Club Cienciano, more commonly known as Cienciano, is a

Peruvian Peruvians (''/peruanas'') are the citizens of Peru. What is now Peru has been inhabited for several millennia by cultures such as the Caral before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Peruvian population decreased from an estimated 5–9 ...

professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...

, that currently plays in the

Peruvian Primera División The Peru First Division (; known simply as ''First Division'', and Liga 1 Te Apuesto for sponsorship reasons), officially known as Liga 1, is the top flight of association football in Peru. It has been referred to as Torneo Descentralizado since ...

. It gained worldwide recognition after defeating River Plate in the finals of the 2003

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana (; ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club com ...

and

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

in the

2004 Recopa Sudamericana The 2004 Recopa Sudamericana was the 12th Recopa Sudamericana, an annual football match between the winners of the previous season's Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana competitions. The match was contested by Boca Juniors, winners of the 20 ...

. The club is considered the largest and most successful in Cusco. Founded in 1901, the club is among the oldest in Peru and the oldest in Cusco. The club was founded on 8 July 1901 by a group of students of the '' Colegio Nacional Ciencias del Cusco,'' the oldest school in Peru. They decided to give the club its name based on the word ''Ciencias'', which means "Science". The club is nicknamed ''El Papá de América'', the Father of America. It has a large, longstanding rivalry with

FBC Melgar Foot Ball Club Melgar, known simply as FBC Melgar or Melgar, is a Peru, Peruvian professional Association football, football club based in Arequipa. It is one of Peru's oldest football teams, founded in 1915 under the name Juventud Melgar by a ...

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

known as ''El Clasico del Sur''. Its mascot is a donkey. The club plays their home games at Estadio Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, named after Peruvian writer,

Inca Garcilaso de la Vega Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (12 April 1539 – 23 April 1616), born Gómez Suárez de Figueroa and known as El Inca, was a chronicler and writer born in the Viceroyalty of Peru. Sailing to Spain at 21, he was educated informally there, where he li ...

. The club shares the stadium with other clubs from Cusco,

Cusco FC Cusco Fútbol Club (known as ''Real Garcilaso'' until 2019), commonly known as Cusco, or Cusco FC, is a Peruvian professional football club based in the city of Cusco, that currently competes in the Peruvian Primera División, the top tier of Per ...

and Deportivo Garcilaso. The stadium has a capacity of 45,056 making it the fourth largest stadium in Peru. To this day, Cienciano is the only Peruvian club to win an international competition. Despite being the only club from Peru to win two international tournaments, they have yet to win the

. Cienciano has won 1

and

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana (), also known as Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club Association football, football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1988. It ...

, 1

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

and the Torneo Apertura 2005 and Torneo Clausura in 2001 and 2006.

History

Beginnings

Cienciano was founded on 8 July 1901 by a group of students from the National School of Science of Cusco (''Colegio Nacional Ciencias del Cusco''). It participated in several leagues and tournaments of the region. They played their first official match on 27 July 1902 against Atletic Club in Cusco. Cienciano soon won its first trophy, winning the 1903 Liga Departamental del Cusco, and would go on to win it 27 times from 1912 to 1983. Cienciano 1973

In 1966 Hector Ladrón de Guevara was the inaugural Cienciano player to be named captain of the Peru national team. In 1972, it began to play in the Peruvian First Division; however, the club was relegated four years later. The Cienciano team was managed by the teachers of the Cienciano Alma Mater School until the mid-sixties, when after the creation of the

Copa Perú The Copa Perú is a association football, football tournament in Peru and the fourth-highest division of the Peruvian football league system. Despite its name, it is not entirely an elimination-cup competition involving all Peruvian clubs, but ra ...

, football in Peru became more competitive. And in 1973, when Cienciano left the Cusco League and the Copa Peru behind to participate for the first time in the Peruvian First Division, it was understood that the authorities should no longer depend on the College for the attention that a competitive soccer team requires, which is why Waldo Callo, another of Cienciano's precursors, is stepping away from the presidency to make way for businessmen willing to invest and support the team. Cienciano remained in the First Division until 1977, where they were relegated to the Peruvian Second Division. In 1988, the FPF invited the club to play in a tournament of the southern region. In 1991, Cienciano won the tournament and in 1992 it once again played in the First Division. Since then, the club has always played in the First Division.

The Golden age (2000–2007)

First League title

In 2001, Cienciano celebrated its 100 year anniversary by winning its first title with the 2001 Torneo Clausura of the

, although it lost the superfinal (played between the winners of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments) to

Alianza Lima Club Alianza Lima, more commonly known as simply Alianza Lima, is a Peru, Peruvian professional sports club based in La Victoria District, Lima, La Victoria District of Lima, Peru. The club was founded under the name of Sport Alianza on February ...

. Cienciano qualified for the 2002 Copa Libertadores for the first time and reached the Round of 16 but was eliminated by

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

of Mexico.

Copa Sudamericana win

In 2003, Cienciano, led by Peruvian coach

Freddy Ternero Freddy Santos Ternero Corrales (March 26, 1962 – September 18, 2015) was a Peruvian football player and manager. Ternero was the Mayor of District of San Martín de Porres in Lima, Peru for the periods of 2007–2010 and 2011–2014. Playing ...

, qualified to the

for the first time in its history, after beating

Sporting Cristal Club Sporting Cristal S.A., shortened to Sporting Cristal, is a Peruvian sports club located in the city of Lima, best known for its association football, soccer team. It was founded on 13 December 1955 in the Rímac District, Rímac district by e ...

in an internal qualifying tournament. The team went through every later knockout round as the clear underdog defeating Peru's

in the Peru preliminary, Chile's Universidad Católica in the Chile-Peru Zone to enter the quarter-finals, Colombia's

Atlético Nacional Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the other ...

(once

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

champion) in semi-finals and Brazil's Santos (twice

champion) and in the quarter-final, to get to the finals. Once at the finals the team faced one of the biggest teams in South American football, River Plate of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

(twice Copa Libertadores champion). After a 3–3 draw in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Cienciano went on to win 1–0 in Peru with a free-kick goal by Paraguayan defender Carlos Lugo, which put the aggregate score at 4–3 in its favor to win the final. The game was played at Estadio Monumental de la UNSA in

(home of Cienciano's rivals Melgar, some of whose fans actually attended the match to root for River Plate) because of the insufficient capacity for a

CONMEBOL CONMEBOL ( ) or CSF (; ; ), is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Parag ...

final of the Estadio Garcilaso (which has been expanded since then in 2013). As a result to winning the Copa Sudamericana, Cienciano qualified for the Copa Libertadores but lost to C.D. Guadalajara of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in the qualifying round, 8-2 on aggregate. This was the first international championship for a Peruvian team in history; only two other Peruvian teams had advanced to the finals of an international tournament, which was in the

( Universitario in 1972 and

in 1997). Both teams were defeated in the finals. The win was considered a severe upset because Cienciano had never been the Peru national champion (the team did win one half-year tournament in 2001 but lost the national championship title through a penalty shootout to the winner of the second tournament,

, in the year in which both celebrated their centenary. The situation was repeated in 2006, but reversed: Cienciano won the second tournament but lost the final to Alianza Lima on aggregate.

Recopa Sudamericana win

After winning the Copa Sudamericana, Cienciano went on to play against

of Argentina, another South American giant, for the

, this being just one match, much like the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

, which was disputed between the winners of both South American Cups of the previous season: the

and the

. After a 1–1 draw, Cienciano went on to win the title 4–2 on penalties. The match was played at

Lockhart Stadium Lockhart Stadium was a stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. It was used in a variety of sports, particularly soccer and American football. Originally designed in 1959 for high school sports, the stadium's long-standing soccer co ...

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. Soon after the club's win in the Recopa Sudamericana, the

Guatemala national football team The Guatemala national football team () represents Guatemala in men's international association football, football and is controlled by the National Football Federation of Guatemala, Federación Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala (). Founded in 1 ...

organized a friendly against the club. Cienciano won the friendly three goals to zero. As a result of winning the Recopa Sudamericana, Cienciano participated in the

2005 Copa Libertadores The 2005 Copa Libertadores was the 46th edition of the Copa Libertadores. The champion also qualified for the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship. It was the first time ever that two teams from the same country reached the final. This year's tourn ...

but were eliminated in the preliminary round to C.D. Guadalajara of Mexico.

More league titles and superfinal runner-ups

In 2005, the Cusco-based club won the Torneo Apertura, but lost the superfinal to

. The following year, it won the 2006 Clausura, but lost the superfinal again to Alianza Lima, the same team that had beaten them in the 2001 national championship final. After winning the 2006 Torneo Apertura, Cienciano qualified for the Copa Libertadores once again, but were eliminated in the group stage after placing last with four points. In 2007, Cienciano qualified for the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2008 Copa Libertadores The 2008 Copa Libertadores de América was the 49th edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's premier annual international club tournament. This marked the first year the competition was sponsored by Spanish bank Grupo Santander, Santander. As ...

after winning the 2006 Torneo Clausura and being the third placed team, and finished third in its group both editions. A year later, they qualified again for the Copa Sudamericana but were eliminated in the Round of 16. Since then, Cienciano has not qualified for the Copa Libertadores.

Relegation and comeback

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, the club was relegated after finishing in the bottom three of the aggregate table. The club finished third and was one point off from the title play-off in the 2016 season. In

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, the club won third place in the league and participated in the promotion play off group, where the top two teams get promoted to the 2019 Liga 1. Cienciano placed third with four points. In 2019, it was finally promoted back to the first division after winning the 2019 Liga 2, winning their first national competition. After the

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, 2022 Liga 1 seasons, Cienciano qualified for the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and 2023 Copa Sudamericana after placing in the top 8 of the league. The club was eliminated in the first stage in both editions. In 2025, the club qualified for the 2025 Copa Sudamericana group stage.

Kit and crest

Cienciano's traditional kit is a red shirt with white shorts and either white or red socks. Its away colours are usually navy blue with white shorts. Since 2020, the club added a third kit which is a white or yellow shirt and either white or black shorts and socks. The club's badge was designed by the publicist, Santiago Guillén Covarrubias in 1938. It consists of a navy badge outlined in white, with a white double ''C'' representing the club's name. Its two stars represent the club's two international titles, being the Copa Sudamericana and Recopa Sudamericana. File:CC RETRO.png, 1901–2003 File:Escudo Cienciano.png, 2004–Present

Stadium

Cienciano plays its home games in Estadio Garcilaso de la Vega which is in Centre of

. It was named after the Peruvian writer,

. When first inaugurated in 1950, it had a spectator capacity of 22,000 and had a

running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

. In 2004, the stadium's capacity was expanded to 42,000, losing its running track. Because of Cienciano's success in international tournaments, it would be a venue in the

2004 Copa América The 2004 Copa América was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held in P ...

. The stadium hosted only one match of the tournament, being the third place play-off between

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. The stadium is known as the most beautiful in South America, with its seating in a rainbow and representing the colors of Cusco. In 2004, the stadium's capacity was expanded to 42,000, losing its running track. Because of Cienciano's success in international tournaments, it would be a venue in the 2004 Copa America, which was hosted by

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. In 2013, there was another renovation which expanded the stadium to 45,000 and added new

luxury box The luxury box (or skybox) and club seating constitute the most expensive class of seating in arenas and stadiums, and generate much higher revenues than regular seating. Club ticketholders often receive exclusive access to an indoor part of th ...

es, seating and a new exterior. The initial renovation was meant to add a roof and modern wall around the stadium as well, but was not implemented due to a low budget. Cienciano shares the stadium with city rivals

and Deportivo Garcilaso. The Estadio Garcilaso is the largest stadium in Cusco and the fourth largest in Peru. The club also has a museum within the stadium, coordinated by the Regional Government of Cusco in 2018. The museum includes photos of the team, trophies, and relics of the club.

Supporters

Cienciano supporters are among the largest in Peru and second to Deportivo Garcilaso in Cusco. In terms of number of supporters on the national level, Cienciano competes with their rivals, Melgar, for the top five most supported teams in Peru. They also compete with their city rivals,

and Deportivo Garcilaso for the majority of supporters in Cusco. In 2023, Cienciano was ranked fourth in terms of most supported teams of the season, containing 4% of the league's overall attendance. The largest ''barra'' or fan group is known as the ''La Furia Roja'', The Red Fury. It was founded in 1995, initially as the ''Fvria Roja''. It is the official fan group of Cienciano and is situated in the northern stand of the Estadio Garcilaso.

Rivalries

Clásico Cusqueño

Cienciano has had a long-standing rivalry with

and Deportivo Garcilaso, other large clubs in

. These rivalries are known as the ''Clásico Cusqueño''. All three teams currently play in the

. Cienciano and Deportivo Garcilaso split the majority of preferences of Cusco.

Clásico del Sur

Cienciano also has another rivalry with Melgar known as the ''Clásico del sur.'' Cienciano has a total of 42 wins, with Melgar having 25. The largest defeat was in 1990, where Cienciano lost 5-0. Cienciano's largest result against Melgar was a home win of 5-2 in 2000. Both teams are one of the oldest in Peru. During the second leg of the final of the 2003 Copa Sudamericana, Cienciano played at Melgar's home stadium against

, as Estadio Garcilaso did not meet the requirements for the final. Some Melgar fans went to the final to cheer for Boca, against Cienciano. The rivalry is often considered the third largest in Peru.

Current squad

Honours

Senior titles

Friendlies

Performance in CONMEBOL competitions

: 6 appearances ::

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

: Round of 16 ::

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

: First Round ::

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

: Preliminary Round ::

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

: Second Round ::

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

: Second Round *

: 6 appearances :: 2003: Winner ::

: Preliminary Round ::

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

: Round of 16 ::

: First Stage ::

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

: First Stage ::

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

: TBD *

: 1 appearance :: 2004: Winner

Notable players

* Sergio Ibarra * Carlos Lugo * Santiago Acasiete * Juan Carlos Bazalar *

Germán Carty Luis Germán del Carmen Carty Monserrate (born 16 July 1968) is a Peruvian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Carty most prominently played for Cienciano. He was the top goalscorer as Cienciano won the 2003 Co ...

Paolo de la Haza Paolo Giancarlo de la Haza Urquiza (born November 30, 1983) is a Peruvian former professional association football, footballer who played as a right-back or midfielder. He was a member of Peru national football team, Peru national team at the 20 ...

* Julio García *

Óscar Ibáñez Óscar Manuel Ibáñez Holzmann (born 8 August 1967) is a football Manager (association football), manager and former player who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He is the current caretaker manager of the Peru national ...

Carlos Lobatón Carlos Augusto Lobatón Espejo (born February 6, 1980) is a Peruvian former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Lobatón was born in Barranquilla, Colombia. He first developed as footballer in ...

* Alessandro Morán * Ramón Rodríguez * Rodrigo saras * Alexandro Moran

Managers

* Eloy Campos (1977) * Diego Agurto (1986–87) * Gualberto Martínez Sarabia (1991) * Ramón Quiroga (1992) * Hector Berrío Vega (1993) * Luis Roth (1993) *

(1994) * César Cubilla (1994) * Victor Bustamante (1995–96) * Francisco Bertocchi (1995) * Ramón Quiroga (1996–98) * Antonio Alzamendi (1998) *

(2000–01) * Carlos Jurado (1999-2000 / 2001) * Teddy Cardama (2002) *

(2003–04) * Carlos Sevilla (2005) * Wilmar Valencia (1 Jan 2005 – 26 Mar 2006) *

Julio César Uribe Julio César Uribe Flores (born May 9, 1958) is a Peruvian football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. Playing career Club Uribe started his career with Peruvian club Sporting Cristal. Then he ...

(1 Jan 2007 – 8 Mar 2007) *

José Basualdo José Horacio Basualdo (born 20 June 1963) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Club career Basualdo won several Argentine and international titles with both Vélez Sársfield and Boca Juniors. Intern ...

(19 March 2007 – 27 Sept 2007) * Franco Navarro (2007-2008) *

(2008-2009) * Marcelo Trobbiani (2009) * José Torres (2009) * Edgar Ospina (2010) * Sergio Ibarra ''(interim)'' (2010) * Marcelo Trobbiani (2011) * Carlos Jurado (2011-2012) * Raúl Arias (2012) * Mario Viera (2013-2014) * Paul Cominges (2015–2016) *

(2016) * Fredy García (2017) * Sergio Ibarra (2017-2018) * Gustavo Roverano (2018) * Duilio Cisneros (2019) * Marcelo Grioni (2019-2021) * Víctor Rivera (2021) * Gerardo Ameli (2021-2022) * César Vigevani (2022) * Leonel Álvarez (2023) * Gerardo Ameli (2023) *

(2023-2024) * Christian Díaz (2024-)

References

External links

* * * * {{Recopa Sudamericana winners Football clubs in Peru Association football clubs established in 1901 University and college association football clubs Copa Sudamericana winning clubs Recopa Sudamericana winning clubs