Racing Club de Avellaneda

Racing Club

Full name	Racing Club
Nickname(s)	La Academia (The Academy)
Founded	25 March 1903 (1903-03-25)
Ground	Estadio Juan Domingo Perón, Avellaneda, Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ground Capacity	51,389
President	Víctor Blanco
Manager	Diego Cocca
League	Primera División
2015	4th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Active departments of Racing Club
Artistic gymnastics	Artistic skating	Athletics	Basketball
Boxing	Diving	Field hockey	Football
Futsal	Handball	Judo	Tennis

Racing Club is an Argentine professional sports club based in Avellaneda, a city of Greater Buenos Aires. Founded in 1903, Racing has been historically considered one of the "big five" clubs of Argentine football. Racing currently plays in the Primera División, the top division of the Argentine league system.

Racing has won the Primera División 17 times (with a record of seven consecutive championships between 1913 and 1919), apart from winning 12 National cups such as five Copa Ibarguren, four Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires and one Copa Beccar Varela. Due to those achievements the team was nicknamed "La Academia" ("The Academy of Football") which still identifies the club and its supporters.

On the international stage, the club has won 6 titles, 3 of them recognised by FIFA and CONMEBOL including one Copa Libertadores, one Intercontinental Cup and the first edition of the Supercopa Sudamericana, therefore being the second Argentine team to become South American champion, and the first to become club world champion. In addition, Racing also won two Copa Aldao and one Copa de Honor Cousenier, both tournaments organized by AFA and AUF together.

The first team plays its home games in the Estadio Presidente Juan Domingo Perón, nicknamed El Cilindro de Avellaneda (in English: "The Cylinder of Avellaneda"). Apart from football, other sports practised at Racing are artistic gymnastics, basketball, boxing, field hockey, handball, martial arts, roller skating, tennis and volleyball.

History

Origins

Racing in 1906, wearing the blue and white jersey.

On 12 May 1901, a group of students of Colegio Nacional Central founded the Football Club Barracas al Sud, with Pedro Werner becoming its first president. Less than one year after the establishment, an internal conflict about what color of jersey should be adopted caused a group of members to found Colorados Unidos, due to wanting to use a red jersey uniform. This division did not last too long, and in March 1903, both clubs agreed to merge into a new club under the same name.

The club took its name from a French racing magazine, brought to Argentina by Germán Vidaillac (a founding partner of French ancestry). The suggestion was well received and the name "Racing Club" was immediately approved. Racing was the first football team integrally formed by criollos.

The first uniform worn by Racing was completely white, until 25 July 1904, when it was decided a yellow and black vertical striped jersey would be used. Nevertheless, the new jersey only lasted a week (It was very similar to Peñarol from Uruguay), being replaced by a design proposed by president Luis Carbone. The jersey had four squares, two lightblue and two pink. This lightblue and pink design would be worn until 1908, once again replaced by a design with three horizontal bars (2 blue and 1 white). Finally, Racing adopted the light blue and white colors in 1910 (when ascending, defeating Boca Juniors), in commemoration of the May Revolution's 100th anniversary that same year.

The first years in football

Racing affiliated to Argentine Football Association in 1905 to play at the lower divisions of Argentine football league system.

One year later Racing played another playoff for a place at Primera División, but lost to Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires. The team was finally promoted to Primera in 1910, winning the final over Boca Juniors with an attendance of 4,000. The line-up that won the promotion was: Fernández; Seminario, Allan; Winne, Juan Ohaco, Angel Betular; Oyarzábal, A. Ohaco, Firpo, Frers and Juan Perinetti. Frers and Ohaco were the scorers for Racing. That same year the squad also changed its colors to the definitive light blue and white that have remained since.

"The Academy"

The 1913 team that won four titles in a year, including its first Primera División championship.

The first game in Primera was played on 7 May 1911 against San Isidro, which ended 1 to 1. The first goal in Primera was scored by Carlos Scarone. The first victory of Racing was on 18 June 1911, a 2 to 1 win over Quilmes. That season Racing also achieved a great victory over legendary team Alumni by 3 to 1, although the team from Belgrano would later defeat Racing 5 to 1 two months later. That was the last time both teams played against one another, because Alumni dissolved at the end of the championship.

One year later, Racing won its first domestic cup, the Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires.

Racing won its first Primera División title in 1913, defeating San Isidro at the final in a playoff series after finishing first place, along with that team and River Plate. Racing first eliminated River Plate 3 to 0, and then played the final against San Isidro, which it defeated 2 to 0 (two goals by Ohaco). The line-up for that match was: Muttoni; Reyes, S. Ochoa; Floro, Betular, Olazar, Pepe; Viazzi, Ohaco, Marcovecchio, Hospital, J. Perinetti.

That same year Racing won another domestic cup, the Copa Ibarguren after beating Newell's Old Boys 3 to 1 in Avellaneda. The line-up was: Muttoni; Reyes, S. Ochoa; Pepe, Betular, Olazar; J. Viazzi, Ohaco, Alberto Marcovecchio, Hospital, Juan Perinetti.

In 1914 Racing won its second leaguetitle, having scored 42 goals and only 7 received in 12 games. The runner-up was Estudiantes (BA). That same year Racing won its second consecutive Copa Ibarguren, defeating another Rosarino team, Rosario Central, by 1–0 in Buenos Aires. The line-up for the match: Arduino; Reyes, S. Ochoa; Pepe, Olazar, Betular; Canavery, Ohaco, Marcovecchio, Hospital, Juan Perinetti.

The 1915 team achieved an outstanding mark of 95 goals in 24 matches.

Racing became Primera División tri-championship in 1915 when the squad won its 3rd consecutive title, defeating San Isidro 1–0 at a championship playoff as they had played two years before. The game was played at arch-rival Independiente stadium and Racing line-up was: Arduino; Presta, Reyes; Betular, Olazar, Pepe; Canavery, Ohaco, Marcovecchio (who scored the only goal), Hospital, Juan Perinetti. Racing finished unbeaten, with 22 games won and 2 drew over 24, with an outstanding record of 95 goals scored with only 5 conceded. The line-up vs. San Isidro was: Arduino; Presta, Reyes; Betular, Olazar, Pepe; Canavery, Ohaco, Marcovecchio, Hospital, J. Perinetti.

In 1917 Racing won four titles in the year.

Racing won the following title, the 1916 championship, totalizing 34 points in 21 games with 39 goals converted and 10 received at the end of the tournament. Platense was the runner-up with 30 points. The 5th consecutive title was in 1917 after totalizing 35 points, being River Plate the runner-up with 30 points. The team also scored the mark of 58 goals with only 4 received in 20 fixtures. In addition, the squad achieved its third Copa Ibarguren with a smashing victory over Rosario Central by 6–0 in Avellaneda. The line-up was: Arduino; Ohaco, Reyes, Viazzi Olazar, Ricardo Pepe; Canavery, Vivaldi, Marcovecchi, Hospital, Juan Perinetti.

That same year Racing won another edition of Copa Ibarguren, defeating by 2nd. consecutive time Rosario Central by 3–2 at GEBA stadium. The line-up was: Crocce; Castagnola, Reyes; Vivaldi, Olazar, Pepe; Natalio Perinetti, Ohaco, Marcovecchio, Minondo, Juan Perinetti.

Racing won its 8th title in 1921 playing in the dissident "Asociación Amateurs".

Racing won the last title of the decade in 1925

One year later, Racing won its 6th. league title, remaining unbeaten after 19 games played, with 49 goals scored and 9 received. Racing also won another edition of Copa Ibarguren (5 in total) with a large victory over Newell's Old Boys by 4–0 at GEBA. The line-up: Crocce; Castagnola, Reyes; Ohaco, Marcovecchio, Macchiavello; Natalio Perinetti, Zabaleta, Vivaldo, Hospital, Juan Perinetti.

By 1919 Racing moved to dissident league "Asociación Amateurs de Football", where the team won the tournament unbeaten again. Racing played 23 fixtures, winning its 7th. consecutive title with 26 points, 43 goals scored and 10 received. The runner-up was Vélez Sarsfield which totalized 20 points. River Plate finished the extraordinary sequence of Racing's 7 titles, when winning the 1920 championship. Racing was the runner-up only 2 points to River. Racing remained in the Asociación Amateurs league, where the team won the 1921 title after playing 38 matches and totalizing 66 points. Racing also scored 73 goals receiving 16.

Racing would crown champion again in 1925, totalizing 39 points in 24 matches played, with San Lorenzo being runner-up. During its first 22 years of existence, Racing won 9 Primera División championships (seven of them consecutively, which is still a record in Argentine football). Due to those extraordinary campaigns and its style of playing, the squad was nicknamed "The Academy of Argentine football", which has been adopted by its supporters as a mark of identity, still used nowadays.

To sum-up, Racing achieved a large amount of titles during the 1910s and 1920, including 7 Primera División championships, 9 national cups and 2 international titles. Some of the most notable players of the amateur era were Alberto Ohaco, Alberto Marcovecchio, Pedro Ochoa (known as "The King of dribbling" -"El Rey de la gambeta" in Spanish and a very close friend to Carlos Gardel who wrote the tango "Patadura" honoring Ochoa and other notable players in 1928) and Natalio Perinetti.

The 1930-1940s

The 1932 team that won the Copa Beccar Varela.

During those years Racing won the Copa Beccar Varela in 1932 (defeating Boca Juniors in the final) and the Copa de Competencia (LAF) one year later, thrashing San Lorenzo de Almagro by 4–0 in the final match. Despite the national cups won, Racing could not win any domestic championship during that period; its best performances were third places in 1932, 1933 and 1936. Evaristo Barrera was the top scorer with 34 goals in 1934 and 32 in 1936.

Some remarkable players of the time were Fernando Paternoster, Enrique Chueco García, Vicente Zito, and Barrera himself.

Racing would not win any domestic title during the 1940s; its best finish was a 5th place in 1940 and 4th places in 1946 and 1948. During the 1948 tournament Racing was leading followed by Independiente and River Plate until a strike took place. Most of the dissident players went to play outside Argentina and they had to be replaced by players from the youth divisions. Moreover, points awarded to Racing were deducted from the matches against Banfield and San Lorenzo; as a result, Racing lost the chance to be champion and arch-rival Independiente finally won the title.

In 1945 Racing won the Copa de Competencia Británica defeating Boca Juniors by 4–1 in the final. Some remarkable players for Racing were José Salomón, Chilean Sergio Livingstone and Paraguayan striker Delfín Benítez Cáceres.

The tri-championship

The 1949 Racing team won the first of three consecutive Primera División titles.

In 1949, Racing won its first Primera División championship in the professional era, with Llamil Simes as the top scorer of the tournament. Racing also won the 1950 title with Simes as scorer again with 20 goals. That same year Racing inaugurated its stadium, named "Presidente Perón", defeating Vélez Sarsfield 1–0

In 1951 Racing won its 3rd consecutive championship.

In 1951 Racing won its third consecutive title, playing two playoff matches against Banfield, which ended 0–0 and 1–0 (goal by Mario Boyé). With this victory Racing became the first ever three-time champion in the professional era of Argentine football. The coach was Guillermo Stábile.

In 1952 Racing finished 2nd after River Plate. The team was not able to win the title despite having the least goals scored against it during the championship. After another good performance in 1953 when the team finished 3rd, Racing placed 10th in 1954, far from champion Boca Juniors.

In 1955 a sort of amnesty allowed dissident players to return to Argentine football to play for any team. Racing won its 13th title in 1958, being coached by José Della Torre. In 1959 the team finished 2nd.

During those years Racing Club had many notable players that made their contribution to the successful campaigns. Some of them were Norberto Mendez, Rubén Bravo, Llamil Simes, Mario Boyé, Alberto Rastelli, Pedro Dellacha, Ezra Sued, Manuel Blanco, Ernesto Gutiérrez, Pedro Manfredini, Arnaldo Balay, Juan José Pizzuti, Rubén Héctor Sosa and Omar Oreste Corbatta.

International success

In 1967 Racing achieved international success, winning the Libertadores and Intercontinental Cups.

Racing finished 4th in 1960 with a top scoring 72 goals. During this tournament Racing also achieved its largest victory in Primera División, an 11–3 against Rosario Central.

In 1961 Racing won another championship totalizing 47 points when coached by Saúl Ongaro. The team was also the highest scoring team with 68 goals. The next year, Racing finished 9th and was also eliminated from the Copa Libertadores de América in the first stage.

In 1964 Santiago Sacol became President of the institution. Racing won a new title in 1966 totalizing 61 points and being the highest scorer team with 70 goals. Racing also received the least goals with only 24. Moreover, the team also remained 39 matches undefeated, a record by then although Boca Juniors later would break that mark. Racing was coached by Juan José Pizzuti.

In the 1967 Torneo Metropolitano Racing reached the final where the squad lost to Estudiantes de La Plata by 3–0. That same year Racing won the 1967 Copa Libertadores after beating Uruguayan team Nacional 2–1 in the final. Norberto Raffo was the top scorer with 13 goals.

At the end of the year Racing won the Intercontinental Cup defeating Celtic Glasgow in a playoff game. The first match had been played at Glasgow where Racing was beaten 1–0 while La Academia won by 2–1 the second game in Buenos Aires. The playoff was played in Montevideo where Racing achieved its second continental championship winning 1–0 with a goal scored by Juan Carlos Cárdenas.

Some notable players of that time were goalkeeper Agustín Mario Cejas, Rubén Sosa, Roberto Perfumo, Alfio Basile, Norberto Raffo, Rubén Díaz, Nelson Chabay, Jaime Martinoli, Juan Carlos Cárdenas, Juan Carlos Rulli, Juan José Rodríguez, Humberto Maschio, Federico Sacchi and Oreste Corbatta.

Relegation

During the 1970s Racing did not win any title, although the team finished 2nd to San Lorenzo in the 1972 Metropolitano, with 43 points in 34 matches. That year was the debut of Ubaldo Fillol, who some regard as the best Argentine goalkeeper ever. Fillol set a record of 6 penalty shots stopped in the same season. From 1974 and 1978 Racing made poor campaigns and was near relegation in 1976 when the team finished next to last (San Telmo was finally relegated).

In 1981 the stadium was closed due to its poor condition. Two years later, Racing was relegated to the Primera B. The first year in the second division, Racing finished second to champion Deportivo Español so the team had to play a promotion playoff, where Racing eliminated Deportivo Morón and Lanús but lost to Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) in the finals (1–3 and 2–4).

One year later, after two seasons in the second division, Racing returned to the top division in 1985 after winning a playoff for the second promotion place against Atlanta; Racing won 4–0 the first game and the second match finished 1–1.

Return to international success

Racing won its third international competition in 1988, when the team won the first edition of the 1988 Supercopa Sudamericana, defeating Brazilian team Cruzeiro in the finals, with Alfio Basile still as coach. That same year Racing won the Supercopa Interamericana beating Sportivo Herediano from Costa Rica 3–0.

Racing also played another Supercopa final and was defeated by Cruzeiro 4–0 in Belo Horizonte. Racing won the 2nd match 1–0 but the cup was awarded to the Brazilian team by goal difference.

Bankruptcy and resurrection

Racing faced financial problems that erupted in 1998, when the club declared bankruptcy pursuant to the request of president Daniel Lalín. In 2000, Racing switched management to the Blanquiceleste S.A corporation. Despite the financial crisis that ruined the club, Racing won the 2001 Apertura title, 35 years after its last local championship in 1966. The team was coached by Reinaldo Merlo who became an idol due to this achievement. Maximiliano Estévez, Gabriel Loeschbor, Claudio Ubeda, Adrián Bastía, Francisco Maciel and Diego Milito were part of that team.

In 2012, Racing reached the final of the 2012 Copa Argentina Final although the squad lost to Boca Juniors by 2–1.

On June 2014, Diego Cocca was hired as head coach. Few days after Cocca signed his contract, former player and fans favorite Diego Milito left Inter Milan and returned to the club to play the 2014 Torneo de Transición.

In December 2014, Racing won its Primera División 17th. title in the last fixture of the tournament. The team defeated Godoy Cruz by 1–0 to secure the 1st place and crowned champion. Racing totalized 41 points over 19 games played, with 13 won, 3 drew and 4 lost. Racing scored 30 goals and conceded 16. Forward Gustavo Bou was also the team's topscorer with 10 goals. The line-up for that match was: Saja; Pillud, Lollo, Cabral, Grimi; G. Díaz, Videla, Aued, Centurión; Diego Milito, Bou.

Stadium

Main article: Estadio Presidente Juan Domingo Perón

Racing Club plays its home games at "Estadio Presidente Perón" (named in honor of former President of Argentina Juan Domingo Perón), popularly known as "El Cilindro de Avellaneda" (due to its cylindrical shape) and "the Coliseum". It was opened in 1950 and restructured in 1997.

The field measures 105 x 70 m. The Racing stadium is the second largest in Argentina after the River Plate stadium. At first the venue could host a capacity of 120,000 but subsequent restructurings reduced its capacity to 64,161.

Players

Current squad

Current squad of Racing Club de Avellaneda as of February 25, 2015 (edit)
Sources: Official website and Argentine Soccer

No. Position Player 1 ARG GK Sebastián Saja 2 ARG DF Nicolás Sanchez 3 ARG DF Leandro Grimi 4 ARG DF Mauro Bazán 5 ARG MF Mariano Bareiro 6 ARG DF Luciano Lollo 7 ARG FW Gustavo Bou 8 URU MF Washington Camacho 9 ARG FW Brian Fernández 10 PAR MF Óscar Romero 11 ARG MF Luciano Aued 12 ARG GK Juan Musso 13 ARG FW Braian Mansilla 14 ARG MF Nicolás Oróz 15 ARG MF Ezequiel Videla 16 ARG FW Facundo Castillón

No. Position Player 17 ARG MF Marcos Acuña 18 ARG MF Francisco Cerro 19 ARG MF Nelson Acevedo 20 ARG FW Iván Pillud 21 ARG GK Nelson Ibáñez 22 ARG FW Diego Milito 23 ARG DF Yonathan Cabral 24 ARG DF Gastón Díaz 25 ARG DF Germán Voboril 26 ARG MF Santiago Nagüel 27 ARG DF Gastón Campi 28 URU FW Carlos Nuñez 29 ARG MF Ricardo Noir 30 ARG DF Pablo Alvarado 32 ARG FW Lautaro Martínez 33 ARG FW Mariano Pavone

Manager: Diego Cocca

All-time player records

Most appeareances

Rank.	Player	Position	Tenure	Games
1	Agustín Cejas	GK	1962–69, 1977–80	334
2	Claudio Ubeda	DF	1995–2003, 2005–07	329
3	Juan Carlos Cárdenas	FW	1964–72	321
4	Ezra Sued	FW	1943–54	308
5	Carlos Squeo	DF	1969–72, 1974–77, 1984	303
6	Gustavo Costas	DF	1982–92, 1994–95	297
7	José García Pérez	DF	1938–57	272
8	Rubén Díaz	DF	1965–73, 1977–78	246
9	Roberto Díaz	FW	1975–80, 1982–83	244
10	Julio Olarticoechea	DF	1975–81, 1988–90	239

Topscorers

Rank.	Player	Position	Tenure	Goals
1	Alberto Ohaco	FW	1912–1923	244
2	Alberto Marcovecchio	FW	1911–22	207
3	Evaristo Barrera	FW	1932–38	136
4	Juan José Pizzuti	FW	1952–54, 1956–62	125
5	Natalio Perinetti	FW	1917–33	112
6	Albérico Zabaleta	FW	1916–23	111
7	Pedro Ochoa	FW	1916–31	108
8	Llamil Simes	FW	1948–55	106

¹ There are no records about the period 1903–30, so this rank only consists of records from 1931 to date.

Topscorers by season

Player	Season	Goals
Alberto Ohaco	1912	9
Alberto Ohaco	1913	20
Alberto Ohaco	1914	20
Alberto Ohaco	1915	31
Alberto Marcovecchio	1917	18
Albérico Zabaleta	1918	13
Alberto Marcovecchio	1919	36
Albérico Zabaleta	1921	32
Martín Barceló	1923	15
Evaristo Barrera	1934	34
Evaristo Barrera	1936	32
Delfín Benítez Cáceres	1940	33
Llamil Simes	1949	26
Juan José Pizzuti	1953	22
Walter Machado da Silva	1969 Metropolitano	14
Lisandro López	2004 Apertura	12
Teófilo Gutiérrez	2011 Clausura	11

Notable former players

Main category: Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers

Coaches since 2000

Alberto Jorge (2000) Óscar López (2000) Reinaldo Merlo (2001) Osvaldo Ardiles (2002) Emilio Commisso (2003) Ángel Cappa (1 Jan 2003–30 June 03) Miguel Ángel Colombatti (2003) Ubaldo Matildo Fillol (2003) Guillermo Rivarola (2004) Fernando Quiroz (2005) Alberto Fanesi (2006) Diego Simeone (19 Feb 2006–17 May 06) Reinaldo Merlo (30 April 2006–31 March 07) Miguel Ángel Micó (2007) Gustavo Costas (25 April 2007–1 Dec 07)

Miguel Ángel Micó (1 Dec 2007–1 April 08) Juan Manuel Llop (1 July 2008–22 Feb 09) Ricardo Caruso Lombardi (26 Feb 2009–31 Oct 09) Juan Barbas (interim) (13 Oct 2009–3 Nov 09) Claudio Vivas (1 Nov 2009–15 Feb 10) Miguel Ángel Russo (17 Feb 2010–23 June 11) Diego Simeone (23 June 2011–22 Dec 11) Alfio Basile (26 Dec 2011–15 April 12) Luis Zubeldia (16 April 2012–25 Aug 13) Carlos Ischia (30 Aug 2013–7 Oct 13) Nacho González (interim) (8 Oct 2013–14 Oct 13) Reinaldo Merlo (14 Oct 2013–7 May 2014) Fabio Radaelli (interim) (7 May 2014–16 June 14) Diego Cocca (16 June 14–present)

Kit evolution

1903

1904 (1)

1904–08 (2)

1908–10

1910–present

(1) This model was worn again in 1973, although just for one match.
(2) A new version of this model was the away jersey in the 2005–06 season, paying tribute to the historic kit.

Honours

National

League

• Primera División (17): 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919 (AAmF), 1921 (AAmF), 1925 (AAmF), 1949, 1950, 1951, 1958, 1961, 1966, 2001, 2014
• Primera B (1): 1910

National cups

• Copa Ibarguren (5): 1913, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1918
• Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires (4): 1912, 1913, 1915, 1917
• Copa de Honor Adrián Beccar Varela (1): 1932
• Copa de Competencia (LAF) (1): 1933
• Copa de Competencia Británica George VI (1): 1945

International

FIFA / Conmebol

• Intercontinental Cup (1): 1967
• Copa Libertadores (1): 1967
• Supercopa Sudamericana (1): 1988

AFA / AUF

• Copa de Honor Cousenier (1): 1913
• Copa Aldao (2): 1917, 1918

Friendly

• Supercopa Interamericana ⁽¹⁾ (1): 1988

Notes:

• ⁽¹⁾ Tournament contested between the Supercopa Sudamericana and Camel Cup champions, not recognised as official by Conmebol.

External links

• Official website
• Racing blog
• Solo Racing