CLUB LIBERTAD

'Club Libertad' is a Paraguayan football (soccer) team, based in Asunción, founded in 1905.

Contents

History

Honours

National honours

International honours

Notable players

Notable coaches

Current first team squad

Basketball

External link

History

In 1905, political instability ruled in Paraguay. A group of young men who arrived to Asunción through the bay in a ship named "Libertad" (liberty) led a triumphant revolution to take down the government who at that time was from the Partido Colorado (Colorado Party). The name of the ship that brought the young men who were part of the opposing political party (the liberal party) was an inspiration to Juan Manuel Sosa Escalada, who along with some friends, decided to found a new sports club named 'Club Libertad' on July 30, 1905.
Since winning its first championship in 1910, Libertad has always been overshadowed by the two big teams in Paraguay: Olimpia and Cerro Porteño, who together won most of the Paraguayan football national championships. Despite that, Libertad has confirmed the position of third "big" team in Paraguay by winning 10 championships, one more than Club Guaraní which has 9 titles. There has always been much controversy between these two teams, since Guarani have always been considered the third team in terms of following in Paraguay, but Libertad are in third place as far as titles are concerned. Guarani still do draw larger crowds to their games, despite not having won the league title since 1984.
Libertad has always been considered a traditional club in the Paraguayan league and the relegation of the club to the in 1998 was very shocking. Two years later however, a new president took over the club and they were back to the first division. Another two years after the promotion, in 2002, they managed to win the Paraguayan league title and repeated the same feat in 2003. The success of the later years allowed Libertad to qualify for several international competitions (the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana) and they even managed to reach the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores in 2006. In the 2007 edition of the Copa Libertadores, Libertad reached the quarterfinals, where it was defeated by Boca Juniors, which eventually became the Champion of the tournament.

Honours

National honours

★ ''

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★ 'Winners (11):' 1910, 1917, 1920, 1930, 1943, 1945, 1955, 1976, 2002, 2003, 2006

★ ''

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★ 'Winners (1):' 2000

International honours

★ 'Copa Libertadores de América'

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★ 'Semifinalists (2):' 1977, 2006

Notable players

★ Delfín Benítez Cáceres

★ Carlos Bonet

★ Pablo Garnier

★ Hernán Rodrigo López

★ Eulogio Martínez

★ Sebastian Fleitas Miranda

★ Juan Samudio

★ Estanislao Struway

★ Juan Bautista Torales

★ Justo Villar

Notable coaches

★ Carlos Jara Saguier

★ Gerardo Martino

Current first team squad

Basketball

Libertad also has a basketball team participating in the Paraguayan Metropolitan Basketball League. They won the Paraguayan championship nine times: 1958, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1986, 1987, 1990 and 2005.

External link

★ Club Libertad Official Site