Club Atlético Nueva Chicago

Club Atlético Nueva Chicago is an Argentine sports club based in Mataderos, a neighborhood in the west side of Buenos Aires, formerly called "Nueva Chicago". The club's nickname, El Torito ("The Little Bull") is an allusion to legendary 1930s boxer Justo Suárez, known as El Torito de Mataderos ("The Little Bull of Mataderos").

Nueva Chicago
Full nameClub Atlético Nueva Chicago
Nickname(s)Torito
Verdinegro
Founded1 July 1911; 112 years ago (1911-07-01)
GroundEstadio Nueva Chicago
Mataderos, Buenos Aires
Capacity28,500
ChairmanMatias Casas Fracasado
ManagerTomás Arrotea Molina
LeaguePrimera Nacional
2023Primera Nacional Zone A, 11th
WebsiteClub website
Current season

The club is mostly known for its football team, which currently plays in Primera B Nacional, the second division of the Argentine football league system. Other sports practised at the club are basketball, boxing, field hockey, futsal, handball, roller skating and volleyball.

History edit

On 1 July 1911, a group of young people aged 15 to 30 met in a public park (more specifically on the wooden bridge located in the corner of Tellier and Francisco Bilbao streets) to form a football team. The name chosen was "Los Unidos de Nueva Chicago",[1] naming Pedro San Martín as president, along with Felipe Maglio as vice-president. The club's activities started on an empty lot located behind a slaughterhouse.

There were many proposals to define the team colours. Some wished to adopt the colours from Alumni, red and white; others suggested to use Racing Club colors, light blue and white. During their discussion, a truck loaded with bundles which had green and black colours went pass the Campana (today Crovara) Avenue. Those colours were immediately adopted as club colours.

The club executives worked intensively in getting a field where to play. Alejandro Morh, a Mercado de Hacienda manager, donated the land where the first field was established. But it lasted a short time due to the flood waters that cross under the field. Nueva Chicago was given a land on Tellier and Francisco Bilbao Avenues. The team played there from 1912 to 1920.

The third field was located on Piedrabuena and Campana (currently Eva Perón) avenues. That was the field where Chicago played its first games in Primera División and opened in June 1920 when the team defeated Huracán by 2–0. In this field, Nueva Chicago would also win the Copa de Competencia Jockey Club in 1933, its first title in Primera División. When football became professional in Argentina, the Football Association did not authorise to play official matches there, so Nueva Chicago had to play in other stadiums. Three years later, the land were expropriated to build a hospital.

 
Nueva Chicago won its first title, Primera B championship, in 1930

The first time Chicago promoted to Primera División was in 1930, when winning the Primera B title after disputing a championship playoff with All Boys and Temperley.[2] Chicago debuted in the Asociación Amateurs Argentina de Football (the amateur rival league of the professional Liga Argentina de Football) in 1931, playing there until 1935 when the LAF merged with the professional league, being all its teams relegated to second division. In 1932, Chicago played a relegation playoff with Sportivo Buenos Aires and Sportivo Palermo (which would be finally relegated to second division due to points average).[3] One year later the team made a great campaign, finishing 2nd after champion Sportivo Dock Sud with only 3 losses over 19 matches played.[4]

 
Nueva Chicago won its first first division title in 1933, the Copa Competencia Jockey Club

In 1933, Nueva Chicago won its first official title, the last edition of the Copa Competencia Jockey Club, a traditional national cup established 1907. The team made a great campaign, arriving to the final unbeaten with 3 matches won (to Estudiantes (BA), Sportivo Barracas and Sp. Buenos Aires) and 2 draws. Nueva Chicago won the title defeating Banfield by 1–0 at the final, played at Almagro stadium. The line-up was: Scali; Palacio, Diani; Mercado, Vivanco, Fernández; Berlanga, Noguera, Vargas, Gagliano, Sanabria.[5][6][7]

In 1937, Nueva Chicago was relegated to the second division after Banfield defeated Excursionistas. Then president of the club Amadeo Cozza made an agreement with Sportivo Buenos Aires so the team hosted their home games at that stadium, then located in Almagro, Buenos Aires. By 1939, Nueva Chicago played its home games at All Boys stadium. That same year the club made the arrangements to get a new field where to build a stadium. The Municipality of Buenos Aires donated the club a land where a dump had operated. A group of club members and neighborhoods collaborated to level the playing field until it was in conditions to host games.

 
The team that won its second title, the Primera C championship in 1940

The stadium was inaugurated on 27 October 1940 vs. Sportivo Buenos Aires, which was defeated by 2–0. The team celebrated not only the victory but its second local title, the Primera C championship. Nueva Chicago has been playing at that stadium since then.

In 1966, Nueva Chicago was near to promote to Primera División but the team lost the final match to Deportivo Español, remaining in the second division. Nueva Chicago would not play in the top division of Argentine football until 1981, when it won its second Primera B title. The team played 22 matches, with 14 draws and 6 losses. Chicago also scored 66 goals and conceded 40. In Primera División, the team's highlight was an outstanding win against Boca Juniors by 5–0, on 2 November 1983.[8][9] Despite this historic fact, the team was relegated at the end of the season.

Nueva Chicago remained in lower divisions until 1991 when the team promoted to Primera B Nacional defeating Gimnasia y Esgrima de Concepción del Uruguay at playoffs via penalty shoot-out (association football). In 2001, the squad promoted to Primera División for the second time in club's history after defeating Instituto de Córdoba 3–2 in the Estadio Chateau Carreras with an attendance of 12,000 fans that celebrated the goal scored by Oscar Gómez in the last minute of the match, after running 50 metres with the ball.[10]

Nueva Chicago played in the top division of Argentine football until 2004 when it was relegated. The third promotion to Primera División was in 2006. At the end of the 2007 season and due to the poor campaign, Nueva Chicago had to play the "Promoción" (a relegation playoff consisting in two matches to determine which team would be remain in Primera) vs. Tigre. The first game was won by Tigre by 1–0. Next match was played on 25 June 2007. When Tigre was leading Nueva Chicago by 2–1 (and therefore sending it to Primera B Nacional) hundreds of Chicago's hooligans jumped into the field without being stopped by the police (although there were 200 police officers in the stadium), taking off the uniforms to players and then attacking Tigre's supporters which were peacefully celebrating their return to Primera División. The violent acts continued outside the stadium, where the hooligans of both teams clashed and a fan of Tigre, Marcelo Cejas, was hit by a brick and killed.[11][12]

A month after the violent struggling, the Court of Discipline of the Argentine Football Association punished Nueva Chicago with the loss of 20 points for the 2007–08 Primera B Nacional tournament (although 18 points were finally deducted). Moreover, the Government of Argentina closed Chicago stadium for 20 fixtures, therefore the team could not play at its venue during all 2007–08 season and had to use other stadiums, mainly the Argentinos Juniors and Ferro Carril Oeste facilities.

Nueva Chicago totalized 52 points that finally were 34 (when the deduction of 18 points was applied), which forced the team to play the Promoción again, facing Los Andes. The team from Lomas de Zamora won both matches (1–0 and 2–0), relegating Nueva Chicago to Primera B Metropolitana, the third division of Argentine football.

In 2012, the club promoted to Primera B Nacional after a 1–1 draw to Chacarita Juniors at the relegation playoff final (the first game had been won by Nueva Chicago).[13] although the team would be relegated next season, five fixtures before the end of the tournament. Nueva Chicago finished in the last position and was sent to Primera B Nacional along with Deportivo Merlo.[14]

In May 2014, Nueva Chicago won its sixth official title to date, the 2013–14 Primera B Metropolitana after defeating Colegiales therefore returning to the Primera B Nacional.[15][16]

Players edit

Current squad edit

As of 4 January 2023[17]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   ARG Daniel Monllor (captain)
2 DF   ARG Lucas Vesco
3 DF   ARG Tobías Ostchega (on loan from Belgrano)
4 DF   ARG Gustavo Mendoza
5 MF   ARG Gaspar Vega
6 DF   ARG Facundo Monteseirín
7 MF   ARG Esteban Obregón (on loan from Estudiantes)
8 MF   ARG Leonardo López
9 FW   ARG Aaron Spetale (on loan from Estudiantes)
10 FW   ARG Agustín Curruhinca (on loan from Huracán)
11 MF   ARG Ezequiel Gallegos
12 GK   ARG Facundo Ferrero (on loan from Sarmiento)
13 DF   ARG Juan Manuel Fedorco
14 DF   ARG Brayan Sosa
15 MF   ARG Diego Mercado
16 DF   ARG Julián Gauna
17 MF   ARG Gastón Ada
18 MF   ARG Matías Bergara
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW   URU Maximiliano Brito
20 FW   ARG Ezequiel Naya (on loan from Estudiantes)
DF   ARG Lautaro Amarilla
MF   PER Gonzalo Aguirre
MF   ARG Fabricio Brener (on loan from Belgrano)
MF   ARG Franco Cáceres
GK   ARG Juan Cruz Carranza
MF   ARG Román Digión
FW   ARG Gastón Espósito
MF   ARG Gustavo Fernández
FW   ARG Lautaro Ortega
FW   ARG Catriel Quinteros
MF   ARG Nahuel Rivero
MF   ARG Tomás Rodríguez
MF   ARG Luciano Romero
DF   ARG José Tomino (on loan from Sarmiento)
FW   ARG Ignacio Zanzi

Out on loan edit

As of 6 February 2023

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   ARG Lucas Goberville (at Ierapetra until 30 June 2023)[18]
MF   ARG Lucas López (at Barracas Central until 31 December 2023)[19]
FW   ARG Paul Charpentier (at Sportivo Luqueño until 31 December 2023)[20]
FW   ARG Aaron Martínez (at Berazategui until 31 December 2023)[21]

Honours edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Iniciación de Nueva Chicago" – Pueblo de Chicago website Archived 2012-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Argentina 2nd. level 1930 – RSSSF
  3. ^ Argentina 1932 amateur – RSSSF
  4. ^ Argentina 1933 amateur – RSSSF
  5. ^ Argentina – Copa de Competencia "Jockey Club" – 1933 at RSSSF
  6. ^ 38 Campeones del Fútbol Argentino, by Diego Estévez, Editorial Continente – ISBN 9789507543692
  7. ^ "Un barrio repleto de historia..." at Olé Archived 2018-06-17 at the Wayback Machine, 12 August 2013
  8. ^ "La noche en que Chicago le hizo 5 goles a Boca", Clarín, 13 April 2002
  9. ^ Nueva Chicago 5 – Boca Juniors 0 at Historia de Boca.com
  10. ^ "Chicago festejó en grande el ascenso", Clarín newspaper, 2001-06-10
  11. ^ "Otra vez el fútbol en segundo plano", ESPN Deportes, 2007-06-25
  12. ^ "¿Quién asesinó a Marcelo Cejas?" Clarín, 2007-09-27
  13. ^ "Nueva Chicago ascendió a Primera B tras empatar con Chacarita en la Promoción" at Cadena3.com, 1 Jul 2012
  14. ^ Argentina 2012–13 at RSSSF.com
  15. ^ "Nueva Chicago es campeón y vuelve al Nacional B", Cancha Llena, 14 May 2014
  16. ^ "Nueva Chicago se consagró campeón y ascendió a la B Nacional" at AFA website
  17. ^ Club Atlético Nueva Chicago [@NuevaChicago] (February 4, 2023). "💚🖤 ¡Estos son los 11 que saldrán a disputar la primera fecha del campeonato!" (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ Club Atlético Nueva Chicago [@NuevaChicago] (September 15, 2022). "🤝 En el día de ayer, el volante Lucas Goberville fue cedido al Ierapetra Athletic Club sin cargo y con opción de compra por 100.000€ por el 50% del pase. El préstamo será hasta el 30 de junio del próximo año" (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "LUCAS LÓPEZ JUGARÁ A PRÉSTAMO EN EL CLUB ATLÉTICO BARRACAS CENTRAL". canuevachicago.com.ar (in Spanish). 14 December 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Charpentier renueva pero se va". Olé (in Spanish). 28 November 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  21. ^ "AARON MARTINEZ JUGARÁ A PRÉSTAMO EN LA ASOCIACIÓN DEPORTIVA BERAZATEGUI". canuevachicago.com.ar (in Spanish). 17 January 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.

External links edit