the amateur league, Olimpia claimed a seventh championship, defeating Platense 3–0 on aggregate over three legs.

National league

The first professional football league in Honduras was founded in 1965, with Platense winning the inaugural tournament. Olimpia was runner-up, finishing with 26 points to Platense's 27. Things were different the following year, as Mario Griffin Cubas was appointed as head coach. In the 1966–67 season, he led Los Leones to 14 victories in 18 matches, winning the title six points clear of Marathón (29 to 23). Olimpia won the title again in 1967–68, with two games to spare against Marathón.

They relinquished the title to Motagua in 1968–69, but in 1969–70 finished the league season undefeated, winning their third title in four years. After losing a championship playoff to Motagua in 1970–71, Los Leones regained the crown in 1971–72. That championship was the product of the efforts of Rigoberto 'Chula' Gomez, Jorge Urquía, and Tonin Mendoza. It would take 6 years for Olimpia to be crowned again. That came in 1977, under the management of Carlos Cruz Carranza. That year, they faced Real España in a championship final. The first leg ended in a scoreless draw, but Olimpia prevailed 2–0 in the return leg. Goals were scored by Uruguayan Walter Chávez and René Enamorado.

It was during the 1980s that Olimpia emerged as the dominant team in Honduras, winning five championships in ten years: 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1989–90. Three more championships came in the 1990s: 1992–93, 1995–96, and 1996–97. That 1996–97 championship was the final one before the short season was adopted.

Short tournament

The Honduran Liga Nacional adopted the split Apertura and Clausura format starting with the 1997–98 season. During this transition period from 1997 through 2000, Olimpia remained a heavy powerhouse but went through an initial domestic title drought before bouncing back on both the domestic and international stages.

Due to the effects of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, the Liga Nacional was forced to revert to the previous tournament format for the 1998–99 season. Olimpia topped the regular season table and beat Real España 1–0 on aggregate in the grand final, capturing their final league title before a drought that lasted until late 2000. Olimpia reached the finals of both Apertura 1999 and Clausura 2000, but on each occasion was defeated by Motagua on penalties. The first title under this new format was won by Olimpia in the Apertura 2000–01 tournament, led by Edwin Pavón. In that championship, Olimpia finished first in the regular tournament with a total of 39 points in 18 matches. This secured their spot in the final against Platense, winners of the post-season games. In the end, Olimpia was crowned champion with players such as Danilo Tosello, Wilmer Velásquez, and Álex Pineda Chacón, among others. The next title Olimpia won under this format was also against Platense in the Apertura 2002–03 with Juan Carlos Espinoza as coach.

The Clausura 2004 was the start of a new phase in the already fierce rivalry between Olimpia and Marathón, as the teams would meet in the finals for four consecutive seasons to determine the national champion. The first round went to Olimpia, which won the title 2–1 on aggregate. Marathón came back to win Apertura 2004 in the same style, but Olimpia answered by winning the Clausura 2005 3–2 on aggregate. Los Leones won it again in Apertura 2005, overcoming a 2–1 loss at Marathón to win the championship in extra time.

Clausura 2006 was a significant season in Olimpia's history; they beat Victoria 6–4 on aggregate to win three consecutive titles. This achievement is known as the tricampeonato.