Cerro Porteño

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Cerro Porteño
Nickname(s)El Ciclón (The Cyclone)
Club del Pueblo
(The People's Team)
La Mitad más Uno
(The Half plus One)
El Azulgrana
(The Blue And Red)
Founded1 October 1912; 111 years ago (1912-10-01)
GroundEstadio General Pablo Rojas
Capacity45,000
ChairmanJuan José Zapag
ManagerVíctor Bernay
LeaguePrimera División
2023Primera División, 2nd of 12
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Primera División titles and is one of the most popular football clubs in Paraguay.[1] Its president is Raúl Zapag and the manager is Víctor Bernay. Its main rival is Club Olimpia. They play their home games at the 45,000-seat General Pablo Rojas Stadium, also known as La Nueva Olla (The New Boiler).

History[edit]

Diego Barreto was formed at the club's youth academy

Cerro Porteño was founded on 1 October 1912 by Susana Núñez and a group of young people looking to create a new football club. At the time of Cerro's foundation, the situation in Paraguay was tense with instability in the government caused by the fervent rivalries between the two leading political parties, the Partido Colorado (Crimson Party) and the Partido Liberal (Liberal Party).

Edgar Barreto graduated from the club's academy to the first-team in 2003

Because of the tensions, the founders of the club decided to use the colours of both parties, red (Colorados) and blue (Liberals), as the club's colours as a symbol of unity and friendship between Paraguayans. Later, white was used on the shorts to incorporate all the colours of the Paraguayan flag.

Diego Lugano joined the club in 2015

The club owes its name to the battle fought between the forces of Buenos Aires, Argentina (The Porteños) and the Paraguayan army, in the neighbourhood of the Cerro Mbaé (Mbaé Hill) – named after that battle as the Cerro Porteño (Porteño Hill) – on 19 January 1811. During that battle, the troops of Paraguay (at that time a Spanish colony) were abandoned by the Spanish governor but continued to be led by the Paraguayan officials, who led them to a great victory against the Porteño's troops. That battle is known as the "Battle of Cerro Porteño" and is a highlight of Paraguayan military history.[citation needed]

Geremi Njitap played for the club during the 90s.[2]

Over the years the club has won a significant number of national championships. However, to date, it has not won any international tournaments despite a few good runs in the Copa Libertadores including semi-final appearances in 1973, 1978, 1993, 1998, 1999 and 2011.

Julio dos Santos was formed at the club's youth academy

Osvaldo Ardiles joined the club as manager in May 2008, but was sacked in August of the same year after a string of poor results and was replaced by Pedro Troglio.[3]

Marcelo Martins joined for club for the 2022 season

In 2014, Cerro Porteño president Juan José Zapag spoke in reference to the corruption in Paraguayan football that various persons had complained to him about not buying games and that if his club were to win then they would not do it by buying and doping players to become champions.[4]

Stadium[edit]

Cerro Porteño's stadium, Estadio General Pablo Rojas, also known as "La Nueva Olla" or "La Olla", is located in Asunción's Obrero neighborhood. It has a seating capacity of 45,000, making it the biggest in Paraguay.

International record[edit]

Best: 1973, 1978, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2011 (Semi-finals)
Best: 2009, 2016 (Semi-finals)

Honours[edit]

Ranking[edit]

World Club Ranking[edit]

As of 21 March 2024.
Rank Country Team
45 England Aston Villa
46 Greece Panathinaikos
47 Paraguay Cerro Porteño
48 Colombia Atlético Nacional
49 France Monaco

South America Club Ranking[edit]

As of 21 March 2024.
Rank Country Team
12 Argentina Estudiantes de La Plata
13 Brazil Cruzeiro
14 Paraguay Cerro Porteño
15 Colombia Atlético Nacional
16 Argentina Racing

Players[edit]

First team[edit]

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
2 DF Paraguay PAR Alan Benítez
3 DF Paraguay PAR Rodrigo Melgarejo
4 DF Brazil BRA Eduardo Brock
5 DF Paraguay PAR Jorge Morel
6 MF Colombia COL Rafael Carrascal
7 MF Paraguay PAR Enzo Giménez
8 MF Argentina ARG Federico Carrizo
9 FW Paraguay PAR Fernando Romero
10 FW Paraguay PAR Cecilio Domínguez
11 FW Paraguay PAR Juan Iturbe
12 GK Paraguay PAR Miguel Martínez
13 GK Brazil BRA Jean
14 DF Paraguay PAR Lucas Quintana
16 MF Paraguay PAR Damián Bobadilla
17 DF Paraguay PAR Daniel Rivas
18 FW Paraguay PAR Luis Riveros (on loan from Audax Italiano)
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW Argentina ARG Diego Churín (captain)
20 MF Paraguay PAR Wílder Viera
21 DF Paraguay PAR Santiago Arzamendia (on loan from Cádiz)
23 FW Paraguay PAR Alfio Oviedo
25 GK Paraguay PAR Jose Miers
26 MF Paraguay PAR Robert Piris Da Motta
28 MF Paraguay PAR Alexis Fariña
30 DF Paraguay PAR Alan Núñez
31 DF Paraguay PAR Luis Vargas
32 MF Paraguay PAR Luis Olmedo
33 MF Paraguay PAR Fabrizio Peralta
35 DF Paraguay PAR Ronaldo De Jesús
36 DF Paraguay PAR Pedro Álvarez
38 MF Paraguay PAR Tobiás Gavilán
39 FW Paraguay PAR Tobias Portillo
40 FW Paraguay PAR Fernando Fernández

Out on loan[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF Paraguay PAR Rodrigo Delvalle (at Trinidense)
MF Paraguay PAR Antonio Galeano (at Nacional)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Paraguay PAR Ángel Cardozo Lucena (at Colón)

Notable players[edit]

To appear in this section a player must have either:
  • Played at least 125 games for the club.
  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club.
  • Been part of a national team squad at any time.
  • Played in the first division of any other football association (outside of Paraguay).
  • Played in a continental and/or intercontinental competition.

Non-CONMEBOL players

Managerial information[edit]

Cerro Porteño coaching history from 1913 to present

Records[edit]

Most appearances for the club (in all competitions):

  1. Julio Dos Santos: 267
  2. Jorge Achucarro: 257
  3. Aldo Bobadilla: 265
  4. Estanislao Struway: 227

Most goals for the club (in all competitions):

  1. Virgilio Ferreira: 90
  2. Julio Dos Santos: 88
  3. Erwin Ávalos: 70
  4. Saturnino Arrua: 88
  5. José Vinsac: 58

Most appearances for the club (in league):

  1. Salvador Breglia: 225
  2. Jorge Achucarro: 215
  3. Julio Dos Santos: 212
  4. Blas Marcelo Cristaldo: 201

Most goals for the club (in league):

  1. Virgilio Ferreira: 67
  2. Erwin Ávalos: 64
  3. José Vinsac: 58
  4. Saturnino Arrua: 55

Most appearances for the club (in international cup):

  1. Aldo Bobadilla: 67
  2. Estanislao Struway: 64
  3. Virgilio Ferreira: 61
  4. Blas Marcelo Cristaldo: 57

Most goals for the club (in international cup):

  1. Virgilio Ferreira: 23
  2. Santiago Salcedo: 15
  3. Celino Mora: 14
  4. César Ramírez: 13

Other disciplines[edit]

Women[edit]

The women's team has won the Paraguayan women's football championship four times, in 2007 and 2012 to 2014.[10] The team then played in the Copa Libertadores Femenina.

Youth[edit]

One of the club's youth teams played at the 2006 Torneo di Viareggio.[11]

Futsal[edit]

The club's futsal division is the best club in the Liga Premium de Futsal, the premier professional futsal clubs league of the country, having won all of its seven editions as of 2023, for which they are known as "Los Dueños del Futsal" (The King of Futsal).[12]


References[edit]

  1. ^ "Mayoria piensa que Cerro Porteño es el club mas popular - Deportes - ABC Digital". Archived from the original on 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  2. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Geremi Njitap". www.national-football-teams.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  3. ^ [1] Archived October 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Troglio replaces Ardiles
  4. ^ "Paraguay: ¿país expuesto a la corrupción en el fútbol?". d10.ultimahora.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  5. ^ "Ficha Estadistica de INCA -glaucineis martins da silva- (perfil, ficha, profile, stats)". www.bdfa.com.ar. Archived from the original on 2018-08-26. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  6. ^ "Bolivia - M. Martins - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Archived from the original on 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  7. ^ "Custodio Mendes". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  8. ^ ELIAS MAKORI More by this Author (2014-05-09). "Leopards legend Inganga faults Nandwa sacking - Daily Nation". Nation.co.ke. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2019-04-19. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ "Kenneth Nju". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  10. ^ "Cerro Porteño tricampeón de fútbol femenino de Paraguay" (in Spanish). conmebol.com. 22 December 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  11. ^ "Coppa Carnevale - Torneo Internazionale Giovanile di Viareggio". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  12. ^ Los Dueños del Futsal: Los números de la octava conquista de Cerro Porteño - Cerro Porteño - ABC Color

External links[edit]