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Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata
Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (GELP) is an Argentine sports club with a football team in Primera Division Argentina. It is located in the city of La Plata. They contest the La Plata derby with local rivals Estudiantes.
History
Early days
The "Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata" was founded on June 3rd, 1887 as a civil association, and thus is the oldest surviving team in the whole of South America. The first sports offered to its members were gymnastics and fencing. Later other disciplines were added including track and field, football, basketball and rugby.
At the beginning of the 20th century Gimnasia, along with other institutions like the Medicine College, Porteno, Belgrano and River Plate, was part of the third division of the Argentine Football Association. After a brief gap, Gimnasia returned to play soccer in 1915 in the intermediate division. That year Gimnasia won the championship and was promoted to the First Division. The same year Gimnasia won two official cups.
On April 27 1916, Gimnasia defeated cross-town rivals Estudiantes de La Plata in the first city derby by a score of 1-0. Gimnasia finished that championship in fourth place with 9 wins, 9 ties and 3 loses.
In 1924 Gimnasia opened the Juan Carlos Zerillo stadium in the 60th and 118th streets. That year Gimnasia finished in second place with a 15-7-1 record. Gimnasia remained undefeated in the new stadium for more than a year (April 1924 to July 1925).
The club obtained the 1929 championship, shortly before the professionalization of the sport in Argentina.
Gimnasia was relegated to second division in 1943, 1945, 1951 and 1979; it returned to the first division for in 1985. The club also won the second division championship in 1944, 1947 and 1952, and the Centenario Cup played in 1993/94 to celebrate Argentine Football Association's Centennial.
Nevertheless, Gimnasia has not won an official top level championship since the end of the Amateur era in 1931.
Title of 1929
In 1929 Gimnasia won its first and only championship in First Division. After a campaign of 14 triumphs, no ties and three defeats. Gimnasia won the odd group including teams such as River Plate, Racing Club, Huracan and Estudiantes. The even group was won by Boca Juniors, thus qualified for the final game. The final was played on February 9, 1930 in the old River Plate Stadium (at Alvear and Tagle). After losing 1-nil at the end of the first half, Scarponi's team with Giano, Delovo; Rusciti, Santillan, Belli, Curell, Francisco Varallo, Maleani, Diaz and Morgada upset the opponent with two goals by Martin Maleani. It was the first time a city team had won a championship organized by an Association recognized by FIFA.
Centenario Cup
In 1993, the AFA organized a Cup-style (elimination) tournament named Copa Centenario ("Centennial Cup"), to celebrate its hundredth anniversary. Each first division team played its derby rival in two rounds in a double elimination system. Gimnasia eliminated its classic rival Estudiantes 1-0 with a goal by Guillermo Barros Schelotto, and qualified for the next round after a 0-0 tie in the return match. Then, Gimnasia successively eliminated Newell's Old Boys, Argentinos Juniors and Belgrano de Cordoba to win the "round of winners". River Plate won the "round of losers" and qualified for the final, with Gimnasia having home court advantage.
Gimnasia won the final 3-1 with goals by Guerra Fernandez and Guillermo Barros Schelotto. River's goal was scored by Villalba. Gimnasia's winning team included Lavallen; Sanguinetti, Morant, Ortiz, Dopazo, Fernandez, Bianco, Talarico, Gustavo Barros Schelotto, Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Hugo Romeo Guerra.
From Griguol to Troglio
With veteran coach Carlos Timoteo Griguol at the helm, Gimnasia took second place in the 1995 Clausura tournament, repeating the performance in 1996 and 1998. Also took second place in 2002 (coached by Ramaciotti).
Gimnasia also obtained second place in 2005 under Pedro Troglio's management, after an excellent campaign that had them fighting neck to neck with Boca Juniors until the very end of the championship.
These strong showings allowed Gimnasia to take part in the top club-level competitions in South America: the Copa Sudamericana during 2006 and the 2007 edition of the Copa Libertadores.
2006/07 crisis
On September 10 2006, during the halftime of a match against Boca Juniors, club president Juan Jose Munoz confronted (and allegedly threatened) referee Daniel Gimenez, who called off the match immediately, with Gimnasia leading 1-0. Munoz was suspended for six months by the football association but was confirmed in his post by the club's board.
On October 15, 2006, Gimnasia suffered their worst derby defeat ever, a 7-0 Estudiantes victory. It was the first derby played in the new La Plata city stadium with Estudiantes as home team. A few days later, Gimnasia was eliminated from the Copa Sudamericana by the Chilean Colo Colo, in a match so marred by Gimnasia's violence that Argentine Football Association's president Julio Grondona wrote a letter of apology to the president of the ANFP (the Chilean football federation) .
The pending second half against Boca Juniors was played on 8 November, 2006. Boca Juniors scored four goals and won the match. After the match, Troglio and some of the players hinted that the team had received death threats from a fraction of their own supporters, who wanted Gimnasia to lose and thus benefit Boca in its championship bid against Gimnasia's cross-town rivals Estudiantes. Finally, Estudiantes became Champion, defeating Boca Juniors in a winner-take-all playoff game.
La Plata District Attorney Marcelo Romero opened a criminal case and cited some club players and officers to testify. Player Marcelo Goux refused to play the next match and quit the team ; he was soon followed by fellow players Martin Cardetti and Ariel Franco. Many articles in the press condemned Munoz's handling of the situation, explicitly saying that he lied to the press and that some of the more violent fans were Munoz's proteges .
On March 2007, Gimnasia lost 5-1 against Boca Juniors, and suffered a string of losses in its Copa Libertadores bid. Some fans called for Munoz to resign , but it was Troglio who felt the burden of responsibility and resigned his post on April 2, 2007 . To replace Troglio, Gimnasia hired famed Colombian trainer Francisco Maturana, who had limited success, and was replaced on August 2007 by Julio Cesar Falcioni.
In the December 2007 election, Munoz's list lost to the opposition. President-elect Walter Gisande has declared his intention to make former player Guillermo Sanguinetti the team coach. In a related development, mayor Pablo Bruera (who replaces Julio Alak after the latter's 16 years in office) has indicated that Gimnasia will be able to return to its stadium and buy some city-owned lands for erecting a sports complex.
Presidents
(*) Elected but he resigned before assuming the presidency
Stadium
The Juan Carlos Zerrillo stadium, known as el Bosque had a capacity of roughly 33,000 and was used until 2005.
When a new city stadium was built for La Plata, both Gimnasia and Estudiantes initially chose to stay at their respective fields, but this arrangement collapsed when both fields were closed down due to new security regulations. Ever since the 2006 Clausura tournament, Gimnasia has used the city stadium for home games.
As of March 2007, Gimnasia has secured all permissions required to play in its field, and is expected to do so within the 2007 season.
Fan base
Within the city of La Plata and its environs, the Gimnasia fan base used to be identified with the working class, contrasting with the mostly middle class Estudiantes constituency. This characterization seems to be no longer true. There are few Gimnasia fans outside of the La Plata area.
The fans' collective calls itself "la 22", after 22nd street in La Plata where many famous fans lived, notably Marcelo Amuchastegui. Known as Loco Fierro, Amuchastegui was famous for his exploits, such as hanging a 100-meter Gimnasia flag in the Bombonera stadium. He was shot to death by Rosario police in a murky episode on 28 May 1991, allegedly during an armed robbery.
Nicknames
Gimnasia is called el lobo ("the wolf") because its field was historically in the bosque (forest).
Another nickname, mensanas, derives from their Latin motto Mens sana in corpore sano (a healthy mind in a healthy body).
The name triperos ("gut-handlers") comes from the many supporters who worked in the meat-processing plants of nearby Berisso. Curiously, the same nickname is used for the population of Porto in Portugal.
Yet another nickname is basureros ("garbagemen").
Records
Gimnasia has the record for the fastest goal in Argentina's league, Carlos Danton Seppaquercia scored against Huracan after 5 seconds, on March 20, 1979.
Gimnasia was the first South American team to defeat Real Madrid CF on its own field. The match was played on January 1, 1931 and ended with a score of 3-2.
Gimnasia best score was against Racing Club played on November 22, 1961 and ended with a score of 8-1. This year Racing Club was the Champion.
Gimnasia's 2006 loss of 0-7 to Estudiantes is tied for "worst derby defeat" in Argentine professional football; the previous instance of such a score was in 1940 .
Honours
In Amateurism
Primera Division (1): 1929
Division Intermedia del Futbol Argentino (1): 1915
Second place of Primera Division: 1924
In Profesionalism
Copa Centenario de la AFA (1): 1994
Segunda division (3): 1944, 1947, y 1952
Second place of Primera Division: Clausura 1995, Clausura 1996, Apertura 1998, Clausura 2002, Apertura 2005
List of famous players
Carlos Barisio (1975)
Jose Battle Perdomo (1992)
Diego "Paco" Bayo
Alberto "Maestro cordobes" Beltran (1980s)
Pablo Bengoechea (1992)
Carlos "Charlie" Carrio (1980s)
Leandro Cufre (1997~2000)
Carlos "Maestro" Della Savia
Attilio Demaria (1931)
Walter "Loco" Durso
Claudio "Caio" Enria
Hugo "Loco" Gatti (1969~1974)
Andres "Guly" Guglielminpietro
Ricardo Kuzemka
Lucas Lobos (2002~2005)
Jose Maria Minella (1928~1934)
Andres "Hombre" Madrid (2001~2004)
Alberto "Beto" Marcico (1996~1998)
Mariano Messera (1998~2002)
Carlos "Mono" Navarro Montoya (2005-2006)
Arturo Naon
Enzo Noce
Alfredo "Tanque" Rojas (1962~1964)
Guillermo "Topo" Sanguinetti (1991~2003)
Jaime Sarlanga (1949~1954)
Facundo "Colorado" Sava (1997~2002)
Guillermo Barros Schelotto (1991~1997)
Gustavo Barros Schelotto
Roberto "Pampa" Sosa
Gonzalo "Turbo" Vargas (2004~2006)
Pedro Troglio (1996~2002)
Francisco "Pancho" Varallo (1928~1930)
see also
Managers
Main Category:
Basketball
The GELP basketball team peaked during the 1978 and 1979 campaigns, prevailing both times over favorite Obras Sanitarias for the Metropolitano title, with players such as Gonzalez, Gehrmann, Peinado, and Americans Michael Jackson, Lawrence Jackson, and point-guard Clarence Edgar Metcalfe, the team's leader and the league MVP in 1979.
Gimnasia were runners-up in the 2003/04 Argentine league tournament, when GELP gained the second place after losing the final series with Boca Juniors by 4-2. The next season the team was relegated to the TNA (Second Division) because of president Juan Jose Munoz who decided to decrease the basketball budget that cause the emigration of the principal players who had obteined the subchampionship.
Volleyball
GELP has a female Volleyball team. They are the only one of the nine founder clubs from the Federacion de Voleibol y Pelota al Cesto, still playing volleyball and in the highest division. The federation is now Federacion Metropolitana de Voleibol (FMV).
External links
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata
