Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or familiarly, Ferro, is an Argentine

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

from the neighbourhood of Caballito, Buenos Aires. Although many activities are hosted by the club, Ferro is mostly known for its football team, which plays in the Primera Nacional, the second division of the

Argentine football league system The Argentine football league system include tournaments organised by the Argentine Football Association. Clubs affiliated to the body compete in the tournaments, which are split into categories or divisions. Rules establish a system of promotion ...

. Apart from football, Ferro Carril Oeste hosts a wide variety of sports that can be practised at the club, such as

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

, swimming, taekwondo,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. and, since 2001,

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

shows, including world championship boxing contests. As its name indicates, the club had

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

origins, being founded in 1904 by employees of the Buenos Aires Western Railway. The club had its glory days in the 1980s, having won numerous titles in several sports disciplines, being also recognised by

Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

as a model institution. Ferro Carril Oeste had 50,000 members by those years.

History

The beginning

Always located in Caballito, the club was founded as "Club Atlético del Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires" on 28 July 1904, by a hundred employees of the Buenos Aires Western Railway (then Ferrocarril Domingo Faustino Sarmiento). The club was approved and supported by railway managers, so Ferro soon incorporated lands to build its headquarters and sports installations. In 1905 the club built its own stadium, Estadio Arquitecto Ricardo Etcheverry, financed by its main founding member, David Simpson. Ferro affiliated to the Argentine Football Association to register a team to play in the third division. The first official match was played on 21 April 1907 v River Plate. In 1912, Ferro won the División Intermedia (then, the second division) title and promoted to Primera División. That same year the club won the Copa Bullrich title. Ferro C. Oeste would win another Copa Bullrich title the following year, but playing with reserve teams. Ferro debuted in the top division in 1913 v Riachuelo (1–1 draw). By those years, the club also inaugurated running tracks, bocce,

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be ...

s, basque pelota courts but also closed the

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

section in 1914.

''The Five Musketeers''

At the end of the 1930s, the club emancipated from the railway company, changing its name to "Club Ferro Carril Oeste". In 1937 five talented players rose from the youth divisions, forming an offensive line which would be remembered as ''The Five Musketeers''. They were

Bernardo Gandulla Bernardo José Gandulla, better known as Bernardo Gandulla (March 1, 1916 – July 7, 1999) was an Argentine football forward and head coach. He died in Buenos Aires from respiratory problems. Career Playing career Born in Buenos Aires, Ber ...

, Juan José Maril, Luis Borgnia,

Jaime Sarlanga Jaime Sarlanga (February 24, 1916 – August 24, 1966) was an Argentine football forward. He played most of his career for Boca Juniors where he won 7 titles and scored 115 league goals, making him the 5th. highest goalscorer in club's history. ...

and Raúl Emeal. But those skilled players only played together between 1937 and 1938, due to other clubs acquiring them (Sarlanga would have a memorable run with Boca Juniors). Both Gandulla and Sarlanga together scored more than the 50% of the goals scored by Ferro in the 1937 season Other notable player for the club was

Delfín Benítez Cáceres Delfín Benítez Cáceres (24 September 1910 – 8 January 2004) was a Paraguayan football striker. Benítez started his career in Libertad of his native country. As one of the key players of the Paraguay national football team in the early ...

, who played from 1941 until his retirement in 1944 scoring 20 goals. Gandulla and Emeal returned to Ferro in 1944 after their stint with Boca Juniors. But despite having such prominent players, Ferro finished last in 1946 and was relegated to Primera B for the first time in its history. Apart from football, the club added several sections to its range of sports disciplines, such as swimming,

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with th ...

, and

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

(starting after the club affiliated to Argentine Chess Federation). In 1933, Ferro C.O. formed its first

team. In the 1940s, Ferro also added

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

and roller skating. As a result, the club increased its number of members, with more than 6,000 by 1941.

1950–1970

Ferro soon returned to the first division in 1949, when winning the Primera B title. Being presided by Atilio Renzi (a politician affiliated to

Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, serve ...

and private secretary of Eva Perón), the club added

to its list of sports. The football team stayed in Primera until 1957, when its poor permformance during that championship caused Ferro C.O. was relegated for the second time in its history. Ferro only lasted one year in Primera B, returning in 1958 when the squad crowned champion. Ferro totalised 50 points in 34 matches played, followed by Nueva Chicago with 46."Argentina: 1ra. "B" AFA 1958" by José Carluccio on Historia y Fútbol, 17 Jul 2009 In the 1959 Primera División, Ferro finished 4th, being the best position in the top division until then. After being relegated again, Ferro won the Primera B championship in 1963, returning to Primera División. In the top level, Ferro reached another 4th place in the

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...

tournament. Ferro would be relegated again in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

after playing a "Reclasificatorio" tournament. In the 1969 Primera B season, Ferro C.O. won the tournament (with San Telmo as runner up) but none of them could promote to Primera after they lost in the Reclasificatorio tournament to Banfield and

Deportivo Morón Club Deportivo Morón is an Argentine sports club located in the city of Morón, Buenos Aires. Deportivo Morón's football team currently plays in Primera B Nacional, the second division of the Argentine football league system. The club was found ...

(the worst placed teams in 1969 Metropolitano). Ferro 1978

Following with the good performance in 1969 season, Ferro C.O. won its second consecutive Primera B title in 1970, directly promoting to Primera División to play the

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...

season. By 1972, the club had 17,299 members and inaugurated the Gimnasio Héctor Etchart, home venue for the

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's ...

. In

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

Ferro wore an orange jersey, paying tribute to World sub-champion

Netherlands national football team The Netherlands national football team ( nl, Nederlands voetbalelftal or simply ''Het Nederlands elftal'') has represented the Netherlands in international men's football matches since 1905. The men's national team is controlled by the Royal ...

, ''The Clockwork Orange'', finishing 6th in the Torneo Nacional disputed that year. Gerónimo Saccardi was one of the most notable players for the club during those years. After some irregular campaigns, Ferro finished 23rd (last) in 1977, being relegated along with Lanús and

Temperley Temperley is a district in Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, located in the south of Lomas de Zamora Partido. History In 1854 the industrial and textile merchant George Temperley (born in 1823 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England) bought from the ...

. Ferro C. Oeste quickly returning to Primera so the team won the Primera B championship in 1978.

The Golden Age: 1980s

Ferro had a prominent role in Argentine sports in the 1980s, more specifically in football and

. The football team won 2 titles of

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; en, "First Division"), known officialy as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Binance for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). T ...

and played the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

. Otherwise, the basketball team won the Liga Nacional de Básquet (the Argentine first division league) championship 3 times. Griguol entrevista

In 1979 Carlos Griguol was hired as club manager. He would become the most successful coach in the club's history, winning 2 Primera División titles for the first time and also promoting players such as

Alberto Márcico Alberto José Márcico (born 13 May 1960) is an Argentine former professional football midfielder. He played club football with Ferro Carril Oeste, Toulouse, Boca Juniors, and Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP). e represented the Argentina national footbal ...

, Héctor Cúper and Oscar Garré. In the 1981 Metropolitano championship Ferro finished 2nd, totalling 49 points, just one less than champion Boca Juniors. In that season, goalkeeper Carlos Barisio set a national record by keeping his goal unbeaten for 1,075 minutes. This included a run of 10 complete games without conceding a goal. That same year Ferro reached the Torneo Nacional final although the team was defeated by River Plate (by the same score: 1–0 in the two matches played). Ferro 1982

Ferro finally won its first title at Primera in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

, winning the Nacional tournament after beating defending champions Quilmes in the finals (0–0, 2–0). The squad played a total of 22 matches, winning 16 with 6 draws so they won the championship remaining unbeaten. Ferro scored 50 goals and conceded 13. Left wing Miguel Angel Juárez was the top scorer with 22 goals. Other notable players for the champion team were Adolfino Cañete, Alberto Márcico,

Juan Domingo Rocchia Juan Domingo Rocchia is a retired professional footballer. He played for Racing Club and Ferro Carril Oeste in the Argentine Primera. He played in central defence and he formed a famous partnership with Héctor Cúper in his time at Ferro Carr ...

, and Héctor Cúper. Although some key players during the 1982 tournament (Saccardi, Rocchia, Crocco) had left the club, Ferro won another Torneo Nacional in 1984, defeating River Plate (with Norberto Alonso and

Enzo Francescoli Enzo Francescoli Uriarte (; born 12 November 1961), nicknamed "El Príncipe" ("The Prince"), is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a attacking midfielder. He is regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and as one of ...

) winning the two finals (3–0 and 1–0). The team played 14 matches, winning 8 and losing only 1, with 5 draws. Ferro scored 32 goals and only conceded 9, with Márcico being the top scorer with 5 goals. As one of the Argentine champions, Ferro debuted in Copa Libertadores playing the 1983 edition in a group with Estudiantes LP, and Chilean teams Colo Colo and

Cobreloa Club de Deportes Cobreloa S.A.D.P. (), commonly referred to as Cobreloa, is a Chilean football professional club based in Calama, Región de Antofagasta, Chile. That competes in the Primera B. The club's home ground is the Estadio Zorros d ...

, being eliminated after finishing last. The good performances by the squad in local football followed in the 1984 Metropolitano, where Ferro C.O. finished 2nd. (50 pts) after Argentinos Juniors (51 pts). Ferro returned to international competitions to play the

1985 Copa Libertadores The 1985 edition of Copa Libertadores was won by Argentinos Juniors, of Argentina for the first time, after defeating América of Colombia in a penalty shootout, following a playoff game after the two-legged final finished level. Group stage Cl ...

, being eliminated in the first stage. During the 1980s, Ferro gained recognition not only in football but also in basketball, being the first winner of the recently created Liga Nacional in 1985 after beating

Atenas Atenas () is a district of the Atenas canton, in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica. Its urban area is referred as Atenas city. Toponymy Its name means Athens ''(Αθήνα)'', the capital of Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officia ...

2–1 in the finals. Santiago Leyden was the president between 1964 and 1993. He is regarded as the man who led the club to a decade of greatness that included more than 100 titles in several sports disciplines. Leyden was also vicepresident of

CONMEBOL The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, , or CSF; es, Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; pt, Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Surina ...

between 1976 and 1980. Also in the 1980s. Ferro Carril Oeste reached its peak as sports and social club, with more than 50,000 members and was proclaimed as a "model institution" by

.Ferro vuelve a sus socios
on Página/12, 17 Oct 2014 In 1987 Carlos Griguol left the club, and was hired by River Plate. He had won 2 titles in the first division (who still are the only two championships won by Ferro at the top level of Argentine football) and 2 sub-championships. Griguol returned in 1988, coaching Ferro until 1993.

Decline

On the other hand, Ferro had the longest run without scoring a goal. The team went 875 minutes without scoring between the end of the 1998 Apertura and the 1999 Clausura. In 1990's Ferro's form gradually declined and relegated to third level in 2001 after two consecutive relegations. Ferro finally returned to second one in 2003. Ferro has a strong rivalry with Vélez Sársfield, so both teams disputed what is known as ''Clásico del Oeste''.

Kit uniform evolution

Main uniform

Special editions

;Notes

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Notable former players

(1934–39) *

(1937–39) *

(1941–44) * Vicente Gambardella (1960) * Gerónimo Saccardi (1969–75, 1979–83) *

(1973–83) * Oscar Garré (1974–88) * Héctor Cúper (1976–77, 1978–88) * Carlos Barisio (1978–83) *

(1980–85) * Adolfino Cañete (1980–84) * Carlos Moya

Managers

* Mario Fortunato (1937), (1953) * Pedro Dellacha (1965) *

Victorio Spinetto Victorio Luis Spinetto (3 June 1911 – 28 August 1990) was an Argentine football player and manager. He played as a centre half, mostly for Vélez Sársfield in the Argentine Primera División, debuting with the club in 1932 and retiring in 19 ...

(1973–76) * Carlos Griguol (1979–87), (1988–93) * Gerónimo Saccardi (1997–99) * Rubén Darío Insúa (1999) * Héctor Rivoira (2004–05) *

José Luis Brown José Luis Brown (10 January 1956 – 12 August 2019) was an Argentine football central defender and coach. Most of his 14-year professional career was spent with Estudiantes, for which he appeared in more than 300 official matches and won two ...

(2007–08) * Carlos Trullet (2008–09) *

Jorge Luis Ghiso Jorge Luis Ghiso (born June 21, 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentine football manager and former Argentine footballer who played for clubs in Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Colombia. Teams (Player) * River Plate 1970-1975 * Atlético ...

(2009) * Dalcio Giovagnoli (2010) * Mario Gómez (2011–12) *

(2013) * José Romero (2014) * Marcelo Broggi (2015) *

Walter Perazzo Walter Osvaldo Perazzo Otero (born August 2, 1962) is a Colombian born Argentine football manager, currently in charge of Güemes, and former centre forward. Biography Perazzo was born in Bogotá, Colombia while his father Alberto was playin ...

(2016) * Marcelo Broggi (2017–18) * Alejandro Orfila (2018) * Jorge Cordon (2018–20) * Diego Osella (2020-)

Other sports

Basketball

Ferro Carril Oeste was one of the most successful basketball clubs in Argentina during the 1980s, being the first champion of Liga Nacional de Básquet in 1985. The club has won a total of three LNB and one Campeonato Argentino title. At international level, Ferro won three South American Championship titles (being also the first Argentine team to win that competition). Ferro remains (along with Boca Juniors) as the most winning Argentine team."Yo vi al Ferro campeón 1986" on Basquet Retro blogsite (archived)

Honours

Football

* Primera División (2): 1982 Nacional, 1984 Nacional * Primera B (7): 1913, 1958, 1963, 1969, 1970, 1978, 2002–03 * División Intermedia (1): 1912 * Copa Bullrich (2): 1912, 1913

Volleyball

;Men: *Primera División (6): 1977, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985 *Copa Morgan (7): 1966, 1977, 1977, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 *Campeonato Sudamericano (2): 1987, 1998 ;Women: *Primera División (8): 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1990 *Copa Morgan (11): 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1998, 2004

Notes

References

External links

*
Ferro C. Oeste (unofficial)

Ferropedia

Ferroweb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrocarril Oeste Association football clubs established in 1904 Basketball teams established in 1904 f Argentine volleyball teams Railway sports teams 1904 establishments in Argentina Football clubs in Buenos Aires Railway association football teams