Atlético Nacional
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| Full name | Club Atlético Nacional S. A. | |||
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| Nickname(s) |
Los Verdolagas (The Purslanes), El Verde (The Green), Rey de Copas (King of Cups), El Verde de la Montaña (The Green from the Mountains), El Verde Paisa (The Paisa Green), El Siempre Verde (The Evergreen) | |||
| Founded | 7 March 1947 | |||
| Ground |
Estadio Atanasio Girardot Medellín, Colombia | |||
| Capacity | 45,943 | |||
| Owner | Organización Ardila Lülle | |||
| Chairman | Juan Carlos de la Cuesta | |||
| Manager | Reinaldo Rueda | |||
| League | Categoría Primera A | |||
| 2016–I | 2nd, Semifinals | |||
| Website | Club home page | |||
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Club Atlético Nacional S. A., also known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football team based in Medellín. The club is one of only three teams to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the other two teams being Millonarios and Santa Fe.[1]
Atlético Nacional was founded on 7 March 1947 as Club Atlético Municipal de Medellín by Luis Alberto Villegas López, a former president of the football league of Antioquia. The current owner, Organización Ardila Lülle, officially acquired the team in 1996.[2] According to CONMEBOL, Atlético Nacional is the club with the largest number of fans in Colombia.[3]
Atlético Nacional plays its home games at the Atanasio Girardot stadium, which has a capacity of 45,943. It shares the stadium with its local rivals, Independiente Medellín. The teams face each other in a derby known as El Clásico Paisa, which is considered one of the most important derbies in the country.[4] Atlético Nacional also has a rivalry with Millonarios, a rivalry that arose from the 1989 Copa Libertadores.[5]
Considered to be one of the strongest clubs from Colombia, it is one of the most consistent clubs in the country. Atlético Nacional has won 15 league titles, three Copa Colombia and two Superliga Colombiana, a total of 20 domestic titles, making it the most successful team in Colombia. It was also the first Colombian club to win the Copa Libertadores in 1989 and, after winning the title again in 2016, the most successful Colombian side in that tournament. It also has the most international titles of any Colombian club, having also won the Copa Merconorte twice and the Copa Interamericana twice, a total of six international trophies.
Atlético Nacional is ranked by IFFHS as the 13th-best South American club and 62nd in the world.[6] It is also ranked as the best Colombian club in the 21st century.[7] Nacional is also credited as the best Colombian team in CONMEBOL club tournaments[8] and ranks 20th in Copa Libertadores' official club ranking.[9]
History
Atlético Nacional was founded as Club Atlético Municipal de Medellín on 7 March 1947 by a partnership led by Luis Alberto Villegas López, former president of the football league of Antioquia. The club was created to promote sports in the city, especially football and basketball. It was based on Unión Indulana Foot-Ball Club, an amateur club from the Liga Antioqueña de Fútbol, the local amateur football league. Officially, the founding members were: Luis Alberto Villegas Lopera, Jorge Osorio, Alberto Eastman, Jaime Restrepo, Gilberto Molina, Raúl Zapata Lotero, Jorge Gómez Jaramillo, Arturo Torres Posada and Julio Ortiz.[10]
Atlético Nacional joined the professional league for its first edition in 1948. For that tournament, each club had to pay a fee of 1,000 pesos (at that time, approximately 1,050 USD).[11] Atlético Nacional played the first match of the history of the tournament, a 2–0 victory over Universidad.[12] The tournament had ten participants that season and Atlético Nacional was 6th with seven victories, four draws and seven defeats.
Atlético Municipal changed to its current name, Atlético Nacional, for the 1951 season. The name change was made as a way to reflect the main philosophy of the club: to encourage the national sportsman. That philosophy also reflected in the policy of signing only national players.[10] It was until 1953 that the club signed the first foreign player, the Argentine Atilio Miotti.[13]
Atlético Nacional won its first league title in 1954 under manager Fernando Paternoster, who also managed the team from 1948 to 1951. Nacional won the title with just one defeat, against Boca Juniors de Cali. The Argentine Carlos Gambina was the goalscorer of the team and the tournament with 21 goals.
In 1958, due to an economic crisis, Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín mixed their teams. Although the team keep playing under the name of Atlético Nacional, it was known popularly as Independiente Nacional.[11] The union last just one season and both teams compete normally the next year.
Nacional won its second league title in 1973, 19 years after its first title. The team qualified for the final stage after placing first in the Torneo Finalización with 34 points. The team compete against Millonarios and Deportivo Cali at the final stage and won the tournament with three victories and one defeat.
In 1987, the team returned to its policy of a squad without foreign players. In the 1988 season, Atlético Nacional was first in the aggregate table, which allow the team qualify to the final stage. There, the team was second, draw in points with Millonarios, but surpassed by goal difference. This result qualified the team for the 1989 Copa Libertadores.[10]
In 1989 Copa Libertadores, Atlético Nacional became the first Colombian team to win an international tournament. In the Group Stage, Atlético Nacional was placed with Millonarios, Deportivo Quito and Emelec. The club was second with 7 points, while Millonarios was first with 10 points. It was the first time Nacional qualified for the next round. The club had participated in the tournament five times, with its last time being 1982. In the round of 16, Nacional defeated Racing with an aggregate score of 3–2. The team faced Millonarios again in the quarterfinals and defeated them with an aggregate score of 2–1. In the semifinals the team faced Danubio. The away match ended in a 0–0 draw. However the team achieved a 6–0 win in its home, with four goals of Albeiro Usuriaga, one of Alexis García and one of Níver Arboleda. In the finals they faced Olimpia. The first leg, played in Asunción, was a 2–0 defeat with Rafael Bobadilla and Vidal Sanabria scoring for the local. Nacional got a comeback in the secong leg, played in Bogotá, with an own goal from Fider Miño and a goal from Albeiro Usuriaga. With an aggregate score of 2–2, the winner had to be decided on the penalty shoot-out, where they won 5–4, getting its first international title.[14]
In the 1980s, Nacional was linked to the Medellín Cartel. Pablo Escobar, fan of football and betting, invested a lot of money in the club.[15][16][17][18] Some referees were threatened in the league and even in the Copa Libertadores, for which CONMEBOL sanctioned Colombian clubs for the 1990 Copa Libertadores, with the exception of Nacional whom was admitted as champion of the previous edition. However, the team had to play its local matches in Chile.[19] In 1989, the local league was cancelled due to the assassination of referee Álvaro Ortega on October 1. In October, the team played the Supercopa Libertadores and were eliminated in Quarterfinals by Independiente.[20] On 17 December, Nacional played the 1989 Intercontinental Cup against Milan, champion of the 1988–89 European Cup. The result was an 1–0 defeat with an 119-minute free kick goal from Alberigo Evani.
As champion of the Copa Libertadores, Nacional also played the 1989 Copa Interamericana against Pumas UNAM, winner of the 1989 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. The cup was played in 1990 in two legs, with Nacional winning it with an aggregate score of 6–1.[21] They also played the 1990 Recopa Sudamericana against Boca Juniors, champion of the 1989 Supercopa Libertadores (that they also played). The result was an 1–0 defeat.
The next two editions of the Copa Libertadores, 1990 and 1991, Nacional was eliminated in the Semifinals, both times by its rival in the 1989 Final: Olimpia from Paraguay. In 1991, Nacional won its fifth title in the Primera A after placing first in the Final Round against América, Junior and Santa Fe.
Nacional left again the practise of a team with no foreign players in 2004, when the team signed the Venezuelan Jorge Rojas and the Argentine Hugo Morales.[22] Nacional is the only Colombian club that has won the two domestic short-format tournaments, Apertura and Finalización, since the format was established in 2002, winning the titles of the 2007 and 2013 seasons.
In 2009, Nacional played the worst season of its history, where the team was 17th in the Torneo Apertura with three victories in eighteen matches. In the Torneo Finalización, the team was 7th, qualifying to the next round. There the team was placed in the Group B with Atlético Huila, Deportes Tolima and Santa Fe. The team was second, thus not qualifying to the Finals.
In 2012, Nacional was 12th in the Torneo Apertura and not qualified to the next round. Due to this, the team signed manager Juan Carlos Osorio, whom was manager of Once Caldas between 2010 and 2011 and was champion with the team of the 2010 Torneo Finalización. However, Osorio had a bad season with his previous club Puebla, with just two victories in eleven matches. For the Torneo Finalización, Nacional was 5th and qualified to the next round. There the team could not advance to the Finals, placing second of the group conformed by Independiente Medellín, Itagüí and La Equidad. That year, Nacional won its first Copa Colombia title, winning to Deportivo Pasto with an aggregate score of 2–0. The team also won the first edition of the Superliga Colombiana, winning to Junior with an aggregate score of 6–1.
The next year, Nacional won for the second time the two tournaments of the league, Apertura and Finalización. In the Apertura, Nacional won to Santa Fe in the Finals. In the Finalización, they won to Deportivo Cali. In total, the team got 29 victories, 16 draws and 7 defeats that year. The team also won its second Copa Colombia title defeating Millonarios with an aggregate score of 2–3. In the 2013 Copa Sudamericana, the team was eliminated by São Paulo in the Quarterfinals with an aggregate score of 3–2.
In 2014, the team won the Apertura tournament, winning its third consecutive league title, defeating Junior in the Finals with a score of 4–2 on penalties after draw 2–2 on the aggregate score. In the Finalización, the team was eliminated in the Semifinals, where was 3rd in the group conformed by Atlético Huila, Once Caldas and Santa Fe. As champion of the previous season, Nacional played against Deportivo Cali for the 2014 Superliga Colombiana. The team lost in the penalties for 3–4 after draw 2–2 on the aggregate score.
In the 2014 Copa Libertadores, Nacional was eliminated in the Quarterfinals when Defensor Sporting defeated them with an aggregate score of 0–3. In the 2014 Copa Sudamericana, Nacional faced River Plate in the Finals. The first leg, played in Medellín, was an 1–1 draw. The second leg, played in Buenos Aires, was won by River Plate with a score of 2–0.
In the 2015 Torneo Apertura, Nacional was eliminated in the Quarterfinals by Deportivo Cali. After ended the tournament, Osorio left the team after getting signed by São Paulo, being replaced by Reinaldo Rueda, who previously managed the Ecuador national team and got them to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where they were third in a group conformed by France, Switzerland and Honduras (the latter also was taken to the World Cup in 2010 by himself). In the Torneo Finalización, Nacional was champion, defeating Junior in the Finals on penalties with a score of 3–2 after draw 2–2 on the aggregate score. Jefferson Duque was goalscorer of the team and the tournament with 15 goals. With this title, Nacional became the team with the most league titles with fifteen and a total of twenty-five titles including international tournaments.
In the 2015 Copa Libertadores, Nacional was eliminated in the Round of 16 by Emelec. In the first leg, the Ecuadorian team got a 2–0 victory, while in the second leg Nacional got a 1–0 victory.
Nacional began the year 2016 winning the Superliga Colombiana, beating Deportivo Cali, thus qualifying for the 2016 Copa Sudamericana. Nacional placed second in the 2016 Torneo Apertura with 39 points, just one point behind Independiente Medellín. With this results, the team qualified to the Quarterfinals, where they face Rionegro Águilas. Nacional got into Semifinals after a draw with an aggregate score of 2–2 and won 5–4 on penalties. In the Semifinals, Nacional was eliminated by Junior. The team tied 1–1 on aggregate and was defeated 2–4 on penalties.
In the 2016 Copa Libertadores, Nacional was first of its group, winning five of its six matches conceding no goals. The group was conformed by Huracán, Peñarol and Sporting Cristal. Nacional faced Huracán again in the Round of 16. In the first leg in Buenos Aires the teams got a 0–0 draw, while in the second leg in Medellín Nacional won 4–2, conceding its first goals of the tournament. In the Quarterfinals, they faced Rosario Central. The first leg ended in Nacional's first defeat, with Walter Montoya scoring the only goal in the 5th-minute.[23] In the second leg in Medellín, Marco Ruben scored a penalty goal in the 8th-minute, thus making Nacional have to score at least three goals to advance, something they accomplished. The first goal was scored by Macnelly Torres in the extra time of the first half. In the second half Alejandro Guerra scored the second in the 50th-minute and Orlando Berrío scored the goal to eliminate Rosario in the last minute of the match. For the Semifinals, Nacional faced Brazilian club São Paulo. The team won both matches, the first a 2–0 win in the Estádio do Morumbi with a brace of Miguel Borja, whom was bought by Nacional after becoming the top goalscorer of the Torneo Apertura with 19 goals in 21 matches, and was playing his first match with the team. The second leg was a 2–1 win, with an early goal of Jonathan Calleri for the Brazilian team and again with a brace of Miguel Borja for the local team.[24] Nacional reached the Finals of the Copa Libertadores for first time since 1995, where they won their second Cup, the very first Colombian squad to win multiple times, in a 2–1 aggregate victory against Independiente del Valle.[25]
In 2016, Nacional also won its third Copa Colombia title after beating Junior in the Finals with an aggregate score of 3–1, becoming the most successful club in the tournament.[26]
The participation of Nacional in the 2016 Copa Sudamericana began on 11 August, facing Peruvian club Deportivo Municipal in Estadio Alejandro Villanueva, Lima for the First Stage. The team beat the Peruvian side 5–0. In the second leg, the team got a 1–0 victory, advancing to the Second Stage. In this round, Nacional faced Club Bolívar of Bolivia. In La Paz, the club got a 1–1 draw. At home, the club won 1–0 with a goal from Miguel Borja, his second in a row.[27] In the Round of 16, Nacional eliminated Paraguayan club Sol de América. They got a 1–1 draw away and a 2–0 win at home. In Quarterfinals, the team faced Brazilian club Coritiba. The first match was played in Curitiba. Borja scored a 13th-minute goal, however Coritiba's Iago Dias scored the equalizer goal in the last minutes of the match.[28] In the second leg, in Medellín, Nacional got a 3–1 victory. Coritiba started winning the match, with a 43th-minute free-kick goal from César Eduardo González. Nacional came back and got the victory with a hat-trick from Borja, who became the goalscorer of the tournament with six goals.[29] In the Semifinals, Nacional faced Paraguayan Cerro Porteño, who had eliminated two Colombian sides in the previous rounds, Santa Fe (the winner of the previous edition) and Independiente Medellín. The first leg, played in Asunción, ended in a 1–1 draw (the same result Nacional got in their last three matches away). The second leg was a 0–0 draw and Nacional advanced to the Finals for the third time because of the away goals rule.[30]
For the Finals, Nacional had to confront Brazilian team Chapecoense. It was the first final in an international competition for the Brazilian side, who had eliminated Cuiabá, Independiente, Junior and San Lorenzo to reach that round.[31] The matches for the Finals were scheduled to be played on November 30 in Medellín and December 7 in Curitiba.[32] However, on November 28, two days before the first leg, LaMia Flight 2933 crashed in Cerro Gordo, La Unión, just a few miles from Medellín, with the Chapecoense team on board. 71 people died including 19 Chapecoense players. Because of that, the Finals were suspended.[33] Atlético Nacional has requested CONMEBOL to award Chapecoense with the title.[34] On the planned date of the match, Nacional and the City Council of Medellín organised a memorial to honor the victims of the tragedy. About 45,000 people were present inside the stadium and thousand more in the streets.[35][36]
Rivalries
Atlético Nacional has had a long rivalry with local team Independiente Medellín. It is considered one of the most important rivalries in Colombia. The classic is known under the name of Clásico Paisa and is recognised by FIFA as an important match-up in the country.[37] Currently both teams are considered among the top teams in Colombia.
Badge and colors
Atlético Nacional's current badge was adopted in 2000. The badge consists of a rectangle elongated downward, with the initials A and N inside, and the tower of a castle above symbolizing "grandeur, tradition, strength and hierarchy". The colors of the team are derived from the flags of the province of Antioquia and the city of Medellín.[38]
The club's main nickname, Verdolagas (purslanes) was coined early in the club's history. This plant is endemic to the Paisa region since pre-Columbian times. The plant blooms a diminutive yellow, white or red flower; the white variety is the most common in the region, giving the color scheme to the team. It is also noteworthy that Antioquia has a great tradition regarding the planting of flowers, most notoriously during the Festival of Flowers.
- Evolution of Atlético Nacional's badge
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1935–1946 -
1947–1949 -
1950–1953 -
1954–1970 -
1989–1993 -
1994–1995 -
1996–1999 -
2000–present
Stadium
Atlético Nacional plays its local games at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium, which is part of the Atanasio Girardot Sports Complex and is owned by the Municipality of Medellín. The stadium is shared with Independiente Medellín, rival of the team. It is located in the west of the city and has a capacity of 45,943 spectators.[39] It was inaugurated on 19 March 1953 in a friendly tournament between Nacional, Alianza Lima, Flamengo and Deportivo Cali. The first game was played between Atlético Nacional and Alianza Lima with a 2–2 draw.[40]
Before 1948, when the team was known as Unión Indulana Foot-Ball Club, they played its local games at Los Libertadores Racecourse. With the creation of the professional league, they moved to San Fernando Racecourse in Itagüí, where they played until 1953.[41]
Honours
National honours
International honours
- Copa Libertadores: 18 appearances
- Copa Merconorte: 4 appearances
- Copa Sudamericana: 7 appearances
- Copa Interamericana: 2 appearances
- Winners (2): 1989, 1995
- Recopa Sudamericana: 1 appearance
- Runners-up (1): 1990
- Intercontinental Cup: 1 appearance
- Runners-up (1): 1989
Performance in international competitions
Players
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable players
Managers
Affiliated clubs
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Corporación Deportiva Club Atlético Nacional. |
References
- ↑ Stokkermans, Karel (3 October 2013). "Coventric!". RSSSF.com.
- ↑ Atlético Nacional, Rey de Copas. Periódico El Colombiano, Medellín, Colombia. 2004. p. 13. ISBN 958-693-696-1.
- ↑ "¿Cuál es el equipo con más hinchada en Colombia?". Caracol Radio (in Spanish). 27 April 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
- ↑ Suárez, Ronny. "Millonarios vs. Nacional: así nació un clásico que vuelve a escena". Gol Caracol (in Spanish).
- ↑ "Club World Ranking 2015". IFFHS.com.
- ↑ "El Club de Sudamérica de la 1ª Década del Siglo XXI (2001-2010)". Archived from the original on 9 December 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ↑ "Ranking Histórico de la Conmebol 1960-2013 (5 primeros clubes por país) - 1a. parte". Pasion Futbol (in Spanish).
- ↑ "Ranking Conmebol de Copa Libertadores". CONMEBOL.com.
- 1 2 3 Atlético Nacional, Rey de Copas. Medellín, Colombia: El Colombiano. 2004. ISBN 958-693-696-1.
- 1 2 Ruíz Bonilla, Guillermo (2008). La gran historia del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano. Ediciones Dayscript. p. 51. ISBN 978-958-987-1300.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
- ↑ "Atilio Miotti". Sitio Oficial Atlético Nacional S.A. (in Spanish).
- ↑ "Copa Libertadores 1989". RSSSF.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2007.
- ↑ MacKenna, Ewan (1 June 2016). "Narco-Football Is Dead: Celebrating a Colombia Reborn". Bleacher Report.
- ↑ "História do futebol colombiano: a Era dos Narcos (cont.)". Doentes por Futebol (in Portuguese).
- ↑ "El fútbol en los tiempos de Pablo Escobar". Clarín (in Spanish). 26 February 2014.
- ↑ "Pablo Escobar compró la Libertadores del 89?". Hoy.com.py (in Spanish). 21 January 2016.
- ↑ "Copa Libertadores 1990". RSSSF.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007.
- ↑ "Supercopa Libertadores 1989". RSSSF.com. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007.
- ↑ "Copa Interamericana 1989". RSSSF.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
- ↑ "Atlético Nacional, 11 años sin "puros criollos"". De La Urbe - Universidad de Antioquia (in Spanish). 5 March 2015.
- ↑ Vickery, Tim (16 May 2016). "Atletico Nacional face Copa Lib disappointment after strong start". ESPN FC.
- ↑ Vickery, Tim (13 July 2016). "Atletico Nacional and Miguel Borja end Sao Paolo's Copa Libertadores hopes".
- ↑ SI (27 July 2016). "Atletico Nacional tops Independiente Del Valle for Copa Libertadores title".
- ↑ "Nacional volvió a mostrar su superioridad: ¡Campeón de Copa Colombia!". Futbolred.com (in Spanish). 17 November 2016.
- ↑ "Nacional, a octavos de Sudamericana tras vencer sin problemas al Bolívar". Diario AS (in Spanish). 13 September 2016.
- ↑ Piva, Daniel (19 October 2016). "Com um a mais, Coritiba marca no fim e empata com Atlético Nacional no Couto". Lance! (in Portuguese).
- ↑ "Borja llevó a Nacional a semifinal de Suramericana: 3-1 sobre Coritiba". Futbolred.com (in Spanish). 26 October 2016.
- ↑ "¡Nacional a final de Sudamericana! empató sin goles ante Cerro". El Comercio. 24 November 2016.
- ↑ "Chapecoense, primer finalista de la Suramericana: 0-0 con San Lorenzo". Futbolred.com (in Spanish). 23 November 2016.
- ↑ "La Conmebol suspendió la final de la Sudamericana por la tragedia de Chapecoense". La Gaceta (in Spanish). 29 November 2016.
- ↑ "Colombia plane crash: 71 dead on Brazil soccer team's charter flight". CNN. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
- ↑ "Campeón de la Sudamericana" (in Spanish). Atlético Nacional de Medellín. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- ↑ Griffin, Oliver (1 December 2016). "Medellin extends hand of friendship to Brazil in remembering fallen from Chapecoense". The Daily Telegraph.
- ↑ ""¡Vamos, vamos Chapé!": el emotivo homenaje en el Atanasio Girardot". Futbolred.com (in Spanish). 1 December 2016.
- ↑ FIFA (28 September 2011). "A classic made in Medellín". FIFA.com.
- ↑ "Emblemas". Sitio oficial Atlético Nacional S.A. (in Spanish).
- ↑ FIFA.com (ed.). "Medellín". Retrieved 2 August 2011.
- ↑ Atlético Nacional, Rey de Copas. Periódico El Colombiano, Medellín, Colombia. 2004. ISBN 958-693-696-1. pp. 26
- ↑ Atlético Nacional, Rey de Copas. Periódico El Colombiano, Medellín, Colombia. 2004. ISBN 958-693-696-1. pp. 13
- ↑ Atlético Nacional S.A. Sitio Oficial - Jugadores
- ↑ CONMEBOL.com - Copa Sudamericana 2016 - Planteles
- ↑ Soccerway.com - Atlético Nacional - Squad
- ↑ "Alianza Petrolera tendrá acento paisa en la temporada 2011". Futbolred.com (in Spanish). 19 January 2011.
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