Club Nacional is a Paraguayan professional football club based in the neighbourhood of Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1904, the club currently plays in the Paraguayan Primera División, and holds its home games at Estadio Arsenio Erico.
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| Full name | Club Nacional | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | La Academia Tricolor | ||
| Founded | June 5, 1904 | ||
| Ground | Estadio Arsenio Erico | ||
| Capacity | 4,434 | ||
| Chairman | Juan Carlos Galeano | ||
| Manager | Juan Pablo Pumpido | ||
| League | Primera División | ||
| 2023 | Primera División, 4th of 12 | ||
| | |||
Internationally, the club is referred to as Nacional Asunción, in order to distinguish itself from Uruguay's Nacional and Colombia's Atlético Nacional.
History
The club was founded on June 5, 1904, by a group of alumni of the Colegio Nacional de la Capital, one of the oldest public schools in Asunción. The club was originally named Nacional Football Club, taking the name from "Club Nacional de Football" the Uruguayan club, whose shield and three colors were taken to associate the national origin. It is also referred as related to the school the founders attended. Its first president was Víctor Paredes Gómez and white was selected as the team color because that was the color of the Nacional de la Capital School uniform. For the emblem of the club, the colors of the Paraguayan flag were chosen.
Nacional is one of the traditional teams in the Paraguayan league and they have won a total of nine championships so far. Their nickname "La Academia" (lit. 'the academy') was given to them because of their excellent youth system that produced great players such as Arsenio Erico, who is considered as the best Paraguayan footballer of all time.
In 2009 Nacional won their first league title in 63 years.
In 2014, Club Nacional made history by reaching the Copa Libertadores final for the first time ever since its foundation, and by being only the second Paraguayan club to reach the final (after Olimpia).
The club began the campaign with a runner-up finish in the group stage. In the knockout stages, they defeated Argentine clubs Vélez Sarsfield and Arsenal de Sarandí. In the semi-finals, they beat Uruguayan club Defensor Sporting 2–1 on aggregate to set up a final with San Lorenzo. The first leg of the final was played in Asunción and ended 1-1. However, San Lorenzo won the second leg 1–0 at Estadio Pedro Bidegain and took the title with a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Youth
One of the club's youth teams played at the 2009 Torneo di Viareggio, the 2010 Torneo di Viareggio, the 2011 Torneo di Viareggio, the 2012 Torneo di Viareggio and the 2013 Torneo di Viareggio.
Honors
- Primera División (9): 1909, 1911 (undefeated), 1924, 1926, 1942, 1946, 2009 Clausura, 2011 Apertura, 2013 Apertura
- División Intermedia (3): 1979, 1989, 2003
Current squad
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | MF | PAR | Blas Cáceres |
| 22 | FW | PAR | José Nuñez |
| 23 | FW | PAR | Diego Duarte |
| 24 | MF | PAR | Jordan Santacruz |
| 25 | FW | PAR | Jesús Cáceres |
| 26 | DF | PAR | Eduardo Duarte |
| 29 | MF | PAR | Sebastián Vargas |
| 30 | GK | PAR | Lucas Galarza |
| 31 | FW | ARG | Nazareno Bazán |
| 33 | FW | PAR | Orlando Gaona |
| 36 | DF | PAR | Ismael Benegas |
| 37 | DF | PAR | Kevin Benítez |
| 38 | FW | PAR | Rodrigo Arévalo |
Notable players
- To appear in this section a player must have either:
- Been part of a national team at any time.
- Played in the first division of any other football association (outside Paraguay).
- Played in a continental and/or intercontinental competition.
Managers
- Ever Hugo Almeida (1992)
- Daniel Raschle (July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009)
- Ever Hugo Almeida (July 1, 2009 – April 15, 2010)
- Juan Manuel Battaglia (April 1, 2010 – Dec 31, 2011)
- Javier Torrente (Jan 1, 2012 – April 19, 2012)
- Gustavo Morínigo (April 16, 2012–15)
- Ricardo Dabrowski (2015)
- Daniel Raschle (2015–2016)
- Ever Hugo Almeida (2016–)