Chacarita Juniors

Club Atlético Chacarita Juniors (usually known simply as Chacarita) is an Argentine sports club from Villa Maipú, General San Martín Partido in Greater Buenos Aires, which football squad is currently playing in the Primera B Nacional, the second division of the Argentine football league system.

The club was founded on May 1, 1906, in an anarchist Library ^[1] on the border between the Villa Crespo and Chacarita neighbourhoods, and after a short period of institutional crisis, the club was re-opened in 1919.

The team reached the amateur first division in 1924, and continued playing in the first division after the professionalisation of football in 1931.

In 1940 Chacarita was relegated to the second division, but it lasted only one season. The team then moved to the San Martín partido in Buenos Aires Province, next to Buenos Aires Capital city.

In 1956 Chacarita was relegated to the second division again, and won that championship the following year returning to Primera División. After 10 consecutive years at the top level, Chacarita won its only first division title, the 1969 Metropolitano championship.

In the following years the team performed badly and was relegated all the way down to the 3rd division in 1980. In 1984 Chacarita came back to the first division, but because of Hooliganism by some of its fans, the club was punished with a suspension for a month and a lost of 10 points; having missing those points, Chacarita couldn't avoid a new relegation to the second division.

After a stay in second and even third division, Chacarita came back to first division in 1999, where it played until Clausura 2004, when was relegated to the 2nd division again.

On the 2008–09 Primera B Nacional season the club finished 2nd, after a 1–0 victory against Platense, with a goal scored in the last seconds of the match. This victory secured Chacarita a return to the Argentine Primera División after five years. ^[2]

Nickname

The team got the nickname of Funebreros ("Undertakers") because its ground was near the La Chacarita Cemetery. The red color in its jersey (apart from black and white) is a reference to its anarchist origins.

Stadium

Chacarita's stadium was reopened on January 30, 2011, after its closure for a total rebuilt (which consisted in replacing the old wood seats for the more modern cement structures, according to safety regulations) since May, 2008. As part of the celebration for the reopening, the club organized a friendly match between Chacarita and Argentinos Juniors (which ended 0-0). For this special event only 13,260 seats were available. Once the remodelation is totally finished, the stadium will be able to host an attendance of 35,000.^[3]

The Gobernor of Buenos Aires Province, Daniel Scioli, was the most notable presence in the event and was the person who cut the ribbon to declare the stadium officially reopened. This act was made in front of the Isaac López stand, named as a tribute to the legendary goalkeeper who played the most games for Chacarita (343 matches, from 1937 to 1952).^[4] Finally, a colorful set of fireworks closed the ceremony in Villa Maipú.^[5]

The new stadium was erected in the same location where the old one was, in the Villa Maipú neighborhood, General San Martín Partido. The last game played by Chacarita before the remodelation had been on October 21, 2005, during a match disputed for the Primera B Nacional championship. The rival was Tigre (which has a strong rivalry with Chacarita) and El Funebrero won 3-0.^[3]

Current squad

As of June 10, 2011.^[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Former players

Titles

• Torneo Metropolitano: 1

1969

• Primera B: 2

1941, 1959

• Primera B Metropolitana: 1

1993/94

References

External links

• Official site (Spanish)
• Informe Tricolor (fan site) (Spanish)
• Chaca es de Primera (fan site) (Spanish)
• Chacajuniors (fan site) (Spanish)
• El Foro de Chaca (fan site) (Spanish)