Club Atlético Belgrano

Belgrano

Full name	Club Atlético Belgrano
Nickname(s)	Piratas, Celestes
Founded	19 March 1905 (1905-03-19)
Ground	Estadio Julio César Villagra, a.k.a. El Gigante de Alberdi
Ground Capacity	22,000
Chairman	Armando Pérez
Manager	Ricardo Zielinski
League	Primera División
2013 Inicial	6th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours

Club Atlético Belgrano (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkluβ aˈtletiko βelˈɣɾano]; mostly known simply as Belgrano [belˈɣɾano] or Belgrano de Córdoba [belˈɣɾano ðe ˈkorðoβa]) is a sports club from Córdoba, Argentina, best known for its football team, which currently plays in Primera División.

Other activities held in the club are basketball, chess and volleyball.

History

Belgrano was founded in 1905 by a group of teenagers, having 14-year-old Arturo Orgaz as its first president. They named it in commemoration of the Argentine historical figure General Manuel Belgrano, and its colours were taken from the flag of Argentina, created by Belgrano himself.

The first photo of a Belgrano team, taken in 1906.

The team started playing in the second division of the Córdoba league in 1908, winning that championship and the following two, to reach the first division of the local league. Because their precarious field didn't comply with the first division requirements, Belgrano's fans and players used to borrow post, wire and fences from the nearby houses to erect the required protections. Nevertheless, they would return all the material to their owners, leaving things as they were before the match. This kind of borrowing without consent brought them the nickname of Piratas ("Pirates").

After the foundation of the Federación Cordobesa de Fútbol ("Córdoba Football Association"), Belgrano won the first championship of 1913. The following season gave birth to the Córdoba Derby between Belgrano and Talleres. The both teams faced each other first round of the league, but that first derby match would only last 4 minutes, for Talleres left the field after a doubtful goal was awarded to Belgrano.

On 17 March 1929, the grounds of the Gigante de Alberdi were finished, one of the first cement stadiums in Argentina. El Gigante would be later renovated in 1997 to meet the requirements of the first and second national divisions.

Within the Córdoba league, Belgrano won all the championships between 1929 and 1937, except for 1934, that was won by Talleres. Then, it won the 1940, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956 (Unión Cordobesa de Fútbol) and 1957.

Belgrano was able to play its way to the Nacional tournament of 1968, and reached the Argentine second division in 1986. The club finally reached first division in 1992, where it played until 1996. In 1998 the team was promoted again to first division, to be relegated after the 2001/02 season.

Beating Olimpo de Bahía Blanca at the 2005–06 Promoción, Belgrano returned to first division for the 2006–07 season. Belgrano were relegated to the second division after narrowly missing out on a Promotion play-off berth. Belgrano played another promotion series in 2011, against River Plate, which they won.

Uniform

Since the first match the club played in 1905 it has always worn the traditional blue shirt for home games. The away shirt did varied using black, yellow, red, white and gray.

Year Kit manufacturer 1980–82 Adidas 1983 Sportlandia 1984 Nanque 1985–93 Topper 1993–95 Hummel 1995–96 Nanque 1996–2000 Le Coq Sportif 2000–04 Mitre 2004–05 TBS 2006 Lotto 2006–08 Signia 2008–10 Topper 2010 – present Lotto

Year Sponsor 1983–85 Bracco Mercedes Benz 1986–87 Georgalos 1987–88 Vinos Sna Javier 1988–90 Luxsa 1990–91 Yasta 1991–82 Rosamonte 1993–95 Intercable 1995–96 Esco 1996–98 Maxima AFJP 1998–99 Lotería de Córdoba 2000 Banco Industrial de Azul 2000–01 CTI Móvil 2002 TSU Cosméticos 2002–03 India Seguros 2003–07 Tersuave/Banco de Córdoba 2008 Tersuave/TSU Cosmeticos 2008–09 Tersuave/Banco de Córdoba 2009–10 Tersuave/Banco Julio 2009–10 Virgin Airilnes 2010 – present Tersuave/Banco de Córdoba

A Belgrano jersey by Topper, worn during the 1980s.

Players

Current squad

Current squad of Club Atlético Belgrano as of August 31, 2013 (edit)
Sources: Argentine Soccer

No. Position Player 1  ARG GK Juan Carlos Olave 2  ARG DF Pier Barrios 3  ARG DF Juan Leandro Quiroga 4  ARG DF Renzo Saravia 5  ARG MF Guillermo Farré 6  ARG DF Luciano Lollo 7  ARG FW César Pereyra 8  ARG MF Lucas Pittinari 9  ARG FW Fernando Márquez 10  ARG MF Lucas Zelarrayán 11  ARG FW Nahuel Luján 12  ARG FW Ezequiel Maggiolo 13  ARG MF Sebastián Carrera 14  ARG DF Nicolás Ferreyra 15  ARG MF Facundo Affranchino

No. Position Player 17  ARG GK Pablo Heredia 18  ARG GK Juan Curzi 19  ARG MF Jorge Velázquez 20  URU FW Carlos Bueno 24  ARG MF Emiliano Rigoni 25  ARG DF Gastón Turus 26  ARG FW Joel Valdemarín 27  ARG FW Giuliano Bardín 28  ARG MF Marcos Rivadero 29  ARG DF Federico Álvarez 30  URU DF Sergio Rodríguez 32  ARG MF Esteban González 35  ARG GK Lucas Mauricio Acosta 37  ARG DF Lucas Aveldaño

Managers

Honours

Regional

• Liga Cordobesa de Fútbol (31): 1913, 1914, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1940, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1984, 1985, 2003
• Segunda División Liga Cordobesa (3): 1908, 1909, 1910
• Unión Cordobesa de Fútbol (1): 1956
• Primera División ACF (2): 1984, 1985
• Campeonato Provincial ACF (3): 1983, 1984, 1985
• Torneo Regional (Córdoba) (9): 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1985 ^[1]
• Torneo del Interior (Córdoba) (1): 1985–86 ^[1]
• Torneo Regional de AFA (10): 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1985, 1986

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Club Atlético Belgrano.

• Official site