Club Libertad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Club Libertad
Club Libertad emblem
Full name Club Libertad
Nickname(s) Gumarelo and Los Repolleros
Founded July 30, 1905
Ground Estadio Dr. Nicolás Leoz
(Capacity 10,000)
Chairman Flag of Paraguay Horacio Cartes
Manager Flag of Uruguay Rubén Israel
League Liga Paraguaya
2008 Apertura 1
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Home colours
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Away colours

Club Libertad is a Paraguayan football (soccer) team, based in Asunción, founded in 1905.

Contents

[edit] History

In 1905, political instability ruled in Paraguay. A group of young men who arrived to Asunción through the bay in a ship named "Libertad" (liberty) led a triumphant revolution to take down the government who at that time was from the Partido Colorado (Colorado Party). The name of the ship that brought the young men who were part of the opposing political party (the liberal party) was an inspiration to Juan Manuel Sosa Escalada, who along with some friends, decided to found a new sports club named Club Libertad on July 30, 1905.

Since winning its first championship in 1910, Libertad has always been overshadowed by the two big teams in Paraguay: Olimpia and Cerro Porteño, who together won most of the Paraguayan football national championships. Despite that, Libertad has confirmed the position of third "big" team in Paraguay by winning 10 championships, one more than Club Guaraní which has 9 titles. There has always been much controversy between these two teams, since Guarani have always been considered the third team in terms of following in Paraguay, but Libertad are in third place as far as titles are concerned. Guarani still do draw larger crowds to their games, despite not having won the league title since 1984.

Libertad has always been considered a traditional club in the Paraguayan league and the relegation of the club to the second division in 1998 was very shocking. Two years later however, a new president took over the club and they were back to the first division. Another two years after the promotion, in 2002, they managed to win the Paraguayan league title and repeated the same feat in 2003. The success of the later years allowed Libertad to qualify for several international competitions (the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana) and they even managed to reach the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores in 2006. In the 2007 edition of the Copa Libertadores, Libertad reached the quarterfinals, where it was defeated by Boca Juniors, which eventually became the champion of the tournament.

[edit] Honours

[edit] National honours

[edit] International honours

[edit] Notable players

[edit] Notable coaches

[edit] Current first team squad

No. Position Player
1 Flag of Paraguay GK Víctor Centurión
2 Flag of Paraguay DF Pedro Benítez
3 Flag of Paraguay DF Derlis Cardozo
4 Flag of Paraguay DF Arnaldo Vera
5 Flag of Paraguay DF Edgar Balbuena
6 Flag of Uruguay MF Omar Pouso
7 Flag of Paraguay MF Edgar Robles
8 Flag of Colombia MF Vladimir Marín
9 Flag of Paraguay FW Roberto Gamarra
10 Flag of Paraguay MF Osvaldo Martínez
11 Flag of Paraguay FW Dante López
12 Flag of Paraguay GK Horacio González
13 Flag of Paraguay MF Wilson Pittoni
14 Flag of Paraguay DF Pedro Sarabia
No. Position Player
15 Flag of Paraguay DF Adalberto Román
16 Flag of Argentina MF Sergio Aquino
17 Flag of Paraguay MF Hugo Luzardi
18 Flag of Paraguay MF Víctor Cáceres
19 Flag of Paraguay FW Nelson Romero
20 Flag of Paraguay FW Juan Samudio
21 Flag of Uruguay FW Juan Manuel Olivera
22 Flag of Paraguay DF Celso González
23 Flag of Paraguay FW Nelson Cuevas
24 Flag of Paraguay MF Hernán Pérez
25 Flag of Paraguay GK Bernardo Medina
26 Flag of Paraguay MF Miguel Samudio
27 Flag of Paraguay FW Pablo Velázquez
28 Flag of Paraguay DF Rolando Bogado

[edit] Squad Transferers from Apertura 2008

In

  • Juan Manuel Olivera from Shaanxi Baorong
  • Hernan Pérez on loan from Tacuary
  • Omar Pouso transferred from Charlton Atletic
  • Juan Samudio from Guaraní
  • Miguel Angel Samudio on loan return from Sol de America
  • Celso Gonzalez transferred from Tacuary
  • Rolando Bogado on loan return from 3 De Febrero
  • Nelson Cuevas transferred from Club América
  • Victor Hugo Centurion on loan from Tacuary

Out

  • Roberto Acosta on loan to Tacuary
  • Arnaldo Pereira transferred to 3 de Febrero
  • Jorge Bava transferred to CF Atlas
  • Ricardo Martinez transferred to Atlético Mineiro
  • Fidencio Oviedo on loan to Sol de América
  • Gustavo Mencia on loan to 3 de Febrero
  • Edgar Benítez on loan to Sol de América

[edit] Basketball

Libertad also has a basketball team participating in the Paraguayan Metropolitan Basketball League. They won the Paraguayan championship nine times: 1958, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1986, 1987, 1990 and 2005.

[edit] External links