Club Nacional is a Paraguayan professional
football club based in the neighbourhood of
Obrero in
Asunción
Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay.
The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay o ...
. Founded in 1904, the club currently plays in the
Paraguayan Primera División
The División Profesional de la Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (; "Professional Division of the Paraguayan Football Association"), also known as the Primera División (; "first division"), or due to sponsorship reasons Copa de Primera TIGO-Vi ...
, 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
Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the oth ...
.
History
The club was founded on June 5, 1904, by a group of
alumni
Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
of the
Colegio Nacional de la Capital
Colegio Nacional de la Capital "Gral. Bernardino Caballero" (or simply CNC) is a public high school in Asuncion, Paraguay. The school is one of the most prestigious in Paraguay. Many personalities have studied there.
History
The CNC was establ ...
, one of the oldest public schools in
Asunción
Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay.
The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay o ...
. 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" (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.
In
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, 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).
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
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
. In the semi finals, they beat Uruguayan club
Defensor Sporting
Defensor Sporting Club is a sports club based in Montevideo, Uruguay. Founded in 1913, Defensor has several sports sections, with football and basketball being the most important and the ones in which the club has achieved significant achievem ...
2-1 on aggregate to set up a final with
San Lorenzo. The first leg of the final was played in Asunción and ended 1-1. However, San Lorenzo won the second leg 1-0 at
and took the title with a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Youth
One of the club's youth teams played at the
2009 Torneo di Viareggio
The 2009 winners of the Torneo di Viareggio (in English, the Viareggio Tournament, officially the Viareggio Cup World Football Tournament Coppa Carnevale), the annual youth football tournament held in Viareggio, Tuscany, are listed below.
Format ...
, the
2010 Torneo di Viareggio, the
2011 Torneo di Viareggio, the
2012 Torneo di Viareggio and the
2013 Torneo di Viareggio.
Honors
*
Primera División (9):
1909
Events
January–February
* January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
* January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama.
* Jan ...
,
1911
A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole.
Events January
* January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...
''(undefeated)'',
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...
,
1926
Events January
* January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece.
* January 8
**Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz.
** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...
,
1942
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...
,
1946,
2009 Clausura,
2011 Apertura,
2013 Apertura
*
División Intermedia (3): 1979, 1989, 2003
Current squad
''As of 6 March 2022''
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.
2000's
*
Óscar Cardozo
Óscar René Cardozo Marín (; born 20 May 1983) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Club Libertad and the Paraguay national team.
Known for his powerful left-foot shot and free-kick skills, he first gained att ...
(2004–06)
*
Cristian Bogado
Cristian Venancio Bogado Morínigo (born 7 January 1987) is a Paraguayan footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, ...
(2005–07)
*
Glacinei Martins (2005–2006, 2007–2009)
*
Juan Cardozo
Juan Cardozo (born 1 August 1974) is a former Paraguayan footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football ...
(2008)
2010's
*
Fredy Bareiro (2014)
*
Julio Santa Cruz (2014–15)
*
Brian Montenegro (2014)
*
Ignacio Fideleff (2016–)
*
Roberto Nanni
Roberto Antonio Nanni (born 20 August 1981) is an Argentine retired football forward.
Club career
Nanni started playing professionally for Vélez Sársfield in 2001. While at the team, he reached the final fixture of the 2003 Clausura as the ...
(2016–)
Non-
CONMEBOL players
*
Christopher Cristaldo
Christopher Cristaldo Zambrini (born 15 January 1995) is a Paraguayan-born Australian footballer who currently plays as a forward for Moreland City.
Club career Youth career
In 2011, he played for the Victorian Training Centre where he ma ...
(2016)
*
Zé Turbo
José Correia (born 22 October 1996) known as Zé Turbo, is a Bissau-Guinean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Russian Premier League club Pari NN.
He was on the books of Sporting and Inter Milan as a teenager, but did not mak ...
(2019)
Managers
*
Ever Hugo Almeida
Ever Hugo Almeida Almada (born 1 July 1948) is a Paraguayan football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He is the current manager of Ecuadorian club El Nacional.
Almeida was born in Salto, Uruguay, but became a naturalized ...
(1992)
*
Daniel Raschle (July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009)
*
Ever Hugo Almeida
Ever Hugo Almeida Almada (born 1 July 1948) is a Paraguayan football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He is the current manager of Ecuadorian club El Nacional.
Almeida was born in Salto, Uruguay, but became a naturalized ...
(July 1, 2009 – April 15, 2010)
*
Juan Manuel Battaglia (April 1, 2010 – Dec 31, 2011)
*
Javier Torrente (Jan 1, 2012 – April 19, 2012)
*
Gustavo Morínigo (April 16, 2012–15)
*
Ricardo Dabrowski
Ricardo Mariano Dabrowski (born 28 March 1961 in Lomas de Zamora, Argentina) is an Argentine former football player and manager. He played as a forward for clubs of Argentina, Chile and Mexico.
Career
A native of Temperley, Dabrowski (also kno ...
(2015)
*
Daniel Raschle (2015–2016)
*
Ever Hugo Almeida
Ever Hugo Almeida Almada (born 1 July 1948) is a Paraguayan football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He is the current manager of Ecuadorian club El Nacional.
Almeida was born in Salto, Uruguay, but became a naturalized ...
(2016–)
References
External links
Club Nacional de Paraguay Official SiteClub Nacional de Paraguay Unofficial Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nacional
Football clubs in Paraguay
Football clubs in Asunción
Association football clubs established in 1904
1904 establishments in Paraguay