Club Nacional
Nacional emblem
Full nameClub Nacional
Nickname(s)La Academia
Tricolor
FoundedJune 5, 1904; 119 years ago (1904-06-05)
GroundEstadio Arsenio Erico
Capacity4,434
ChairmanJuan Carlos Galeano
ManagerJuan Pablo Pumpido
LeaguePrimera División
2023Primera División, 4th of 12
Current season

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.

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 24 January, 2024 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 Antony Silva
5 DF Argentina ARG Sergio Ojeda
6 MF Paraguay PAR Juan Alfaro
7 MF Paraguay PAR Edgardo Orzuza
8 MF Argentina ARG Facundo Velazco
11 FW Paraguay PAR Gustavo Caballero
12 GK Paraguay PAR Christian Riveros
13 DF Paraguay PAR Leandro Meza
14 DF Paraguay PAR Claudio Nuñez
15 FW Paraguay PAR Francisco Morel
16 MF Paraguay PAR Marcelo González
17 DF Argentina ARG Brian Blasi
18 FW Paraguay PAR Lucas Gonzalez
20 DF Paraguay PAR Juan González
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF Paraguay PAR Blas Cáceres
22 FW Paraguay PAR José Nuñez
23 FW Paraguay PAR Diego Duarte
24 MF Paraguay PAR Jordan Santacruz
25 FW Paraguay PAR Jesús Cáceres
26 DF Paraguay PAR Eduardo Duarte
29 MF Paraguay PAR Sebastián Vargas
30 GK Paraguay PAR Lucas Galarza
31 FW Argentina ARG Nazareno Bazán
33 FW Paraguay PAR Orlando Gaona
36 DF Paraguay PAR Ismael Benegas
37 DF Paraguay PAR Kevin Benítez
38 FW Paraguay PAR Rodrigo Arévalo

Notable players

To appear in this section a player must have either:

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. ^ a b c d "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".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Club Nacional (Paraguay).
Asunción
División Profesional
2014 Copa Libertadores de América
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