Rosario Central
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Club Atlético Rosario Central is a football club in Rosario, Argentina.
History
The Central Argentine Railway Athletic Club was founded in December 24, 1889 by English railway workers. The first president was Colin Calder, and all club activities were carried out in the English language. When the Central Argentine and Buenos Aires railway companies merged in 1903, the name of the club was formally changed to Club Atlético Rosario Central.The original jersey colors were red and white; later, the club would change to a checkered blue and white, and finally settle on the blue and gold vertical stripes design used to this day.
The team played in the local Rosario league until it joined the Argentine league in 1939 together with rivals Newell's Old Boys.
Rosario Central was relegated in 1942 and again in 1951; both times, it was promoted on the very next season.
Rosario Central won the Nacional championship in 1971 and again in 1973; the latter was the first of many such achievements by coach Carlos Timoteo Griguol.
For the 1974 season, Central acquired striker Mario Kempes from Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba (Kempes and Instituto mate Osvaldo Ardiles were to be reunited in the national team that won the 1978 World Cup).
With Kempes gone to Valencia CF and former player Ángel Tulio Zof at the helm, Central won the 1980 Nacional title.
Central was relegated in 1985, but returned to first division in the following year and won the 1986/87 Metropolitano championship. This was a first in Argentine football (oddly, Central Español performed a similar feat in Uruguay in the years 1983/84, also a first).
In 1995 Rosario Central won its only international title to date, the CONMEBOL Cup. It has participated in 10 Copas Libertadores, third behind Boca Juniors and River Plate.
Stadium
-->Rosario Central plays in the Gigante de Arroyito stadium, located in the confluence of Avellaneda Boulevard and Génova Avenue, in the Lisandro de la Torre neighborhood (popularly known as Arroyito), in north-east Rosario.
It has an official capacity of 41,654, but crowds of 45,000 have been accommodated after it underwent major conditioning for the 1978 World Cup held in Argentina.
In that tournament, all three second-round games of the Argentine squad were played in the Gigante. Local hero Kempes enjoyed the support of the fans and went on to become the top scorer of the tournament.
Nicknames
Central's common nickname is canallas ("scoundrels", which is a rather mild insult in Argentina) because they refused to play a charity match for a leprosy clinic back in the 1920s; rival side Newell's acquired its leprosos (lepers) nickname when they did play in that event.Famous players
- César Luis Menotti
- Ángel Tulio Zof
- Aldo Pedro Poy
- Angel Landucci
- Mario Killer
- Mario Kempes
- Edgardo Bauza
- Carlos Aimar
- Omar Palma
- Juan Antonio Pizzi
Famous Supporters
- Libertad Lamarque
- Che Guevara
- Alberto Olmedo
- Roberto Fontanarrosa
- Fito Páez
- Juan Carlos Baglietto
- Jorge Siminovich
External links
- [Official Site] (Spanish)
- [Rosario Central] at AFA
- [Canalla.com] (Spanish)
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