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Club Nacional

For the Uruguayan team, see Club Nacional de Football. For other clubs named Nacional, see Nacional (disambiguation).

Club Nacional
Nacional emblem
Full nameClub Nacional
Nickname(s)El Tricolor
La Academia
Albos
Founded5 June 1904; 121 years ago (1904-06-05)
GroundEstadio Arsenio Erico
Capacity4,434
ChairmanJuan Carlos Galeano
ManagerPedro Sarabia
LeaguePrimera División
2024Primera División, 8th of 12
Current season

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.

Internationally, the club is referred to as Nacional Asunción, in order to distinguish itself from Uruguay's Nacional and Colombia's Atlético Nacional.[1]

History

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The club was founded on 5 June 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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

In 2009 Nacional won their first league title in 63 years.[2]

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).[3]

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.[4] 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.[5]

Youth

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One of the club's youth teams played at the 2009 Torneo di Viareggio,[6] the 2010 Torneo di Viareggio,[6] the 2011 Torneo di Viareggio,[6] the 2012 Torneo di Viareggio[6] and the 2013 Torneo di Viareggio.[7]

Honours

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National

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Current squad

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As of 19 July 2025

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Paraguay PAR Gerardo Ortiz
3 DF Paraguay PAR Alexis Cañete
5 DF Paraguay PAR Gastón Benítez
6 MF Argentina ARG Juan Fernando Alfaro
7 FW Argentina ARG Ignacio Bailone
9 FW Paraguay PAR Cristian Colmán
10 MF Paraguay PAR Carlos Arrúa
13 MF Paraguay PAR Leandro Meza
14 DF Paraguay PAR Claudio Nuñez (captain)
15 FW Paraguay PAR Iván Valdez
16 MF Paraguay PAR Celso Ortiz
17 MF Paraguay PAR Danilo Santacruz
19 DF Paraguay PAR Darío Cáceres (on loan from Defensa y Justicia)
20 FW Paraguay PAR Hugo Adrián Benítez (on loan from Olimpia)
21 DF Paraguay PAR Fabián Franco
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 FW Paraguay PAR Matías Almeida
23 DF Paraguay PAR Carlos Espínola
24 DF Argentina ARG Alejandro Maciel (on loan from Olimpia)
25 MF Paraguay PAR Roberto Ramírez
27 FW Paraguay PAR Richard Prieto
30 GK Paraguay PAR Santiago Rojas (vice-captain)
32 FW Paraguay PAR Francisco Morel
33 FW Paraguay PAR Orlando Gaona
38 DF Paraguay PAR Juan González
39 FW Paraguay PAR Jorge González
40 MF Paraguay PAR Fabrizio Jara
— DF Venezuela VEN Thomas Gutiérrez (on loan from Sportivo Ameliano)
— DF Argentina ARG Juan Monteagudo
— MF Paraguay PAR Joel Figueredo
— MF Paraguay PAR Tobías Sanabria
— FW Paraguay PAR David Fleitas

Notable players

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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

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References

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  1. ^ "Paraguay - Club Nacional". Soccerway.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  2. ^ "¡Nacional campeón del Clausura!" [Nacional Clausura champion!]. ultimahora.com (in Spanish). 13 December 2009. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Nacional cayó pero logró histórico paso a la final de la Libertadores". Prensafutbol.cl. 29 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  4. ^ "Nacional de Paraguay clasifica por primera vez a la final de Copa Libertadores". El Universo (in Spanish). 30 July 2014. Archived from the original on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  5. ^ "San Lorenzo defeats Nacional to win Copa Libertadores title". Sports Illustrated. 14 August 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d "Coppa Carnevale - Torneo Internazionale Giovanile di Viareggio". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Torneo". Viareggiocup.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Ficha Estadistica de INCA -glaucineis martins da silva- (perfil, ficha, profile, stats)". Bdfa.com.ar. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Argentina - I. Fideleff - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Football player list. 2007-2016". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Nacional fichará a Zé Turbo - Fútbol - ABC Color".
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