| Full name | Club Atlético Rosario Central | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Los Canallas (The Scoundrels) La Academia rosarina (The Academy of Rosario) |
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| Founded | December 24, 1889 | |||
| Ground | Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina (Capacity: 41,824) |
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| Chairman | Norberto Speciale | |||
| Manager | Juan Antonio Pizzi | |||
| League | Primera B Nacional | |||
| 2010-11 | 12th | |||
| Website | Club home page | |||
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Club Atlético Rosario Central is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina. Its football team currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second tier of the Argentine football league system, after being relegated in the 2009-10 season.
Rosario Central is one of the most successful football team not based on Buenos Aires along with their rival, Newell's Old Boys. The club has won the Argentine's First Division four times while Newell's Old Boys has won it six times; their last domestic title was the 1986-87 season. In addition, they have won the Conmebol Cup once. After the 2010 Clausura, Rosario Central's poor form over the past three years forced them into a relegation/promotion play-off against Nacional B side Club Atlético All Boys. All Boys won the tie over two legs 4–1 on aggregate, relegating Rosario Central to second tier football for the fourth time in their history.
The club was officially founded in 1889, being one of the oldest Argentine teams, and took its name from the British-owned Central Argentine Railway company. Rosario Central has a strong rivalry with Newell's Old Boys. The matches played between them are named "El Clasico Rosarino", and is amongst the most heated rivalries in the sport due to both teams and due to Rosario Central's local popularity. Rosario Central's home stadium is Estadio Dr. Lisandro de la Torre, known simply as "El Gigante de Arroyito", which is the largest stadium in the city.
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The Central Argentine Railway Athletic Club was founded on December 24, 1889 by English railway workers of the British-owned Central Argentine Railway company. The first president was Colin Calder, and all club activities were carried out in the English language. When the company took over the Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway company in 1903, the name of the club was formally changed to Club Atlético Rosario Central.
The original jersey colors were red and white; later, the club would change to a checkered blue and white, and finally settle on the blue and gold vertical stripes design used to this day.
The team played in the local Rosario league until it joined the Argentine league in 1939 together with rivals Newell's Old Boys. Rosario Central was relegated in 1942 and again in 1951; both times, it was promoted on the very next season.
Rosario Central won the Nacional championship in 1971 with Angel Labruna as coach, and again in 1973, being the first of many such achievements won by the coach Carlos Timoteo Griguol.
For the 1974 season, Central acquired striker Mario Kempes from Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba (Kempes and Instituto mate Osvaldo Ardiles were to be reunited in the national team that won the 1978 World Cup).
After seven years whitout titles, Central won the 1980 Nacional with veteran Ángel Tulio Zof on the bench. That team was called "La Sinfónica" (the symphony orchestra) because they played very good, beautiful football.
After a few years with bad seasons, the team was relegated in 1985, but returned to first division the following year, and won the 1986/87 Championship. This was a first in Argentine football (oddly, Central Español performed a similar feat in Uruguay in the years 1983/84, also a first).
In 1995, Rosario Central won the CONMEBOL Cup (the precurssor of the current Copa Sudamericana), the only international title of a Santa Fe Province based team to date.
The club has participated in ten editions of the Copa Libertadores, and is currently tied for fifth place with Estudiantes de la Plata and Vélez Sársfield, all of which trail participation leaders Boca Juniors, River Plate, Independiente, and San Lorenzo de Almagro.
In the year 2010, Rosario Central is relegated for the fourth time from the first division after losing against All Boys in home-away matches (global score All Boys won 4-1).
Rosario Central plays in the Gigante de Arroyito stadium, located in the confluence of Avellaneda Boulevard and Génova Avenue, in the Lisandro de la Torre neighborhood (popularly known as Arroyito), in north-east Rosario. It has an official capacity of 41,654.
In that tournament, all three second-round games of the Argentine squad were played in the Gigante. Local hero Kempes enjoyed the support of the fans and went on to become the top scorer of the tournament.
Central's common nickname is canallas ("scoundrels", which is a rather mild insult in Argentina) because it is said that the club refused to play a charity match for a leprosy clinic in the 1920s; rival side Newell's acquired the leprosos (lepers) nickname when it did play in that event.
In a January 2007 press conference presenting the new jersey, Rosario native Roberto Fontanarrosa revised the definition and spelling of Central's nickname. The new spelling he gave was canaya, because according to him, people from the city of Rosario do not use the Spanish word canalla for any other reason than referring to the club.
Central is also known as La Academia (like the Argentine team Racing Club) due to the amount of players that become professional from the youth teams, and to the amount of consecutive Rosario's League titles that the club won in the amateur era, in comparison to Racing Club (called La Academia), that won a lot of championships in the Buenos Aires´ League at the same time too.
Rosario Central's supporters are considerated one of the most significant of Argentina. The Newspaper Olé was published last January 5, 2008 by a recent study realized by the English magazine UK Football. The same one, published that a ranking with the 50 most vibrant supporters of the world. The results were the following ones: as first, Milan represents the supporters of the AC, then that of Real Madrid, and third that of the Galatasaray of Turkey. Between the Argentinians that of Rosario Central turns out to be like first in the position 14, second that of River Plate in the position 20, third turn out to be the supporters of Boca Juniors in 23, and fourth that of Racing Club in the place number 48.[1]
It is provided also with certain proper rituals, as being the « Throwing of Towel », on November 23 in recognition to the party that Rosario Central imposed on his rival for 4 on 0 and this one was considered finished to 11 minutes of the second half, is known as the day of the abandonment, or the celebration of the « Day of the Friend Canaya », which is celebrated on July 19 (date of death of Roberto Fontanarrosa) and the most important, the celebration of the Little dove of Poy, who celebrates all on December 19 in different cities of the world, raised an order so that between to the book Guinness as the most celebrated goal of the history
Rosario Central have featured in many films, books, songs and plays. The club has also featured on several occasions in prose. Roberto Fontanarrosa's story "19 de diciembre de 1971" is about a fan who travels to Buenos Aires for a Semi-Final match against Newell's Old Boys.
Celebrity fans include Alberto "El Negro" Olmedo, Rita la Salvaje, Libertad Lamarque, some writers such as Osvaldo Bayer and Roberto Fontanarrosa, and some musicians as well as Fito Páez, Juan Carlos Baglietto, Joaquín Sabina are all fans of the club.
Ernesto "Che" Guevara, a major figure of the Cuban Revolution, was a Rosario Central fan.
Since July, 2009, the clothing of Rosario Central is provided by the company Puma, who takes from the sports uniform up to the extra-sports clothes. In turn, the jacket is sponsored by the company City Bank Ingeconser from August, 2009
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Current squad of Rosario Central as of August 28, 2011 ()
Sources: Official website and BDFA
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Manager: Juan Antonio Pizzi
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