Club Deportivo El Nacional
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| Full name | Club Social, Cultural y Deportivo "El Nacional" | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Puros Criollos (Pure Creoles) Equipo Militar (Military team) La Maquina Roja (The Red Machine) |
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| Founded | June 1, 1964 | |||
| Ground | Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa (Capacity: 40,948) |
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| Chairman | Calmte. Angel Sarzosa Aguirre | |||
| Manager | Mario Saralegui | |||
| League | Serie A | |||
| 2010 | 6th | |||
| Website | Club home page | |||
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Club Deportivo "El Nacional" is a Ecuadorian sports club from Quito, known best for their professional football team. The team currently plays in the Serie A, the top-flight football league in the country.
El Nacional is tied with Barcelona as the most successful team in Ecuadorian football, with thirteen national championships. They are the only team to have won the national championship three times in a row, having done so twice from 1976-1978 and 1982-1984. The club has participated in more Copa Libertadores than any other club in Ecuador with 22 appearances. Their best performance in the continental tournament was as a semifinalist in 1985.
El Nacional was founded on June 1, 1964 and is administered by the Ecuadorian Military. The club has maintained a tradition of only playing Ecuadorian footballers, which has given them the nickname of Puros Criollos ("Pure Creoles"). Rival clubs included crosstown clubs LDU Quito, Deportivo Quito, and to a lesser extent, ESPOLI. Because of ESPOLI's administration by the Ecuadorian Police, matches between them have been unofficially called El Clásico de las Fuerzas del Orden (The Armed Services Derby). Their home stadium is Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa.
Other sports the organization participates in is gymnastics, table tennis, Ecuavolley, chess, and shooting.
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[edit] History
[edit] The Bi-Tri Campeon
In the 70's El Nacional was able to achieve what no Ecuadorian team had done in the history of the league. In 1976, 1977, 1978 they were unbeatable champions. Fabian Paz y Mino stepped up as the leading goal scorer in the league in 1977 to help El Nacional during those three years of glory. In 1982, 1983, 1984 El Nacional repeated this feat to become double three time championship winners. Their title count became eight. This was gained by help from two legendary players Jose Villafuerte and Ermen Benitez. In 1985 they accomplished their most important feat in international competition reaching semifinals in the Copa Libertadores de America. One year later they added to their titles by being crowned for the ninth time in their history.
[edit] The 90's
El Nacional produced some of the greatest players in Ecuador and won two more championships in 1992 and 1996 with the help of Cleber Chala, Agustin Delgado, and Oswaldo Ibarra. They also disputed the semifinals of the Copa Conmebol 1992 and the 1994 edition.
[edit] Present
The current success of the team has added two more championships in 2005 and 2006 bringing their total to 13 titles. They have equaled rivals Barcelona to become one of the best teams in Ecuador. El Nacional has brought up talented players such as Antonio Valencia, Segundo Alejandro Castillo, Christian Benítez and Felix Borja. There have been plans to build a new stadium but no official decision has been taken as of yet. Former coach Juan Carlos Burbano resigned after an unsuccessful first stage in the league. Julio Asad was appointed head coach on July 16, 2009.
[edit] Stadium
El Nacional play their home matches in the Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa. Plans have been enabled to build a new stadium. However no official decision has been taken. The management even showed the model of what the 42,000 seat stadium would look like.
[edit] Supporters
On May 13, 1998, a group of friends met and decided to form a highly dedicated fanbase called La Marea Roja (English: The Red Tide). Over the years, they aimed to integrate more people, and becoming a better organized to be the largest fan group of El Nacional, and hopefully of Ecuador. It is made up of over 250 members, with members owning proper identification cards. La Marea Roja stands at the south part of the stadium for 90 minutes every game, which attracts adults, women and large numbers of children.
[edit] Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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[edit] Noted players
[edit] Honors
- National
- Serie A (13): 1967, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1996, 2005 Clausura, 2006
- Serie B (1): 1979 E2
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Website (Spanish)
