Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield
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| Full name | Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield | |||
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| Nickname(s) | El Fortín (The Fort) | |||
| Founded | January 1, 1910 | |||
| Ground | Estadio José Amalfitani (Capacity: 49,000) |
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| Chairman |  Fernando Raffaini |
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| Manager | Ricardo Gareca |
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| League | Argentine Primera División | |||
| Apertura 2008 | 9th | |||
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 Current season |
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Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield is an Argentine sports club best known for its football team, based in the Liniers neighborhood of western Buenos Aires.
The Club is also frequently referred to as The Fort. Its home stadium is the Jose Amalfitani Stadium, in the borough of Liniers. Velez have won the Argentine Primera seven times and 5 international cups.
It was founded in 1910 in the Floresta neighborhood, next to the Ferrocarril del Oeste railroad station Vélez Sársfield, named after the 1869 drafter of the Argentine Civil Code Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield (since 1944 the station has been renamed Floresta). The club first participated in the amateur first division league in 1919 (runners-up), and has been a professional first division fixture since the advent of professionalism in 1931. Relegated only once, in 1941, it returned to the first division in 1943. The club clinched their first professional title in the year 1968, after beating River Plate and Racing Club. After that title, the club spent 25 years without silverware until 1993 when the won the Clausura Tournament. The nineties were the most successful period in Velez's history. In that spell, they won domestic cups and international cups. Their international summit was when they defeated A.C. Milan in the European-South American Cup in Japan in the year 1994.
Velez clinched their last Argentine title in the year 2009 when they won the Clausura tournament.
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[edit] History
Velez foundation dates back to 1910. It was on a rainy day when three men sheltered from a summer storm in Vélez Sársfield Railway Station. They were Julio Guglielmone, Martin Portillo and Nicolas Martín Moreno. They decided to create a new football club and planned to join a local league.
After the storm subsided, the three headed for Marin Moreno's house, a stone's throw from the railway station, the last call of the Buenos Aires Western Railway, which connected downtown with the 'far west'.
Together, the friends established the Argentines of Velez Sarsfield Athletic Club(Club Atlético Argentinos de Velez Sarsfield) and appointed Luis Barredo as their first chairman. Their first home was the piece of land located at United Provincies St.-Provincias Unidas-, currently Juan Bautista Alberdi, Convention St, currently Jose Bonifacio, and Mariano Acosta and Ensenada. During its infancy, the team sported white shirts but soon changed to navy blue shirts with white shorts.
In late 1912, the board decided to rent a new field, located in the neighbourhood of Mataderos, at Tapalque St., between Escalada and Chascomus St. A wind mill provided water for the dressing rooms.
On May 14, 1914, owing to the great amount of Italian immigrants who were members of the club, the kit was changed again. The new colours adopted were green, red and white, the colours of the Italian flag. From then on, the club played in green, red and white stripes.
The club was finally elected to the Argentine League in 1918. The club showed promise and played well in their first season, clinching 2nd position, ending the season just 4 points short of River Plate and Defensores Belgrano. On their league debut, Velez defeated Independiente 1-0. In 1921the Argentine National team selected the first Velez player, Jose Bofia, who made his debut against Chile, in Valpraiso, a game which Argentina won 4-1.
In 1928, Velez Sarsfield played the first night game in Argentine football history at their new stadium in neighboring Villa Luro. This stadium would be nicknamed "El Fortín" (The Small Fort) by the press and is still often referred to that way.
In the thirties, Velez managed to be a powerful force playing at home but struggled away from El Fortín. In 1938 the kit changed to its present colors when a sports-equipment merchant offered the club white jerseys with a blue V on the chest at a discount because a rugby club had not claimed them. The new design has remained unchanged to the present day, forgetting the red-white and green shirt used in the first years of the club.
The 1990s was undoubtedly the most successful era in Velez's history. In the space of a few years, they clinched most of their silverware, having won 9 titles, both domestic and international. Many consider their successes was largely down to coach Carlos Bianchi. As a player he was part of the Vélez team that obtained its first title in 1968, and Bianchi was Argentine Top scorer in 1970, 1971 and then again during his second tenure in 1981. As team coach, Bianchi drove Vélez to three titles (Clausura 1993, Apertura 1995, Clausura 1996) the 1994 Copa Libertadores, Copa Intercontinental 1995 and Supercopa Sudamericana 1996.
Their most notable success came in 1994, when Velez clinched the Copa Intercontinental 2-0 against AC Milan. Roberto Trotta (PK) and Omar Asad on target to take them past the Italian giants.
[edit] Support
Velez are one of the most popular teams in Argentina and their fans are usually known as 'Los Fortineros'. Their fanbase increased tremendously in the nineties, following their great success.
Velez's fanbase is largely drawn from the west of Buenos Aires and the surroundings of Liniers, although Fortineros can be found in Moreno and Merlo as well. Home matches are traditionally well attended, attracting tens of thousands every week.
[edit] Rivals
Vélez Sársfield has no direct rival. Ferrocarril Oeste, based in the neighbourhood of Caballito, is sometimes said to be Velez's historical rival. However, this rivalry has faded out mainly because the teams play in different divisions. They have not faced each other since 2000, when Velez beat Ferrocarril Oeste away 1-0.
Supporters of Nueva Chicago see Vélez as being a derby or clásico match but it is not recipricated by the fortineros. While a fierce rivalry has developed with San Lorenzo, it would not be considered as a clásico either.
[edit] Managers and coaches
[edit] Stadium
The José Amalfitani stadium (named after the club's president for over 30 years) holds 49,747 people, although it doesn't provide seating for all of them. It is also frequently used for concerts and Argentina rugby team matches. The stadium, often referred to as El Fortín, was built in 1947 and later remodeled in preparation for the 1978 FIFA World Cup.
The stadium is located on 9200 Juan B. Justo avenue, in the Liniers neighborhood, a short walk from the Liniers train station.
[edit] Titles
National
- First Division
- Nacional: 1968
- Torneo Apertura: 1995
- Torneo Clausura: 1993, 1996, 1998, 2005, 2009
- Second Division
- Ascenso: 1943
International
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- Copa Libertadores: 1994
- Intercontinental Cup: 1994
- Copa Interamericana: 1994 (played in 1996)
- Supercopa Sudamericana: 1996
- Recopa Sudamericana: 1997
[edit] Top Scorers
[edit] Most appearances
- 1- Pedro Larraquy (455)
- 2- Ángel Allegri (384)
- 3- Raúl Cardozo (353)
- 4- Carlos Bianchi (324)
- 5- Luis Gallo (317)
- 6- Armando Ovide (310)
- 7- Juan Carlos Bujedo (288)
- 8- Mario Lucca (281)
- 9- José Luis Chilavert (270)
- 9- Fabián Cubero (270)
[edit] Top Goalscorers
- 1- Carlos Bianchi (206)
- 2- Juan José Ferraro (111)
- 3- Norberto Conde (108)
- 4- Agustín Cosso (95)
- 5- Pedro Larraquy (82)
- 6- Juan Carlos Carone (76)
- 7- Miguel Ángel Benito (74)
- 8- Patricio Camps (70)
- 9- Omar Pedro Roldán (60)
- 10- Omar Wehbe (56)
- 11- José Óscar Flores (45)
[edit] Top scorers in a League
- Agustín Cosso: 1935
- Norberto Conde: 1954
- Juan Carlos Carone: 1965
- Omar Wehbe: Nacional 1968
- Carlos Bianchi: Nacional 1970, Metropolitano 1971, Nacional 1981
- Jorge Comas: Nacional 1985
- Esteban González: Campeonato 90-91
- José Oscar Flores: Torneo Clausura 1995
- Rolando Zárate: Torneo Clausura 2004
- Mauro Zárate: Torneo Apertura 2006
[edit] Chairmen
- 1910-1913: Luis Barredo
- 1913-1914: Plácido Marín
- 1914: Roberto Piano
- 1914-1917: Eduardo Ferro
- 1917-1919: Antonio Marín Moreno
- 1919: Eduardo Ferro
- 1920-1921: Antonio Marín Moreno
- 1921-1923: Esteban Aversano
- 1923-1925: José Amalfitani
- 1925-1932: Enrique D'Elías
- 1932-1935: Nicolás Marín Moreno
- 1936-1937: Juan C. Sustaita
- 1937: Narciso Barrio
- 1938-1939: Nicolás Marín Moreno
- 1937-1938: Inocencio Bienati
- 1940-1941: Roberto L. Orstein
- 1941-1969: José Amalfitani
- 1969: Leonardo Pareja
- 1969-1970: Domingo M. Trimarco
- 1970-1976: José R. Feijóo
- 1976: Domingo M. Trimarco
- 1976-1979: Osvaldo Guerrero
- 1979-1985: Ricardo Petracca
- 1985-1991: Francisco Antonio Pérez
- 1991-1993: Ricardo Petracca
- 1993-1996: Héctor Gaudio
- 1996-1999: Raúl Gámez
- 1999-2002: Carlos E. Mousseaud
- 2002-2005: Raúl Gámez
- 2005-present: Álvaro Balestrini
[edit] Other sports
Vélez has both men's and women's volleyball teams in Argentina's first division. It also competes in basketball, field hockey, and other disciplines.
[edit] Players
[edit] Current squad
Current squad for Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield ()
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Manager: Ricardo Gareca
[edit] Notable former players
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[edit] External links
- (Spanish) Official Site
- (Spanish) VelezSarsfield.NET
- (Spanish) El Portal Fortinero
- (Spanish) La V Azulada
- Velez Sarsfield in BDFA
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