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Colon de Santa Fe
Club Atletico Colon commonly known as Colon de Santa Fe is a football team from Santa Fe, Argentina. As of 2009-10 they play in the highest division of Argentine football, and have done so continuously since 1995-96. The club has finished in the top three of the Primera Division Argentina on three occasions; achieving second place in Clausura 1997, and third place in Clausura 2000 and Apertura 2009.
Foundation
The club was founded in 1905, apparently by a group of students, one of which was studying the conquest of America, hence the name chosen (Columbus in Spanish is Colon). However there are no firm records of the club's existence until 1920.
Playing History
They started by playing in the local league of Santa Fe, winning it on 14 occasions. The club gained its affiliation with the Argentine Football Association in 1947. The team played several seasons in the lower divisions until they won the Primera B Nacional (2nd level) in 1965, thus leading to their promotion to the Primera Division Argentina for the 1966 season.
In their first season in the top level they finished 15th, but the following year the [[Primera Division ArgentinaThe Metropolitano and Nacional: 1967-1985|structure of Argentine football]] was changed so as there were two championships each season, the Metropolitano and the Nacional, with entrance to the latter originally only available to the higher placed Metropolitano teams. Colon did not qualify for the Nacional until 1968, although they did then manage a 6th place finish.
After a few seasons of struggle they finished 2nd in their group in the 1972 Nacional, although not close enough to the group winner to qualify for the knockout stages. In 1975 they enjoyed a good Metro league campaign, and ultimately finished 6th in this competition. This was bettered in 1977 when they finished 5th in the Metro, although they then struggled in the Nacional. In 1978 they reached the knockout stages of the Nacional but were beaten in the Quarter Finals by Independiente.
Colon were relegated from the Metropolitana in 1981 having won only 6 games that season, although prior to this year they had generally been in at least a mid table position. It was to take 14 years for them to return to the top division (for the 1995-96 season). During the intervening period they came close to promotion on a number of occasions, and they lost Promotion Playoff games in 1988-89 to arch-rivals Union 3-0 on aggregate, and in 1992-93 they lost the championship playoff to Banfield and then failed to qualify via the secondary playoffs.
After a few mid-table finishes Colon were placed 2nd in the 1997 Clausura tournament, which is their highest placed finish to date. As River Plate won both titles that season, a playoff was required between the two runners-up. In December 1997 Colon defeated Independiente 1-0 to qualify for the Copa Libertadores 1998.
Following this excellent season, 1997-98 was a disappointment but it was followed by a 5th place finish in the 1998-99 Apertura and 3rd place in the 1999-2000 Clausura. Over the next few seasons further high placings meant that at the end of season 2001-02 they were ranked 6th highest overall in the 3-year average tables. They maintained this position at the end of the following season, and indeed also therefore qualified for the Copa Sudamericana for the first time. Over the next few seasons their finishing position was often mid-table at best, and their position in the relegation averages fell such that by the end of the 2007-08 season they were placed 16th in the averages, just one position away from having to play in the relegation playoff.
South American Tournament Qualification
Colon made their South American debut in the Copa CONMEBOL 1997 against Universidad de Chile. They susbsequently reached the semi finals where they lost to fellow Argentine side Lanus.
They made their debut in South America's most prestigious club tournament (Copa Libertadores) the following season. Their first game in the group stage was a 1-2 home defeat to River Plate, although they were still to qualify for the knockout stages. After beating Olimpia on penalties they were again drawn to play River Plate, but were defeated 5-2 on aggregate in the quarter final.
In 2003 they qualified for their 3rd different continental competition (Copa Sudamericana), and they defeated Velez Sarsfield before losing to Boca Juniors.
Stadiums
The club's current stadium is the Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao Lopez which holds 32,500 spectators. The ground was inaugurated in 1948, and received a refurbishment in 2001. It is their 3rd ground, the team having originally played near the town's port, and due to the port's expansion they had to leave this site in 1925. Their 2nd ground was located near Arcos de Sur a Norte, although they had to leave this ground in 1938.
Local rivalry
The club plays the Santa Fe local derby against Union de Santa Fe, but the fixture has not occurred for many years due to the fact that the teams are currently in different divisions.
Achievements
Local tournaments
Liga Santafesina de futbol (4): 1913, 1914, 1916, 1918
Federacion Santafesina (4): 1922, 1923, 1925, 1929
Liga Santafesina de Futbol (16): 1937, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1957, 1958, 1968, 1969, 1995, Apertura 2000, Apertura 2002, Apertura 2004.
National tournaments
Segunda Division Argentina: 1965
Runner-up Primera Division Argentina: Clausura 1997
Friendly tournaments
Copa de Honor Juan Domingo Peron: 1950
Copa Santa Fe: 2006
Players
Current squad
Notable players
To appear in this section a player must have played at least 50 games for the club
Agustin Balbuena (1964~68)
Edgardo Di Meola
Carlos Trullet (1971~74)
Ruben Araoz
Enzo Trossero (1972~75)
Hugo Villaverde (1973~75)
Hector Baley (1973~76)
Edgardo Andrada (1977~82)
Jorge Comas
Claudio Ubaldo Chena (1982~86)
Daniel Carnevali (1985~88)
Gustavo Siviero
Maximiliano Cuberas (1995~97)
Julio Cesar Toresani
Hugo Ibarra (1995~1998)
Leonardo Diaz
Hector Rodriguez Pena
Marcelo Saralegui (1995~99)
Luis Medero (1996~01)
Pablo Morant (1997~03)
Esteban Fuertes
Pablo Ricchetti (1999~2000)
Claudio Biaggio (1999~01)
Jorge Bontemps (1999~04)
Claudio Enria
Martin Romagnoli (1999~06)
Alejandro Capurro
Claudio Fernando Graf (2000~02)
Javier Delgado (2000~04)
Cesar Carignano
Jorge Daniel Martinez (2000~04)
Ismael Blanco (2002~08)
Laureano Tombolini (2002~08)
Ivan Moreno y Fabianesi
Giovanny Hernandez (2003~06)
Dario Gandin
Ariel Garce
Freddy Grisales
Diego Chitzoff (2004~09)
Juan Manuel Vargas (2005~06)
Ruben Ramirez (2005~08)
German Rivarola (2006~present)
Juan Carlos Falcon (2007~08)
External links
Official Site (Spanish)
Nuevo Cementerio (Spanish)
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Colon de Santa Fe
