Club Nacional

Club Nacional is a Paraguayan professional football club based in the neighbourhood of Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1904, the club currently plays in the Paraguayan Primera División, and holds its home games at Estadio Arsenio Erico.

Club Nacional
Nacional emblem
Full nameClub Nacional
Nickname(s)La Academia
Tricolor
FoundedJune 5, 1904 (1904-06-05)
GroundEstadio Arsenio Erico
Capacity4,434
ChairmanJuan Carlos Galeano
ManagerPedro Sarabia
LeaguePrimera División
20224th of 12

Internationally, the club is referred to as Nacional Asunción, in order to distinguish itself from Uruguay's Nacional and Colombia's Atlético Nacional.[1]

History

The club was founded on June 5, 1904, by a group of alumni of the Colegio Nacional de la Capital, one of the oldest public schools in Asunción. The club was originally named Nacional Football Club, taking the name from "Club Nacional de Football" the Uruguayan club, whose shield and three colors were taken to associate the national origin. It is also referred as related to the school the founders attended. Its first president was Víctor Paredes Gómez and white was selected as the team color because that was the color of the Nacional de la Capital School uniform. For the emblem of the club, the colors of the Paraguayan flag were chosen.

Nacional is one of the traditional teams in the Paraguayan league and they have won a total of nine championships so far. Their nickname "La Academia" (lit.'the academy') was given to them because of their excellent youth system that produced great players such as Arsenio Erico, who is considered as the best Paraguayan footballer of all time.

In 2009 Nacional won their first league title in 63 years.[2]

In 2014, Club Nacional made history by reaching the Copa Libertadores final for the first time ever since its foundation, and by being only the second Paraguayan club to reach the final (after Olimpia).[3]

The club began the campaign with a runner-up finish in the group stage. In the knockout stages, they defeated Argentine clubs Vélez Sarsfield and Arsenal de Sarandí. In the semi-finals, they beat Uruguayan club Defensor Sporting 2–1 on aggregate to set up a final with San Lorenzo.[4] The first leg of the final was played in Asunción and ended 1-1. However, San Lorenzo won the second leg 1–0 at Estadio Pedro Bidegain and took the title with a 2-1 aggregate victory.[5]

Youth

One of the club's youth teams played at the 2009 Torneo di Viareggio,[6] the 2010 Torneo di Viareggio,[6] the 2011 Torneo di Viareggio,[6] the 2012 Torneo di Viareggio[6] and the 2013 Torneo di Viareggio.[7]

Honors

Current squad

As of 6 March 2022 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Paraguay PAR Rodolfo Rodríguez
2 DF Paraguay PAR Juan Franco
4 DF Paraguay PAR Gastón Benítez
5 DF Paraguay PAR Rolando Guerreño
7 MF Argentina ARG Darío Ríos
8 MF Paraguay PAR Juan Argüello
9 FW Paraguay PAR David Fleitas
10 FW Paraguay PAR Danilo Santacruz
11 FW Paraguay PAR Orlando Gaona Lugo
13 DF Paraguay PAR Alex Aguilar
14 DF Paraguay PAR Claudio Nuñez
15 DF Argentina ARG Franco Costa
16 MF Uruguay URU Marcelo Palau
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 FW Paraguay PAR Mathias Martínez
18 MF Paraguay PAR Richard Prieto
DF Paraguay PAR Wilson Ibarrola
MF Paraguay PAR Rodrigo Vera
21 MF Paraguay PAR Carlos Arrua
23 DF Paraguay PAR Carlos Espinola
24 FW Paraguay PAR Martín Núñez
25 FW Argentina ARG Facundo Bruera (on loan from Club Atlético Brown)
26 MF Paraguay PAR Sergio Fretes
28 DF Argentina ARG Bruno Cabrera
29 MF Paraguay PAR Sebastián Vargas
30 GK Paraguay PAR Santiago Rojas
32 MF Paraguay PAR Orlando Colmán

Notable players

To appear in this section a player must have either:
  • Been part of a national team at any time.
  • Played in the first division of any other football association (outside Paraguay).
  • Played in a continental and/or intercontinental competition.

Managers

References

  1. "Paraguay - Club Nacional". Soccerway.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  2. "¡Nacional campeón del Clausura!" [Nacional Clausura champion!]. ultimahora.com (in Spanish). December 13, 2009. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021.
  3. "Nacional cayó pero logró histórico paso a la final de la Libertadores". Prensafutbol.cl. July 29, 2014. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  4. "Nacional de Paraguay clasifica por primera vez a la final de Copa Libertadores". El Universo (in Spanish). July 30, 2014. Archived from the original on August 2, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  5. "San Lorenzo defeats Nacional to win Copa Libertadores title". Sports Illustrated. August 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  6. "Coppa Carnevale - Torneo Internazionale Giovanile di Viareggio". Rsssf.com. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  7. "Torneo". Viareggiocup.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  8. "Ficha Estadistica de INCA -glaucineis martins da silva- (perfil, ficha, profile, stats)". Bdfa.com.ar. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  9. "Argentina - I. Fideleff - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Int.soccerway.com. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  10. "Football player list. 2007-2016". ozfootball.net. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  11. "Nacional fichará a Zé Turbo - Fútbol - ABC Color".
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