Sporting Cristal
Sporting Cristal is a Peruvian football team based in the district of Rimac, in the department of Lima. The club was founded on December 13, 1955. The teams original name was Sporting Tabaco but renamed when a beer company bought it. Cristal has won the league title fifteen times, the Peruvian team with the third-most domestic titles. It is one of the most popular football teams in Perualong with Universitario de Deportes and Alianza Limaand is the youngest of the three. In 1997, it became the second Peruvian soccer club to reach the final of the Copa Libertadores.
They currently play in the Peruvian First Division but are under the threat of being relegated to the second division. Although being one of the most popular football clubs in Peru, they do not own their own stadium and choose between the Estadio San Martin de Porres and the Estadio Nacional.
History
In 1954, the English proprietors of the beer company of Backus and Johnston from the district of Rimac, decided to sell their firms to Peruvian capitalists. Once the deal was closed and the beer company was in the hands of Peruvians, the Peruvians wished to form a football (soccer) club so that it may represent the company.
Ricardo Bentin Mujica, with the support of his wife, was the man who gave it his all to make this dream come true. However, there already was a club from Rimac who was playing in the Peruvian First Division known as Sporting Tabaco. This club had never won a national championship and they were in an economic crisis. Bentin decided to buy this club and search for a lot so that the club could develop and be able to play in the national league. The club found a lot in the neighborhood of La Florida of 137,000 m2.
Everything turned out well for Bentin, until the FPF frowned upon this attempt. This problem was overcome and on December 13, 1955 the club was founded as it is known today and renamed Sporting Cristal Backus. The club from the Rimac district debuted in 1956 in the national league and won their first national title that same year. They were known, among journalists, as the club that was born a champion(nacio campeon).
The team managed to win more titles over the years and was known as one of the best football clubs in Peru behind Universitario de Deportes and Alianza Lima. A few years later the club eliminated the word Backus from their name to demonstrate their economic independence.
In 1997, the team, led by Uruguayan coach Sergio Markarian, reached the finals of the Copa Libertadores where they faced the Brazilian club Cruzeiro. The first leg was an away game where they lost 1-0 and in the second leg they ended in a scoreless draw. This is the closest a Peruvian team has reached the Copa Libertadores Final since 1972, when Universitario de Deportes had a similar fate playing against Independiente de Avellaneda.
The team was ranked second all-time among Peruvian clubs by FIFA but most recently it's the first; and the only one Peruvian team with the highest number of participations in the Copa Libertadores de America.
Recent head coaches include Juan Carlos Oblitas and Paulo Autuori. Peruvian filmmaker Francisco Lombardi was the club's president throughout most of the successful 1990s.
Supporters
Cristal has two ultra known as Fuerza Oriente and Extremo Celeste.
Noted players
Achievements
Primera Division Peruana
*Winners (15): 1956, 1961, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2005
*Runner-ups (14): 1931*, 1954*, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1973, 1977, 1989, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004Copa Libertadores
*Runners-up (1): 1997
External links
Sporting Cristal Official Club Website
SALUD CRISTAL Fan Website
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Sporting Cristal
