Club Atlético del Rosario

Atlético del Rosario

Full name	Club Atlético del Rosario
Union	Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires
Nickname(s)	Plaza
Founded	27 March 1867 (1867-03-27)
Location	Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina
Ground(s)	Rosario
President	Alejandro Risler
Coach(es)	Daniel Baetti Iván Macat
League(s)	Torneo de la URBA
2012	13th of Top 14 [1]
Team kit
Official website
atleticodelrosario.club

Club Atlético del Rosario is an Argentine sports club from Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. One of the oldest clubs still in existence in Argentina, Atlético del Rosario was a pioneer of football in Rosario, being the first team from that city to play in the Primera División, the top division of Argentine football league system. At international level, Rosario AC was also the first team outside Buenos Aires to win an international tournament, the Tie Cup on three occasions. Nevertheless, football is no longer practised at the club.

Nowadays, Atlético del Rosario is mostly regarded for its rugby union team,^[2] having been a founding member of the "River Plate Rugby Championship" (current Argentine Rugby Union) in 1999. The senior squad currently plays in Grupo I, the first division of the Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires league system.

Atlético del Rosario also has a women's field hockey team playing in the Litoral A championship, the first division of the Asociación de Hockey del Litoral league system.

Apart from rugby and hockey, the other sport hosted by the club is tennis.

History

Rosario A.C. squad of 1884, the oldest photo of a rugby team in Argentina.

Rosario and Buenos Aires players posing together during a cricket match, 1916.

The club was founded as a cricket institution by British railway workers, under the name "Rosario Cricket Club", on 27 March 1867. In 1899, the club moved to its current location at Plaza Jewell, named after brothers Charles and Edward Jewell who gifted the land to the club. It is during that period that Rosario Cricket Club changed its name to "Rosario Athletic Club". In football, the club had the honour to be the first club from Rosario playing in Argentine Primera División although the squad only participated in the 1894 championship.^[3] Rosario AC was invited by the Argentine and Uruguayan Football Associations to participate in the Tie Cup, played by teams of Buenos Aires, Rosario and Montevideo. Rosario AC won the 1902 (defeating legendary Alumni 2-1 in the third match), 1904 (beating Uruguayan CURCC 3-2) and 1905 (winning over CURCC again by 4-3) editions totaling 3 championships in 6 years. The line-up vs. CURCC in 1905 was: ER.S. Knight; R.O. Le Bas, G. Middleton; H. Talbot, M.O. Wells, R. Stuart; E.O. Le Bas, A.O Le Bas, G. Roberts, J.G. Parr, W. Stocks.^[4] In 1906 Rosario AC participated of the creation of "Liga Rosarina de Fútbol", playing all its tournaments until 1916.

Football kit
(1900-1916)

Apart from football, Rosario AC had an active participation in rugby union. On 28 June 1886 Rosario AC played the first inter-clubs match in Argentina, when the team faced Buenos Aires Football Club in the city of Rosario.^[4][5]

Thirteen years later, in 1899, along with Buenos Aires FC, Lomas and Belgrano AC, the club would become a founding member of the "River Plate Rugby Championship", the origin of today's Argentine Rugby Union.^[2][6] Rosario AC's rugby field is considered the oldest in Argentina, having been inaugurated in 1899.^[7]

In 1928 Atlético del Rosario, then playing in the Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires championship, became a founding member of the Unión de Rugby de Rosario. As a founding member of the URBA and the URR, the club has the particularity of being a full member of both unions to this day. Field hockey was added as sport in 1930, being played by women's teams and first. In 1955 the team started to play in the tournaments held by "Asociación Argentina Amateur de Hockey Sobre Césped", promoting to Primera División in 1959. The club won two championships in 1975 and 1978 but in 1991 it was relegated to the second division.

From 1956, Atlético would only take part in the local competitions, before rejoining URBA competitions in 1983. When playing in the URBA, the team use CA San Isidro's home ground in San Isidro, Buenos Aires, in order to facilitate travel for the visiting teams. In 1991 Atlético was relegated to the second division, where it played the 1992 season promoting to Grupo I that same year. In 1994, Atlético del Rosario took part of the creation of Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires, which organized its own championships succeeding The River Plate Rugby Union. One year later Atlético won its four Primera División title, shared with Hindú Club. In 2000 the club won its 5th title and last to date, defeating CA San Isidro at the finals.^[2]

Honours

An association football team in 1905.

Football

• Tie Cup (3): 1902, 1904, 1905 ^[8]

Rugby union

• Torneo de la URBA (5): 1905, 1906, 1935, 1996, 2000

Field hockey

Women's

• Metropolitano de Primera División (2): 1971, 1975

References

External links

• Official Site