Club Atlético Belgrano

Belgrano
Full nameClub Atlético Belgrano
NicknamesEl Pirata (The Pirate)
El Celeste (The Sky-blue)
La "B" (The B)
Founded19 March 1905 (1905-03-19)
GroundEstadio Julio César Villagra
Capacity38,000.[1]
ChairmanLuis Fabián Artime
ManagerRicardo Zielinski
LeaguePrimera División
202416th
Websitebelgrano.com.ar

Club Atlético Belgrano (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkluβ aˈtletiko βelˈɣɾano]; mostly known simply as Belgrano [belˈɣɾano] or Belgrano de Córdoba [belˈɣɾano ðe ˈkoɾðoβa]) is an Argentine sports club from the city of Córdoba, best known for its football team, which currently plays in the Primera División, the first level of Argentine football league system, after being promoted from the 2022 Primera Nacional.

Belgrano's stadium is called Julio César Villagra and is also known as El Gigante de Alberdi; it is located in Barrio Alberdi, in the central area of the city of Córdoba; it has a capacity of 35,000 spectators. The club occasionally uses the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, which has a capacity of 57,000 spectators.

History

Belgrano was founded on 19 March 1905 in Barrio Alberdi.[2] It was named in commemoration of the Argentine historical figure Manuel Belgrano,[3] and its colours were taken from the flag of Argentina, created by Belgrano himself. Arturo Orgaz was named as the first president.[3]

The club settled on a land given by Ramón Moreno. Days after its foundation, Belgrano started to play friendly matches against neighboring clubs; one of them was vs. an homonymous club and the winner earned the right to keep the name. As Belgrano de Alberdi won the match 2–1, they could retain their name.

In 1913 Belgrano was one of the founding members of "Nueva Federación Cordobesa de Fútbol", predecessor to "Liga Cordobesa". One year later, the team played the first Clásico cordobés vs. Talleres, a match held on 17 May and suspended after the players of Talleres abandoned the field in protest after a goal scored by Belgrano forward José Lascano.[4] Some months later, Belgrano won the clásico 8–1, which remains as the largest win between both clubs.[5]

In 1933 the Liga Cordobesa became professional, with Belgrano winning its first title of the new era.[6] The 1930s marked a strong supremacy of the team, winning all the championships between 1933 and 1937 with the exception of 1934 (won by Talleres).[6] In 1938 Belgrano toured Bolivia, winning 3 of 4 matches (1 draw), scoring 18 goals.[6] The highlight of that tour was a 6–0 win over Club Bolívar.[7]

Between 1940 and 1957 Belgrano won 14 league titles, with a powerful attacking line nicknamed Quinteto de Oro. It was formed by Héctor Carrizo, Justo Coria, Oscar Mona Peralta, Dardo Lucero, and Francisco García, which is regarded as the best group of forwards in the history of football in Córdoba.[6]

In 1968, the club participated for the first time in a national tournament, finishing ninth in the table. In 1980, Belgrano won the Copa Cordoba, which was an international tournament consisting of Fluminense from Brazil, Servette from Switzerland, Budapest Honvéd from Hungary, and Instituto and Talleres from Cordoba. In the final, at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Belgrano defeated Honved in extra time to win the title.[8]

In 1991, Belgrano achieved promotion to the Primera Division for the first time, being there for five years until being relegated in 1996. In 1998, the club was promoted again, but in 2001 the club played the relegation playout and barely achieved permanence based on sporting advantage after a draw to Quilmes on aggregate. The following year, things did not improve and Belgrano were relegated.

Since then the club has spent various seasons in both the first and second divisions, but there have been some notable promotions, such as the promotion achieved in the 2011 season. Belgrano had a good start to the 2011 season, finishing fourth in the league and qualifying to the promotion playoffs. Powerhouse River Plate were having one of the worst seasons of its history and were sent to the relegation playoff against Belgrano. Despite River's poor season, many people did not think it was possible for River to get relegated, mainly due to the "sporting advantage" rule existing at the time. However, on 26 June 2011, Belgrano drew 1–1 with River at Estadio Monumental and sent the club down to the second division for the first time in club history, after having won the first leg 2–0 a few days earlier. This caused massive riots after the match, and this match became one of the most notable of Argentine football and football history.[9][10]

Players

Current squad

As of 13 March 2026[11]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF  ARG Alexis Maldonado
3 DF  ARG Adrián Spörle
5 MF  ARG Santiago Longo
9 FW  ARG Lucas Passerini
10 MF  ARM Lucas Zelarayán (captain)
11 MF  ARG Francisco González Metilli
14 DF  ARG Leonardo Morales
16 DF  URU Federico Ricca
17 DF  ARG Lisandro López
20 MF  ARG Mudo Vázquez
21 MF  ARG Adrián Sánchez
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 FW  ARG Uvita Fernández
23 GK  ARG Manuel Vicentini
24 FW  ARG Emiliano Rigoni
25 GK  URU Thiago Cardozo (on loan from Unión de Santa Fe)
26 DF  PAR Alcides Benítez
28 GK  ARG Matías Daniele
30 MF  ARG Gonzalo Zelarayán
32 MF  ARG Julián Mavilla
37 FW  ARG Lautaro Gutiérrez
42 MF  ARG Jeremías Lucco
51 MF  ARG Ramiro Hernandes
53 DF  ARG Juan Velázquez

Reserve squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
8 MF  ARG Tomás Castro
12 GK  ARG Juan Strumia
40 DF  ARG Agustín Falcón
65 DF  ARG Álvaro Ocampo

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
4 FW  ARG Ulises Sánchez (at Gimnasia-M until 31 December 2026)
6 DF  ARG Nicolás Meriano (at Banfield until 31 December 2026)
7 FW  PER Bryan Reyna (at Universitario until 31 December 2026)
13 DF  ARG Elías Calderón (at Central Norte until 31 December 2026)
15 MF  CHI Matías Marín (at La Serena until 31 December 2026)
18 MF  ARG Francisco Monticelli (at Racing (Córdoba) until 31 December 2026)
19 MF  ARG Gerónimo Tomasetti (at Temperley until 31 December 2026)
No. Pos. Nation Player
27 FW  CHI Lautaro Pastrán (at Colo-Colo until 31 December 2026)
31 MF  ARG Tiago Cravero (at Central Córdoba until 31 December 2026)
34 MF  ARG Gerónimo Heredia (at Delfín until 31 December 2026)
35 DF  ARG Francisco Facello (at Chacarita Juniors until 31 December 2026)
43 FW  ARG Franco Rami (at Ñublense until 31 December 2026)
45 MF  ARG Agustín Baldi (at Tristán Suárez until 31 December 2026)

Honours

National

Regional

  • Liga Cordobesa de Fútbol
    • Winners (27): 1913, 1914, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1984, 1985, 2013
  • Segunda División LCF
    • Winners (3): 1908, 1909, 1910
  • Campeonato Provincial ACF
    • Winners (3): 1983, 1984, 1985
  • Campeonato Clasificación LCF
    • Winners (6): 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974
  • Campeonato Preparación LCF
    • Winners (5): 1936, 1941, 1943, 1947, 1949
  • Copa Reina Victoria
    • Winners (3): 1914, 1916, 1917
  • Campeonato Sidral LCF
    • Winners (1): 1931
  • Copa Gath & Cháves
    • Winners (1): 1924
  • Campeonato de la Bandera
    • Winners (1): 1916
  • Campeonato Vélez Sársfield
    • Winners (1): 1915
  • Campeonato Unión Cordobesa
    • Winners (1): 1956
  • Campeonato Estímulo
    • Winners (1): 1914
  • Copa Argentina
    • Winners (1): 1914
  • Campeonato Iniciación LCF
    • Winners (1): 1962
  • Campeonato Clausura LCF
    • Winners (1): 1966
  • Campeonato Selección
    • Winners (1): 1973
  • Campeonato Selectivo
    • Winners (1): 1975
  • Campeonato Apertura LCF
    • Winners (1): 1978

References

  1. ^ "Belgrano elevará el Gigante a más de 38.000 espectadores". 31 May 2024.
  2. ^ "CA Belgrano de Córdoba". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b "La historia de Belgrano". Tribunapirata.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  4. ^ "A 109 años del primer clásico oficial entre Belgrano y Talleres: supuesto gol en offside, reclamo y abandono". Canal Showsport (in Spanish). 17 May 2023. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Clásico cordobés: se cumplen 109 años de rivalidad entre Belgrano y Talleres". www.marcainformativacba.com (in Spanish). 17 May 2023. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "Linea de Tiempo". belgranocordoba.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Primer viaje internacional". www.belgranocordoba.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Copa Cordoba 1980". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Argentina's River Plate lose historic relegation fight". BBC News. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 17 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  10. ^ Armstrong, Paul (28 June 2011). "Riots compound River Plate's relegation misery". CNN. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Profesional Masculino". belgrano.com.ar. Retrieved 29 April 2025.