Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata
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Categories: Gimnasia La Plata | Sports clubs established in 1887 | Football (soccer) clubs established in 1887 | Argentine football clubs | Basketball teams in Argentina
For other uses, see Gimnasia y Esgrima.
Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (GELP) is an Argentine sports club with a football team in Primera División Argentina. It is located in the city of La Plata. They contest the La Plata derby with local rivals Estudiantes.
HistoryEarly daysThe "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[1]. 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, Porteño, 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[2] 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[3]. 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[4]. 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[5], 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[6]. Nevertheless, Gimnasia has not won an official top level championship since the end of the Amateur era in 1931. Title of 1929In 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, Huracán 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, Santillán, 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 CupIn 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 Córdoba 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 Lavallén; Sanguinetti, Morant, Ortiz, Dopazo, Fernandez, Bianco, Talarico, Gustavo Barros Schelotto, Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Hugo Romeo Guerra. From Griguol to TroglioWith 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 crisisOn September 10 2006, during the halftime of a match against Boca Juniors, club president Juan José Muñoz confronted (and allegedly threatened) referee Daniel Giménez, who called off the match immediately, with Gimnasia leading 1-0. Muñoz was suspended for six months by the football association[7] 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) [8]. 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.[9] 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 [10]; he was soon followed by fellow players Martín Cardetti and Ariel Franco. Many articles in the press condemned Muñoz's handling of the situation, explicitly saying that he lied to the press and that some of the more violent fans were Muñoz's protégés [11]. 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 Muñoz to resign [12], but it was Troglio who felt the burden of responsibility and resigned his post on April 2, 2007 [13]. To replace Troglio, Gimnasia hired famed Colombian trainer Francisco Maturana, who had limited success, and was replaced on August 2007 by Julio César Falcioni. In the December 2007 election, Muñoz'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 StadiumThe Juan Carlos Zerrillo stadium, known as el Bosque (the forest, because it is located in the La Plata park of the same name) 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 baseWithin 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 Amuchástegui. Known as Loco Fierro, Amuchástegui 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. NicknamesGimnasia 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
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