| Full name | Club Atlético Colón | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Los Sabaleros[1] | ||
| Founded | 5 May 1905[2] | ||
| Ground | Estadio B.G. Estanislao López, Cementerio de los Elefantes ("Elephant Graveyard"), Santa Fe (Capacity: 47,000) |
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| Chairman | Germán Lerche | ||
| Manager | Mario Sciacqua | ||
| League | Primera División | ||
| 2011 Clausura | 16th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Club Atlético Colón, commonly referred to as Colón de Santa Fe, is a football team from Santa Fe, Argentina. As of Primera División Argentina 1946 the football squad plays in the highest division of Argentine football, and has done so continuously since 1995-96. Colón has finished in the top three of the Primera División Argentina on three occasions; achieving second place in Clausura 1997, and third place in Clausura 2000 and Apertura 2009.
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The club was founded in 1905,[3] apparently by a group of students, one of which was studying the discovery of America, hence the name chosen (Columbus is translated to Spanish as "Colón"). However there are no firm records of the club's existence until 1920.
Colón started playing in the local league of Santa Fe, winning it on 14 occasions. The club gained its affiliation with the Argentine Football Association in 1947. Colón played several seasons in the lower divisions until it won the Primera B Nacional (2nd level) in 1965, thus leading to its promotion to the Primera División Argentina for the 1966 season.
After the first season in the top level Colón finished 15th, but the following year the structure of Argentine football was changed so as there were two championships each season, the Metropolitano and the Nacional, with entrance to the latter originally only available to the higher placed Metropolitano teams. Colon did not qualify for the Nacional until 1968, although the squad did then manage a 6th place finish.
After a few seasons of struggle Colón finished 2nd in their group in the 1972 Nacional, although not close enough to the group winner to qualify for the knockout stages. In 1975 the team made a good campaign in the Metropolitano, finishing in the 6th place. This got better two years later, when Colón finished 5th in the Metropolitano, although the team then struggled in the Nacional. In 1978 Colón reached the knockout stages of the Nacional but was beaten in the Quarter Finals by Independiente.
Colon was relegated from the Metropolitana in 1981 having won only 6 games that season, although prior to this year the team had generally been in at least a mid table position. It was to take 14 years for Colón to return to the top division (for the 1995-96 season). During the intervening period the team came close to promotion on a number of occasions, and lost Promotion Playoff games in 1988-89 to arch-rivals Union 3-0 on aggregate, and in 1992-93 Colón lost the championship playoff, being defeated by Banfield and then failed to qualify through the secondary playoffs.
After a few mid-table finishes Colón was placed 2nd in the 1997 Clausura tournament, which is team's highest placed finish to date. As River Plate won both titles that season, a playoff was required between the two runners-up.[4] In December 1997 Colón defeated Independiente 1-0 to qualify for the Copa Libertadores 1998.[4]
Following this excellent season, 1997-98 was a disappointment but it was followed by a 5th place finish in the 1998-99 Apertura and 3rd place in the 1999–2000 Clausura. Over the next few seasons further high placings meant that at the end of season 2001-02 Colón was ranked 6th highest overall in the 3-year average tables. They maintained this position at the end of the following season, and indeed also therefore qualified for the Copa Sudamericana for the first time. Over the next few seasons its finishing position was often mid-table at best, and their position in the relegation averages fell such that by the end of the 2007-08 season Colón was placed 16th in the averages, just one position away from having to play in the relegation playoff.
Colon made their South American debut in the Copa CONMEBOL 1997 against Universidad de Chile. They susbsequently reached the semi finals where they lost to fellow Argentine side Lanús.
They made their debut in South America's most prestigious club tournament (Copa Libertadores) the following season. Their first game in the group stage was a 1-2 home defeat to River Plate, although they were still to qualify for the knockout stages. After beating Olimpia on penalties they were again drawn to play River Plate, but were defeated 5-2 on aggregate in the quarter final.
In 2003 they qualified for their 3rd different continental competition (Copa Sudamericana), and they defeated Vélez Sársfield before losing to Boca Juniors.
The club's current stadium is the Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López which holds 33,500 spectators.[3] The ground was inaugurated in 1948, and received a refurbishment in 2001. It is their 3rd ground, the team having originally played near the town's port, and due to the port's expansion they had to leave this site in 1925. Their 2nd ground was located near Arcos de Sur a Norte, although they had to leave this ground in 1938.
The club plays the Santa Fe local derby against Unión de Santa Fe. Unión were promoted to the primera división at the end of the 2011 Clausura and won the first derby for almost 10 years during the 2011 Apertura. The teams have played one another 79 times, with each team winning 25, and 29 games ending in a draw.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Current squad of Club Atlético Colón as of August 27, 2011 ()
Sources: Official website and Argentine Soccer
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Manager: Mario Sciaqua
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