Estudiantes de La Plata is a sports club in La Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, with a history of achievement in professional football.

The current club badge has nine stars for its five international and four local titles. The last of these stars was earned on December 13, 2006, when Estudiantes won the Apertura tournament over Boca Juniors by 2-1 in a play-off match.

History

The club was founded on 4 August 1905 by university students who felt left out by the management of Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata, which favored indoor games over football. Its jersey had red and white vertical stripes honoring the Alumni team that dominated Argentine football in those years, with black pants and gray or black socks. In the early days, the team wore a blue blazer on top of the jersey when entering the pitch.

The stadium on 1st Avenue opened on 25 December 1907. Before the advent of professionalism, Estudiantes won the 1913 league title.

When professionalism was adopted in Argentina in 1931, Estudiantes had a famous offensive lineup: Lauri-Scopelli-Zozaya-Ferreyra-Guayta, known as Los Profesores (The Professors), and still regarded as one of Argentina's all-time finest. Guayta and Scopelli played for the Italy national team that conquered the 1934 World Cup. The Sbarra brothers (Raul and Roberto) and Armando Nery were feared defensive players. Alberto Zozaya scored the first goal of professional football in Argentina and was the top goalscorer of the first professional tournament.

In 1937, a pioneering lighting system was installed in the stadium, allowing night games.

The 1950s saw the rise of Ogando, Garceron, Bouche, Urriolabeitia, Infante, Antonio, and the last days of striker Manuel Pellegrina, who is the all-time top scorer with 221 goals. The team was relegated in 1953 but was promoted the following year.

In the 1960s, Miguel Ignomiriello coached the under-19 team known as La Tercera que Mata (The Killer Juveniles), which would evolve, together with a few acquisitions, into the team coached by Osvaldo Zubeldia that won the 1967 Metropolitano championship (since 1967, Argentina has two championships per season).

Thus Estudiantes became the first club outside of the "five greats" (Boca Juniors, River Plate, Racing Club, Independiente, and San Lorenzo) to obtain a professional title. This opened the gates for other "small" clubs (Velez Sarsfield and Chacarita Juniors obtained titles in 1968 and 1969 respectively).

Estudiantes went on to secure the Copa Libertadores de America three years in a row (1968 to 1970), and the 1968 Intercontinental Cup against the powerful Manchester United. It lost the series against A.C. Milan (1969) and Feyenoord (1970). In 1969 the club also won the Interamerican Cup.

The last part of the Zubeldia era was marred by the antics of some players. Following a very violent Intercontinental match against Milan, the entire team was arrested on orders from Argentine President Juan Carlos Ongania; in an unprecedented step, goalkeeper Poletti was suspended for life (he was later pardoned), and hatchet-man Aguirre Suarez was also singled out for punishment. Because of several such events, it became a cliche to refer to Zubeldia's football as el antifutbol.

The Zubeldia team was maybe the only successful professional side ever to count two physicians among its stars: Carlos Salvador Bilardo and teammate Raul Madero graduated from the University of Buenos Aires Faculty of Medicine during their playing days.

Juan Ramon Veron was the most gifted player on that team. He profited from the no-nonsense playing of Conigliaro, Echecopar, and Madero, and the tactical guidance provided by Bilardo. Right-back Manera was a very talented player, but suffered from repeated injuries and did not realize his full potential.

During the 1970 season, Bilardo retired from play and got involved in his family's furniture business. Soon he started to coach, alternating between Estudiantes and Colombian teams. He coached Estudiantes in 1982, when the team won the Metropolitano championship. Under his successor Eduardo Lujan Manera, also a member of the Zubeldia team, Estudiantes won the 1983 Nacional tournament as well. Both wins were at the expense of a star-studded Independiente.

Those championship teams were anchored by a solid defense (Camino on the right and Herrera on the left were also fearsome attackers, and Brown provided security as a sweeper), and also had three creative mid-fielders (Ponce, Sabella, Trobbiani, with Russo to guard their backs) and two top-notch strikers (Gottardi and Trama).

Bilardo went on to coach the Argentine national team that won the 1986 World Cup (the captain of the 1982 champions, Jose Luis Brown, scored the opening goal in the final against West Germany). The national team also reached the final of the 1990 edition. Madero was team physician on both events.

Estudiantes was relegated in 1994 and returned to the first division the next season, which was the breakout season for Juan Sebastian Veron. In the following years, the club was the breeding ground for strikers such as Martin Palermo, Luciano Galletti, Bernardo Romeo, Ernesto Farias and Mariano Pavone.

In 2004-2005, under coach Reinaldo Merlo, Estudiantes finished both the Apertura and the Clausura tournaments in the fourth place. Mariano Pavone was top goalscorer of the 2005 Clausura. On 17 April 2005, Estudiantes de La Plata became the sixth team in Argentina to win 1,000 professional games, coming from behind to defeat Newell's Old Boys 3-2.

Merlo resigned on August 2005, the day after the main event of the centennial celebrations, and was promptly replaced with Bilardo alum Jorge Burruchaga. The team made history when it came from behind (0-3 in midtime) to win 4-3 against Peru's Sporting Cristal in a Libertadores match played on 21 February, 2006.

On May 18, 2006, Burruchaga was replaced with another former Argentine great, Diego Simeone, who built the team around Veron, who returned to Estudiantes after 11 years. The Simeone team was eliminated by São Paulo in a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals of the 2006 Copa Libertadores, but went on to an impressive string of victories in the local league.

Estudiantes defeated Gimnasia by an unprecedented 7-0 score in the derby played October 15 2006 as part of the Apertura tournament, as part of a string of 10 straight wins (tying the club record), and finished in first place tied with Boca Juniors (per the Argentine rules, goal difference is not used).

The final was played on December 13, 2006; Estudiantes coming from behind to defeat Boca Juniors 2-1 and thus securing its first premiership title in 23 years. In this tournament, Estudiantes defeated all the "five greats", allowed the least goals, and had three of its players (Pavone, Veron and Brana) rank at the top of sports diary Ole's best player ranking Ole newspaper: Equipo embrujado.

Titles

Amateur era

Campeonato de la Federacion Argentina de Football (1): 1913
Segunda Division Argentina (1): 1911
Copa Rio de La Plata (1): 1913

Professional era

National titles

Primera Division Argentina (4): Metropolitano 1967 and 1982, Nacional 1983, Apertura 2006
Segunda division argentina (2): Primera "B" 1954, Nacional "B" 1994/95.

International titles

Copa Libertadores (3): 1968, 1969, 1970
Copa Intercontinental: 1968
Copa Interamericana: 1969

Stadium and Training Grounds

Jorge Luis Hirschi Stadium is located on 1st Avenue, between 55th and 57th Streets, in central La Plata. In its previous incarnation, it had room for 23,000. The cheaper stands behind the goal-lines were standing-room only, and the western side was sitting-room, separated from the avenue by a row of tile trees. The Eastern side was roofed and had the best seating arrangements. The noisiest fans used to occupy the northern (55th Street) popular, while visiting fans were welcome in the southern popular (on 57th Street, opposite a technical school which was often named as the culprit for the small size of the pitch).

For international games, Estudiantes has traditionally used the Boca Juniors field (La Bombonera).

When a modern stadium was built for the city of La Plata in the 1990s, both Estudiantes and Gimnasia decided initially against relocating their home games. Estudiantes was denied permission for upgrading its stadium, which was closed down in September 2005 because of new safety regulations that forbid standing-only wooden stands. A restraining order exempted Estudiantes from the prohibition, but the city government refused to comply, straining the relations between the club and City Hall.

As a stopgap measure, for the 2005 Apertura Estudiantes played its home games in the nearby Gimnasia stadium, and after that in the Quilmes field. There, Estudiantes made history with a come-from-behind 4-3 win against Sporting Cristal.

On April 2006 a court decree allowed the re-opening of 1 y 57, but mayor Julio Alak intervened again to avoid this from happening. Ole newspaper: La cancha tuvo otro pinchazo. Estudiantes contemplated building a new stadium in the port town of Ensenada, a few kilometers east of La Plata, but this idea had a short life: in August 2006, an agreement was reached to rebuild the stands to allow a capacity of 20,000, while the city stadium will be used for games exceeding that capacity. Renovation work on the stadium started in 2007, even though City Hall delayed the demolition from taking place.

The training grounds are in the Country Club premises in City Bell, north of La Plata. These facilities are among the most advanced in Argentina; the latest upgrades were financed thorugh donations by Juan Sebastian Veron while he played in Europe. Veron, who was also instrumental in the new stadium agreement, has confirmed that he is considering a future bid for the club presidency La Nacion newspaper: La Plata hace su felicidad: "Veron, Veron... .

Fan Base

Following its international successes in the 1960s, Estudiantes gained more followers in all of Argentina. They have remained true to its colors in good times and bad, giving the club a country-wide fan base, widely known as one of the most loyal in Argentina.

Within the La Plata area, Estudiantes was regarded as the club of the middle class, while rival side Gimnasia y Esgrima was identified with the working class. Statistics are inconclusive as to which club has the larger following in the city.

For several periods in the club's history, a cadre of fans from Buenos Aires (los portenos) led the fan base. A noted fan since the 1970s is el pelapapas ("the potato peeler"), famous for lighting small bonfires during games.

In the 1983 presidential election, Estudiantes fans were, together with their peers from Velez Sarsfield, the first to voice their support for eventual winner Raul Alfonsin in his bid against the Peronistas. The friendship with Velez supporters has since vanished, especially after an Estudiantes win denied Velez the 2003 championship.

Estudiantes fans are on friendly terms with most clubs from the South side of Greater Buenos Aires who make it to the top divisions. This was especially true of Quilmes and Temperley.

Platense, from the North side of Greater Buenos Aires, held a special place in the hearts of Estudiantes fans, as it cemented Gimnasia's relegation in 1979. Platense has since been relegated and currently plays in the promotional divisions.

On an international note, Estudiantes is friendly with the Uruguayan fan base of Penarol.

Author Ernesto Sabato is an Estudiantes sympathizer. Even though his interest in football is limited, the club has honored Sabato with a ceremony in which he was given a No. 10 jersey.

Nicknames

The nickname pincharratas (rat-stabbers), often shortened to pinchas, is generally attributed to the laboratory work done by the many Medicine students among the club's early members. This nickname extends to the fans.

Another version maintains that the name comes from the nickname of one Felipe Montedonica, a bodyguard of the team in the 1910s, who was known as "el pincharratas".

A third version claims that the early training fields were infested with rats, and the players spent much time and effort chasing after them, hence the nickname.

Fans also call the team el leon (the lion), orgullo de la ciudad (pride of the city), los capos de La Plata (the bosses of La Plata), and Tricampeon (three-time champion) because of its Libertadores three-peat.

List of Famous Players

This list follows a rough chronological sequence

Los Profesores

Miguel Lauri
Alejandro "Conejo" Scopelli
Alberto "Don Padilla" Zozaya (top goalscorer of the 1931 championship)
Manuel "El Piloto Olimpico" Ferreira
Enrique Guayta

1930s-1960s

Armando "El Nene" Nery
Saul "Toro" Calandra
Roberto Sbarra
Raul Sbarra
Jose Rafael Fello Meza Ivankovich
Hector "El Manco" Castro
Juan Jose "Pichon" Negri
Alberto Bouche
Gabriel Ogando
Ricardo Infante
Walter Garceron
Juan Urriolabeitia
Hector "El Cochero" Antonio
Manuel "Payo" Pellegrina (team top striker ever with 221 goals)

Zubeldia's team

Alberto Poletti
Ramon Aguirre Suarez
Eduardo Lujan Manera
Eduardo Bocha Flores
Marcos Conigliaro
Juan Echecopar
Oscar Cacho Malbernat
Dr. Carlos Salvador Bilardo
Dr. Raul Madero
Carlos Pachame
Juan Ramon Veron (la bruja)

1970s-1980s

Vicente Pernia
Ignacio Pena (top goalscorer of 1973 tournament)
Ruben Oscar Pagnanini
Ruben Horacio Galletti
Franco Frasoldatti
Alfredo Letanu (top goalscorer - 1977 Nacional tournament)
Sergio Fortunato (top goalscorer - 1979 Metropolitano tournament)
Patricio Hernandez

Bilardo's champions

Abel Ernesto Herrera (team record for most appearances: 467)
Luis Islas
Jose Luis Brown (el tata)
Miguel Angel Russo
Julian Camino
Alejandro Sabella
Hugo Ernesto Gottardi
Guillermo Trama
Marcelo Antonio Trobbiani
Jose Daniel Ponce

1980s-present

Nestor Craviotto
Ruben Capria (el mago)(1989~1995)
Martin Palermo (el loco)(1991~1997)
Carlos Bossio
Luciano Galletti(1998~2000)
Lionel Scaloni
Edgardo Pratola (el ruso)
Ernesto Tecla Farias (top goalscorer - 2003 Clausura tournament)(1998~2004)
Juan Angel Krupoviesa
Marcelo Carrusca
Juan Cominges

Aprtura 2006 Champions

Mariano Pavone (top goalscorer - 2005 Clausura tournament)(2002~2007)
Jose Ernesto Sosa (2002~2007)
Marcelo Adrian Carrusca (2001~2006)
Juan Sebastian Veron (la brujita)(1994~1995, 2006~)
Jose Luis Calderon (top goalscorer - 1995 Apertura tournament)(1992~1995, 2005~)

see also

Current Squad

Correct as of August 7 2007

Squad changes for Apertura 2007

Players in

Julio Barroso from Boca Juniors
Jose Basanta from Olimpo de Bahia Blanca (returned from loan)
Jeremias Caggiano from Guingamp, France
Leandro Desabato from Argentinos Juniors (returned from loan)
Diego Galvan from River Plate
Edgar Daniel Gonzalez from Cerro Porteno, Paraguay
Ivan Moreno y Fabianesi from Velez Sarsfield
Enzo Nicolas Perez from Godoy Cruz
Juan Manuel Salgueiro from Necaxa, Mexico
Lucas Wilchez from Club Atletico Tigre (returned from loan)

Players out

(3) Mauricio Ferney Casierra to Once Caldas, Colombia
(4) Josimar Mosquera to Arsenal de Sarandi
(7) Jose Ernesto Sosa to FC Bayern Munich, Germany
(8) Ezequiel David Britez to Nueva Chicago
(9) Jose Luis Calderon to Arsenal de Sarandi
(10) Sebastian Vazquez to Chornomorets Odessa, Ukraine
(13) Diego Noguera to Defensa y Justicia
(16) Mariano Pavone to Real Betis, Spain
(20) Hugo Roberto Colace to Flamengo, Brazil

Squad numbers for the Copa Sudamericana 2007

1- Taborda, 2- Alvarez, 3-Basanta, 4-Gonzalez, 5- Saucedo, 6- Alayes, 7- Salgueiro, 8- Perez, 9- Piatti, 10- Wilchez, 11- Veron, 12- Dobler, 13-Badell, 14-Angeleri, 15- Barroso, 16- Moreno, 17-Luguercio, 18- Maggiolo, 19- Dominguez, 20-Pirchio, 21- Andujar, 22- Brana, 23- Benitez, 24- Desabato, 25- Leo Sanchez

Estudiantes was eliminated from the Copa Sudamericana in the first round.

(Note: Galvan is injured and will not be available for the remainder of 2007)

References

External links

Other pages about Argentine football clubs

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Estudiantes_de_La_Plata