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() is an Argentine professional
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 ...
, which has its headquarters and stadium in
Avellaneda Avellaneda (, ) is a port city in the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 342,677 as per the . Avellaneda is located within the Greater B ...
, a city of the
Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...
. The club is best known for its
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 ...
team, which plays in the Primera División and is considered one of Argentina's ''Big Five'' football clubs. Independiente was officially founded on 1 January 1904 as Independiente Foot-Ball Club, although the institution had been formed on 4 August 1904. Originally from Monserrat, a neighbourhood of
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 ...
city, the club moved to
Crucecita Crucecita is a town of the Avellaneda Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It forms part of the Greater Buenos Aires urban agglomeration. The town is named for the ''Arroyo de la Crucecita'' (Crossing Stream) encountered by a 1580 expedi ...
in 1907 and then to Avellaneda in 1928. The
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 ...
team achieved promotion to the
Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...
for the first time in
1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...
, and has participated there ever since, except for the 2013–14 season, when they were relegated. Inaugurated in 2009, the
Estadio Libertadores de América The Libertadores de América – Ricardo Enrique Bochini Stadium (, ; )Primera División titles (14 of them in the professional era) and 9 first-tier and one second-tier National cups, being the fourth most decorated club on the national stage. They also have the most victories at the
Avellaneda derby The Avellaneda derby (Spanish: ''Clásico de Avellaneda'') is the second-most important rivalry in Argentine football. It is contested between Independiente and Racing Club. It is the second-most important local derby, behind the ''Superclási ...
, the second most important derby in the country behind the
Superclásico ''SuperClásico'' is a 2011 Danish romantic comedy film set in 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 coun ...
. Despite the national success, Independiente is mainly recognized for its continental titles, having won a record seven
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 ...
(
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
,
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First 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 Second inauguration of Lynd ...
,
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
,
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
,
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; ...
,
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
and
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, including a four-title-in-a-row record), two Intercontinental Cups (
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
v.
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
in Rome and
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
v.
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in Tokyo), two
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 ...
(
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
and
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
) and the
1995 Recopa Sudamericana The 1995 Recopa Sudamericana was the seventh Recopa Sudamericana, an annual football match between the winners of the previous season's Copa Libertadores and Supercopa Sudamericana competitions. The all-Argentinian final took place in the neutral v ...
. They also achieved now defunct competitions such as two
Copa Aldao The Copa Ricardo Aldao ( English: ''Ricardo Aldao Cup''), popularly called Campeonato Rioplatense and Copa Río de La Plata, was an official AFA- AUF football club competition contested annually, albeit irregularly, between the league champions o ...
, a record three
Copa Interamericana The Copa Interamericana () was an international association football, football competition endorsed by CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) and CONMEBOL (South America). Established in 1969, it was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACAF ...
, two
Supercopa Libertadores The Supercopa Libertadores (English: ''Libertadores Supercup''), also known as the Supercopa Sudamericana, Supercopa Libertadores João Havelange, Supercopa João Havelange or simply Supercopa, was a football club competition contested annually b ...
and the
2018 Suruga Bank Championship The 2018 Suruga Bank Championship (; ) was the eleventh edition of the Suruga Bank Championship (also referred to as the ''J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship Final''), the club football match co-organized by the Japan Football Associat ...
. Over time these achievements made Independiente win the nicknames of "Rey de Copas" (King of Cups) and "Orgullo Nacional" (National Pride), the latter after the team won, at the 1984 Intercontinental, the first encounter between an Argentine and British teams after the
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
. With 18 FIFA-recognized international titles, Independiente is the most successful club at this category in the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
, alongside
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 ...
, and third in the world. Apart from football, other activities practised at the club are
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), competitio ...
,
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 (appro ...
,
boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
,
chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
,
field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...
,
futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...
,
handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor 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 thr ...
,
gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...
,
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
,
Pilates Pilates (; ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". Pilates uses a combination of around 50 repetitive e ...
,
roller skating Roller skating is the act of travelling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreation, recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on s ...
,
scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...
, swimming,
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
,
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 Summ ...
,
water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, 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 water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...
, and
yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
. Also, the club has its own school, with Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Elementary, Secondary school levels and Tertiary education (with, for now, only two careers, being physical education teacher and football coach).


History


Early years in Buenos Aires

Independiente was founded in 1904 by a group of employees from a luxury fashion store called " A la Ciudad de Londres" (To the City of London), located in the
Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...
neighborhood of the City of
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 ...
. These employees, the youngest and most affected by
precarious work Precarious work is a term that critics use to describe non-standard or temporary employment that may be poorly paid, insecure, unprotected, and unable to support a household. From this perspective, globalization, the shift from the manufacturing ...
in the store, despite paying the club fee, were marginalized from the 1903-founded team Maipo-Banfield Football Club (made up of the store's most
elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (, from , to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful or wealthy people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. Defined by the ...
workers). They were only allowed to attend as spectators. On 4 August of that year, they met in a bar on Perú Street (just two blocks from the
Plaza de Mayo The Plaza de Mayo (, ; ) is a city square and the main foundational site of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was formed in 1884 after the demolition of the Recova building, unifying the city's Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Armas, by that time known as ''Pl ...
and the
Casa Rosada The ''Casa Rosada'' (), , is the president of the Argentine Republic's official workplace, located in Buenos Aires. The palatial mansion is known officially as ''Casa de Gobierno'' ("House of Government" or "Government House"). Normally, the pre ...
), there they made the decision to reject an invitation to be part of
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
(also founded those days) and proclaimed the creation of the "Independiente Foot-Ball Club", symbolizing their independence ideals. Rosendo Degiorgi was the one who gave the club its name and was elected as its first president, opening the club's headquarters in his own
house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
. The team's first shirts were white, reused from a Barracas team called Plate United, which ceased to exist in 1903. These shirts featured a blue emblem with white details, very similar to
St. Andrew's Athletic Club St. Andrew's Athletic Club was a sports club established in Argentina by Scotland, Scottish immigrants from the St. Andrew's Scots School, the oldest private school of Argentina. Playing its home games in Barracas, Buenos Aires, St. Andrew's was ...
's emblem. It is unknown whether this similarity was intentional or coincidental. Fifteen days after the first meeting, on 19 August, they played the first game in their history, a 2–2 tie with
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, on a field located in the
Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...
neighborhood of Buenos Aires. During its short stay in the Argentine capital, Independiente wandered in various improvised fields in the neighborhoods of
Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...
and
La Paternal La Paternal or Paternal () is a ''Barrios of Buenos Aires, neighborhood'' or district in the centre of Buenos Aires city, Argentina. It was founded in 1904 by a city decree (''decreto'') and was named 'La Paternal' after the San Martín Line (Buen ...
. They also acted as hosts in Recoleta, where they rented a very expensive field belonging to the
National School of Buenos Aires National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
for five months. The club competed in 1905 in zonal tournaments like the Villalobos Cup, where they faced for the first time to
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 ...
(created just four months before) on 27 August, being victorious 4–1 in Flores. The club joined the AFA in 1906 and was registered to begin competing that year, like neighbors Atlanta, but was disqualified at the last moments for not complying with the strict stadium rules demanded by the then English-directed AFA, therefore that they registered to compete in the Central Football League. At this championship they faced short-lived teams like Highland Forest, Gutemberg, Presidente Roca, Imperio, Mariano Moreno, General Arenales, La Prensa, Primero de Mayo and others. Among them, the only team that survived over that time is Platense.


Crucecita period

While the team competed at the Central League, a committee composed by club president Arístides Langone and secretaries Carlos Degiorgi, Antonio Díez, Severo Rodríguez and Juan Darnay was seeking to relocate the club at a new field where they could build a stadium. By recommendation from Juan Irigoyen (secretary and player) they found an available field in Crucecita East, near
Dock Sud Dock Sud is a town of Avellaneda Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It forms part of the urban agglomeration of Greater Buenos Aires. The area is characterized by its predominantly working-class background, with many of its inhabitant ...
. Consequently, they began playing the Central League in Buenos Aires and finished it in Crucecita (Avellaneda suburb). In 1907 they left the local tournaments being champions of the CFL summer tournament, ahead of Platense, as that year they were finally accepted to compete in AFA. They were about to be rejected again as the field still didn't comply with all the strict requirements, but they made it by insistence from Carlos Degiorgi. Starting from the Second Division, their first official match in the AFA leagues was a 1–3 defeat to Comercio in Crucecita. In June of that year, they met
Racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...
for the first time, a match that from the first moment was a
derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
since their new neighbors were not happy sharing the city. The derby was won by Independiente 3–2, with a goal from Rosendo Degiorgi close to the hour mark. They also met River Plate in a friendly match, where the white IFBC won 3–1 with goals from Julio Mantecón, Juan Irigoyen and Miguel Peluffo. There was a clear difference in level between the AFA's Second Division and the Central League to which they were accustomed. Their first participation in AFA culminated in the second-to-last place, which relegated them to the 1908 Third Division and led to the departure of some original players, such as Rosendo Degiorgi. With a bad performance at the league, poor stadium condition and the members having to travel on
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
to a field far away from their houses, it was a matter of discussion whether Independiente should have continued existing, but passion for football won and further efforts were made. Soon after, thanks to the incorporation of twelve champion footballers with
Racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...
, who "crossed the street" after an internal conflict of that club (among them Germán Vidaillac, founder), Independiente radically changed its face and once again gained access to the Second Division after being runner-up in the only season of the club's history in Third Division, with an impressive record of 14 victories out of 14 games played (40 goals for and only 4 against), but, unfortunately, they failed to finish the season with a title as they lost the championship final to Banfield 0–3 at the
Estadio GEBA The Estadio GEBA is a stadium located in the Palermo, Buenos Aires, Palermo barrios of Buenos Aires, neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Owned by Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires, Club Gimnasia y Esgrima, the stadium is located on the "Sed ...
. The newcomers also helped to improve the stadium condition. Independiente adopted, also in 1908, its distinctive
red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
color, about which there are two theories; the "traditional" one is that it was the idea of the president and goalkeeper Aristides Langone, due to his fanaticism for the English team
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
, who toured Argentina against local teams and left the Argentine public amazed. On the other hand, it is also true that Julio Mantecón, an important member of the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
, was the general secretary and forward, for whom bright red symbolized the workers' struggle. The red shirts where accompanied by the club's first red "emblem" (a red
seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...
), and the
acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...
continued to be IFBC (until 1914). In 1909 arrived
José Buruca Laforia José María Buruca Laforia (Atalaya, Spain, 16 May 1884 – Buenos Aires, Argentina, 6 Jun 1957) was an Argentine association football goalkeeper. Nicknamed ''El Vasco'', Buruca Laforia is considered the first great goalkeeper of Argentina.
, the club's first "professional" incorporation, with whom Independiente won its first official title as champions of the Bullrich Cup (a second-tier league cup), beating important teams of the time such as GEBA (4–0),
Ferro Carril Oeste Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or familiarly, Ferro, is an Argentine sports club from the neighbourhood of Caballito, Buenos Aires. Although many activities are hosted by the club, Ferro is mostly known for its assoc ...
(1–0),
Estudiantil Porteño Club Atlético Estudiantil Porteño, mostly known as Estudiantil Porteño is an Argentina, Argentine sports club, located in the Ramos Mejía district of Greater Buenos Aires. The institution hosts many activities such as artistic roller skating, ...
(3–2) and the second teams of
Alumni Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...
(1–0) and San Isidro (1–0). The final game against San Isidro was played on 8 September at the Ferro Stadium (the oldest stadium still standing in Argentina), and the winning goal was scored by Francisco Viegas. In the league, after playing two more years in the Second Division, in 1911 they were transferred to the newly created Intermediate Division. During the Intermedia season (1911) the club continued its institutional grow, as they settled in another field in the Mitre Avenue, centre of Crucecita. There they built the
Estadio Crucecita Estadio Crucecita was a stadium in Crucecita, a town in Avellaneda Partido of Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was the home ground of Club Atlético Independiente before they moved to Estadio Libertadores de América in 1928, and was located in ...
, made up completely in
wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
for around 4,000 spects (later expanded to 10,000), and inaugurated with a victory over
Estudiantil Porteño Club Atlético Estudiantil Porteño, mostly known as Estudiantil Porteño is an Argentina, Argentine sports club, located in the Ramos Mejía district of Greater Buenos Aires. The institution hosts many activities such as artistic roller skating, ...
. That year the red team fought for the championship until the end along Estudiantes, losing to them at the last date and finishing as runners-up. However, due to the leagues being reorganized again, Independiente was promoted to the Primera División, seven years after its foundation. On 4 February 1912 the red team won its first friendly international cup, the Anglo-Argentine Association Trophy, by 3–0 over Uruguayan side
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...
, with a brace from
Enrique Colla Enrique Colla was an Argentine football player. His position on the field was forward. Colla played for Boca Juniors and Independiente. Playing career He began his career playing for the Independiente, where he was top scorer in the 1912 season ...
and one from Francisco Roldán. In 14 July,
1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...
, Independiente debuted in the Primera División against
Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...
(winning 3–0 in Avellaneda), finishing the tournament as runners-up after the red squad decided to withdraw the final versus
Porteño (feminine: ''Porteña'', in Spanish) is mainly used to refer to the residents of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is also used for other port cities, such as El Puerto de Santa María, Spain; Valparaíso, Chile; Mazatlán, Veracruz, Acapulco and ...
claiming an unfairly disallowed goal.
Enrique Colla Enrique Colla was an Argentine football player. His position on the field was forward. Colla played for Boca Juniors and Independiente. Playing career He began his career playing for the Independiente, where he was top scorer in the 1912 season ...
of Independiente was the top scorer of the tournament, with 12 goals. In October, the Reds traveled to
Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
to play a match abroad for the first time, which resulted in a 2-0 victory for the Uruguayan team River Plate. In 1914, Julio Mantecón proposed to Spanishize the club name from the original IFBC to "Club Atlético Independiente", since the
English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
had already fallen into disuse. The motion was approved by club president Juan Mignaburu. Later, other sports began to be added, the first being
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 (appro ...
. In
1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...
Independiente reached the Copa Jockey Club final, which they lost to
Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central (), more commonly referred to as Rosario Central, or simply Central, is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on 24 December 1889, ...
1–2. The following year, they reached the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
again, beating Estudiantes 2–1 and winning its first title under its current name with goals from Juan Cánepa and Guillermo Ronzoni, thus also achieving its first first-tier title and its first classification to an international tournament; the 1917 Tie Cup. There they lost to
Montevideo Wanderers Montevideo Wanderers Fútbol Club, usually known simply as Wanderers, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club are currently members of the Primera División and play at the Estadio Viera. Beside football, the cl ...
, Uruguayan champions, 0-4. In relation to the previous achievement, Independiente had reached the final of the 1914 La Nación Cup, but it was cancelled because its rivals
Argentino de Quilmes Club Atlético Argentino de Quilmes, simply known as Argentino de Quilmes, is an Argentine association football, football club from Quilmes, Buenos Aires. The team currently plays in Primera B Metropolitana, Primera B, the third division of the ...
were disaffiliated from the AFA before the final, leaving Independiente "champions by desk". The Avellaneda team managed to become champions of the
Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...
for the first time in
1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
, a tough championship where Independiente finished ahead of River Plate,
San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Villa San Lorenzo, town and municipality in Salta P ...
and
Racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...
, who finished second, third and fourth respectively, with an impressive record of 97 goals in that season, of which
Manuel Seoane Manuel Seoane (19 March 1902 – 21 August 1975), nicknamed ''La Chancha'', was an Argentine footballer who played as a striker for Independiente and Argentina national team. Seoane is considered one of the best all-time players for Independi ...
scored 55 of them, keeping a record of most goals in a single Primera División championship by one player. In
1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...
, Independiente finished as runners-up, in part as a result of Seoane and Ronzoni being banned for one year due to an incident with a referee. In the 1920s, international tours of British teams to Argentina were common, with which Independiente faced for the first team a European club in 1923, beating Scottish team
Third Lanark Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...
2–1 at the
River Plate Stadium The Monumental Stadium (, ; named after its monumental structure), currently known as Mâs Monumental Stadium for sponsorship reasons,
with a
Raimundo Orsi Raimundo Bibiani "Mumo" Orsi (2 December 1901 – 6 April 1986) was an Italian Argentine footballer who played as a winger or as a forward. At the international level, he represented both Argentina and Italy, winning the 1927 Copa América a ...
brace.
Manuel Seoane Manuel Seoane (19 March 1902 – 21 August 1975), nicknamed ''La Chancha'', was an Argentine footballer who played as a striker for Independiente and Argentina national team. Seoane is considered one of the best all-time players for Independi ...
returned to the team in
1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...
and led Independiente to win its second Primera División title, being nicknamed "Diablos Rojos" (Red Devils) since this moment among the football public, after the journalist Hugo Marini of the Crítica journal described as "devilish" the forward line (the old 2-3-5 style) starring
Manuel Seoane Manuel Seoane (19 March 1902 – 21 August 1975), nicknamed ''La Chancha'', was an Argentine footballer who played as a striker for Independiente and Argentina national team. Seoane is considered one of the best all-time players for Independi ...
, Alberto Lalín,
Raimundo Orsi Raimundo Bibiani "Mumo" Orsi (2 December 1901 – 6 April 1986) was an Italian Argentine footballer who played as a winger or as a forward. At the international level, he represented both Argentina and Italy, winning the 1927 Copa América a ...
,
Luis Ravaschino Luis Alfonso Ravaschino (15 January 1903 - 30 March 1988) was an Argentine footballer, who played as forward, most of his career for the Club Atlético Independiente, becoming one of the club's historic topscorers and one of the most notable pla ...
and
Zoilo Canavery Zoilo Canavery (26 July 1893 – 29 September 1966) was a Uruguayan Association football, football player. Born in Montevideo, Canavery was a notable figure of Argentine sport during the 1910 and 1920 decades, playing in four of the "big five" of ...
.
Raimundo Orsi Raimundo Bibiani "Mumo" Orsi (2 December 1901 – 6 April 1986) was an Italian Argentine footballer who played as a winger or as a forward. At the international level, he represented both Argentina and Italy, winning the 1927 Copa América a ...
went on to become Independiente's first globally recognized figure, having won the 1927 Copa América and an
Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold medal, gold, silver medal, silver, and bronze medal, bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respect ...
for
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 ...
and then moving to
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
, before winning the
1934 World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the 2nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in whi ...
with the Italian national team, scoring in the
Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
against
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. Being world champion, in 1935 he returned to Independiente, possibly escaping from the
Fascist regime Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
; prior to the World Cup final,
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
met the Italian team and demanded them to "''win or die''".


Relocation to Avellaneda

In 1925 club president Pedro Canaveri made an offer to buy the
Estadio Crucecita Estadio Crucecita was a stadium in Crucecita, a town in Avellaneda Partido of Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was the home ground of Club Atlético Independiente before they moved to Estadio Libertadores de América in 1928, and was located in ...
land, but it was rejected. That meant they had to move again, so they purchased a low-priced uninhabited swampy land located within the limits of the Avellaneda city between the Racing Stadium and the Great Southern Railway tracks, further fueling the rivalry with its neighbors. There he built the Alsina y Cordero Stadium (later named "la Doble Visera"), the first cement stadium in Argentina and third in the world. It was built on a large
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
, which had to be dried and filled with tons of
stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
and earth. The club had to go through repeated attempts by the "racinguist" mayor of Avellaneda, Alberto Barceló, to try to
sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...
the construction of the stadium by sending municipal employees to take the material, trying to paralyze the works and, finally, trying to invent a street where the swamp had just been filled in. However, the club managed to move forward with the construction, taking the cause to the main media 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 ...
and even firing the municipals with
gunshot A gunshot is a single discharge of a gun, typically a man-portable firearm, producing a visible flash, a powerful and loud shockwave and often chemical gunshot residue. The term can also refer to a ballistic wound caused by such a discharge ...
s. stadium was inaugurated on 8 March 1928 in a friendly against
Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...
, and served for more than ten years as the main stadium for the Argentina national team. Some of the stands where reused from the former Crucecita stadium, until they were replaced by concrete ones. After the first experience with Third Lanark, new European clubs made it to Argentina, and consequently Independiente beat
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
(Spanish champions) 4–1 in 1928 and
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
(Italian champions) 1–0 in 1929. They also faced Chelsea (1–1 tie) and
Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
(1–2 defeat). Contrary to the Europeans, Independiente was still an amateur club. Arcadi Balaguer, president of
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
, became surprised after realizing that Independiente defender Guillermo Ronzoni was the guy selling tickets at the stadium's entrance a few minutes before the match started. That day, the Diablos Rojos won the Catalans with a brace from
Manuel Seoane Manuel Seoane (19 March 1902 – 21 August 1975), nicknamed ''La Chancha'', was an Argentine footballer who played as a striker for Independiente and Argentina national team. Seoane is considered one of the best all-time players for Independi ...
and a goal from Canavery and Orsi each, with the Argentine coat of arms sewn on the jersey by initiative of the Argentine President
Hipólito Yrigoyen Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Yrigoyen (12 July 1852 – 3 July 1933) was an Argentine politician of the Radical Civic Union who served as President of Argentina from 1916 to 1922 and again from 1928 until his overthrow in ...
. Independiente was among the 18 clubs that broke from AFA to form the
Liga Argentina de Football The Liga Argentina de Football (LAF) was a dissident football association of Argentina that organised its own professional championships from 1931 to 1934. The Argentine Football Association (that had remained amateur) did not recognise those cham ...
in
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
, the first professional league in the country. They also were already considered one of the Big Five, along
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 ...
,
Racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...
, River Plate and
San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Villa San Lorenzo, town and municipality in Salta P ...
.
Zoilo Canavery Zoilo Canavery (26 July 1893 – 29 September 1966) was a Uruguayan Association football, football player. Born in Montevideo, Canavery was a notable figure of Argentine sport during the 1910 and 1920 decades, playing in four of the "big five" of ...
, who retired in 1930 wearing the red shirt, was appointed as the club's first official manager in 1932.
Manuel Seoane Manuel Seoane (19 March 1902 – 21 August 1975), nicknamed ''La Chancha'', was an Argentine footballer who played as a striker for Independiente and Argentina national team. Seoane is considered one of the best all-time players for Independi ...
retired in 1933 with an impressive record of 241 goals in 264 appearances with the red shirt, setting a record of all time scorer of the Primera División. At the end of the 1930s the club, now professional, entered a path of titles led by its three new figures:
Arsenio Erico Arsenio Pastor Erico Martínez (30 March 1915 – 23 July 1977) was a Paraguayan Association football, football Striker (association football), striker. He is the Primera División Argentina topscorers, all-time highest goalscorer in the Primer ...
,
Antonio Sastre Antonio Sastre (27 April 1911 – 23 November 1987) was an Argentine Association football, footballer who played most of his career for Club Atlético Independiente and São Paulo FC, São Paulo of Brazil. He is one of the 24 players inducted in ...
and
Vicente de la Mata Vicente de la Mata (15 January 1918 – 4 August 1980) was an Argentine association football, football player and manager. A forward (association football), forward, he played most of his club career for Club Atlético Independiente, Independient ...
, one of the most offensive tridents in the history of football, with 556 goals in total. This team led Independiente to win two Primera championships (
1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
and
1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...
), three national cups and three international cups. In
1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
they won the club's first international title at the legendary
Estadio Centenario Centenario Stadium (, ; , named after the Constitution of Uruguay of 1830, centenary of Constitution of Uruguay, Uruguay's Constitution) is an association football stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay. Located in the Parque Batlle, Parque Battle neig ...
in
Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
(place where
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 ...
was world champion in 1930), beating
Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...
3–1 with goals from De la Mata, Zorrilla and Erico. The coach responsible for the two triple crowns was Guillermo Ronzoni, today the winningest coach in the history of Independiente, who also was a defender between 1917 and 1928. In 1939, an Independiente- River Plate combined team beat 3–1 a
Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...
-
Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...
combination, in an overcrowded
Estadio Gasómetro El Gasómetro, officially named San Lorenzo Stadium,Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
for the first time, meeting clubs
Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...
,
Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...
,
Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...
,
Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...
,
América Mineiro The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
,
Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional, Inter de Porto Alegre, a cidade do Grêmio or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the ...
and Grêmio. The peak moment of the tour was an 8-1 victory over Botafogo. In 1941 they won the Ministry of the Treasury Cup in
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
by 4–2 over
Cerro Porteño Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan Association football, football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero (Asunción), Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Paraguayan Primera División, Primera División titles ...
, champions of that country. In 1940 the biggest win in the
Clásico de Avellaneda The Avellaneda derby (Spanish: ''Clásico de Avellaneda'') is the second-most important rivalry in Argentine football. It is contested between Independiente and Racing Club. It is the second-most important local derby, behind the ''Superclási ...
took place, with Independiente defeating
Racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...
7–0 with braces from Zorrilla, Erico, De la Mata and one from Leguizamón. That same day, the same record had already occurred among the reserve teams, where Independiente won 10–0. The famous offensive trident was dismantled in 1941 with the departure of
Antonio Sastre Antonio Sastre (27 April 1911 – 23 November 1987) was an Argentine Association football, footballer who played most of his career for Club Atlético Independiente and São Paulo FC, São Paulo of Brazil. He is one of the 24 players inducted in ...
to
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
. Some time later the
Argentine Football Association The Argentine Football Association (, ; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine football league system, Argentine league system (from Argentine Primera División, Pri ...
considered him the "most complete Argentine player of all time."
Arsenio Erico Arsenio Pastor Erico Martínez (30 March 1915 – 23 July 1977) was a Paraguayan Association football, football Striker (association football), striker. He is the Primera División Argentina topscorers, all-time highest goalscorer in the Primer ...
, for his part, retired in 1946 having become the new top scorer in the history of the
Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...
with 295 goals (a record he still holds) overshadowing Manuel Seoane's record, and
Vicente de la Mata Vicente de la Mata (15 January 1918 – 4 August 1980) was an Argentine association football, football player and manager. A forward (association football), forward, he played most of his club career for Club Atlético Independiente, Independient ...
was the last to retire, leading "el Rojo" to become champions in
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
under the coaching of Fernando Bello, who was the goalkeeper for eleven seasons between 1933 and 1944.
Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé (; 4 July 1926 – 7 July 2014) was an Argentine professional footballer and coach who played as a forward, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time. Nicknamed "Saeta Rubia" ("Blond A ...
(''2008'') considered
Arsenio Erico Arsenio Pastor Erico Martínez (30 March 1915 – 23 July 1977) was a Paraguayan Association football, football Striker (association football), striker. He is the Primera División Argentina topscorers, all-time highest goalscorer in the Primer ...
"''the most extraordinary player''" he saw in his life. In 1953 the Avellaneda team made its first tour of Europe, where it debuted at the Bernabéu Stadium achieving a historic 6-0 win over
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
at a full stadium, a Real Madrid starring
Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé (; 4 July 1926 – 7 July 2014) was an Argentine professional footballer and coach who played as a forward, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time. Nicknamed "Saeta Rubia" ("Blond A ...
,
Paco Gento Francisco "Paco" Gento López (21 October 1933 – 18 January 2022) was a Spanish association football, footballer who played as an outside left. A fast runner, Gento was referred to as the "Gale of the Cantabrian Sea" () in reference to his spee ...
and other future "Galácticos" who would later win five consecutive European Cups.
Rodolfo Micheli Rodolfo Joaquin Micheli (24 April 1930 – 27 December 2022) was an Argentine association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He was the topscorer of the 1955 South American Championship. Club career Mi ...
scored a
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
, while the other three goals were scored by Bonelli, Grillo and Cecconatto. The European tour continued with a 2–1 against Benfica, 8–1 against Sporting in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, 5-3 against
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
and 3-0 against
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
in the
Mestalla Mestalla Stadium ( , ) is a football stadium in Valencia, Spain. The stadium is the home of Valencia and has a capacity of 49,430 seats, making it the 8th-largest stadium in Spain, and the largest in the Valencian Community. The stadium's name o ...
. The tour concluded with defeats to
FC Rouen Football Club de Rouen 1899 (; commonly referred to as simply FC Rouen) is a French association football club based in Rouen, Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive w ...
in France and
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...
in England, both 2-3. In Avellaneda they also hosted several powerful teams of the time, winning 4–2 against Rot-Weiss (champions of
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
) in 1954, 6–1 against
La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds (; archaic ) is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura Mountains at an altitude of 992 metres, a few kilometres south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne, Biel/Bienne, and Fribourg, ...
(champions of
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
) in 1954, 3–0 against
Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...
(champions of
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
) in 1955, 1-0 against
CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...
(champions of
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
) in 1962, 2–0 against
FC Dinamo Moscow FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', , ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Football National League. D ...
(champions of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
) in 1963, 3–0 against
Austria Vienna Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the most trophies of any Austr ...
(champions of
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
) in 1964, 3–2 against
Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...
(champions of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
) in 1966, and 4-1 against
Torpedo Moscow Football Club Torpedo Moscow (, ''FK Torpedo Moskva''), known as Torpedo Moscow, is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. The club will return to the Russian Premier League in the 2025–26 season. Their c ...
(champions of the Soviet Union) in 1969.


The golden era

The "golden era" of the club started in the early 1960s, along the birth of the South American continental cups. As 1963 Primera División champions, they won the
Copa Libertadores de América 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 tourname ...
for the first time in
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
, being the first Argentine team to do so, beating
Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club, known simply as Millonarios, is a Colombian professional football club based in Bogotá, that competes in the Categoría Primera A, top flight of football in Colombia. It is one of the most successful and iconic clubs i ...
(champions of
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 ...
),
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 ...
(champions of
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 ...
) and
Santos Santos may refer to: People *Santos (surname) * Santos Balmori Picazo (1899–1992), Spanish-Mexican painter * Santos Benavides (1823–1891), Confederate general in the American Civil War Places *Santos, São Paulo, a municipality in São Paulo ...
(champions of
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
) in the initial phases, and in the final against
Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...
(champions of
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 ...
) 1–0, with a goal from Mario Rodríguez Varela. Then they defended the title in
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First 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 Second inauguration of Lynd ...
, won four consecutive Libertadores in
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
,
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
,
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; ...
,
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, and obtained his last one in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, establishing themselves as the competition's top winner with seven titles, to which are added the difficult records of being champions in four consecutive editions; and seven finals played, without having lost any of them. As a colorful note, in the 1964 Libertadores they eliminated in the semifinals the difficult team of the Brazilian
Santos Santos may refer to: People *Santos (surname) * Santos Balmori Picazo (1899–1992), Spanish-Mexican painter * Santos Benavides (1823–1891), Confederate general in the American Civil War Places *Santos, São Paulo, a municipality in São Paulo ...
, current two-time world champion, starring
Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...
and other stars of the two-time world champion Brazilian national team. The English magazine
FourFourTwo ''FourFourTwo'' is an association football magazine published by British company Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4–4–2. Future acquired the ...
(''2024'') described Independiente from 1971-1975 as the third best team in the history of the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
, just behind Santos from 1955-1968 and
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
from 1970. It is also worth noting that Independiente achieved its
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 ...
title record after winning its fourth one at the 1973 finals defeating Chilean champions
Colo-Colo Colo-Colo (), officially Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo, is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano, it competes in the Chilean Primera División, from which the club has never been ...
2-1 at
Estadio Centenario Centenario Stadium (, ; , named after the Constitution of Uruguay of 1830, centenary of Constitution of Uruguay, Uruguay's Constitution) is an association football stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay. Located in the Parque Batlle, Parque Battle neig ...
, therefore surpassing
Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...
and Estudiantes three-title record. That same year, the red team also achieved the
1973 Copa Interamericana The 1973 Copa Interamericana was the 3rd. edition of the Copa Interamericana. The final was contested by Argentine Club Atlético Independiente (champion of 1972 Copa Libertadores) and Hondurean side Olimpia (winner of 1972 CONCACAF Champions' Cup ...
and the
1973 Intercontinental Cup The 1973 Intercontinental Cup was an association football match played on 28 November 1973, between Juventus, runners-up of the 1972–73 European Cup, and Independiente, winners of the 1973 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the Stadio ...
, giving rise to the nickname of "Rey de Copas" (King of Cups). In 1975, the club from Avellaneda made its first tour of
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, performing friendly games against
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
n and
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
teams. Since almost all Asian teams wore red, and Independiente didn't carry any alternative kits, they were given yellow
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
jerseys, which were later used in the 1975 Copa Libertadores finals against
Unión Española Club Unión Española S.A.D.P. is a professional football club based in the Independencia neighborhood, commune of Santiago, Chile currently participating in the Primera División de Chile. History Foundation, Amateur Era and First seasons ...
. At the
1976 Copa Libertadores The Copa Libertadores 1976 was the 17th edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's annual international club tournament. The tournament began on February 23 and ended on July 30. Cruzeiro won the competition, being the first Brazilian team, ...
, after four years of success, the red team finally got knocked out by River Plate 1–0 in the semifinals, very close of reaching a fifth consecutive final. However, soonly after they won the postponed
1976 Copa Interamericana The 1976 Copa Interamericana was the 5th. edition of the Copa Interamericana. The final was contested by Argentine Club Atlético Independiente (champion of 1975 Copa Libertadores) and Mexico's Atlético Español (winner of 1975 CONCACAF Champions' ...
(the third in a row) against Mexican side
Atlético Español Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...
through the penalty shoot-out after two ties at the Venezuelan Olympic Stadium. At the local level, Independiente continued to win titles. The most particular was the 1977 Nacional, a tournament where they faced Talleres in the final. Having tied in Avellaneda, the teams played the definition in
Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...
. The Córdoba team took the lead with a controversial handball goal, validated by
referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
Barreiro, who also sent off three Independiente players for protesting. However, with only seven field players, Independiente won through an excellent goal from a play scored by
Ricardo Bochini Ricardo Enrique Bochini (born 25 January 1954) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is nicknamed ''El Bocha''. He spent his nearly 20-year professional career at club Independiente, becoming o ...
shortly before the end of the match. The main media stated that the referee would have been, at halftime, "influenced" by Luciano B. Menéndez, one of the generals of the civil-military dictatorship. Bochini (''2010'') stated that this fact cost him the call to the
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
and
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. ...
World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
, making his debut in
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...
against
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. In
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
, another unprecedented event occurred again at the local level when Independiente became Argentine champion, competing on the last date in
La Doble Visera La Doble Visera (; , named after its two flat concrete-roofed stands), officially known as Independiente Stadium (, ), was an association football stadium in Avellaneda, Argentina. It was the home of Independiente, before the club moved to the c ...
against archi-rivals
Racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...
, a team that was relegated to
Primera B Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera Ely Rafael Primera Ros ...
for the first time in its history. This title led to winning the
1984 Copa Libertadores The Copa Libertadores 1984 was the 25th edition of the Copa Libertadores, 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 ...
, the club's seventh, beating Grêmio in the
finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
with a goal from
Jorge Burruchaga Jorge Luis Burruchaga (; born 9 October 1962), nicknamed ''Burru'', is an Argentine association football coach and former professional football player. He played both as an attacking midfielder and forward and scored the winning goal in the fi ...
. On the world stage, they won the aforementioned
Copa Interamericana The Copa Interamericana () was an international association football, football competition endorsed by CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) and CONMEBOL (South America). Established in 1969, it was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACAF ...
three times, in
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
,
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; ...
and
1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
against the
CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
champions, and participated six times in the prestigious
Intercontinental Cup Intercontinental Cup may refer to: Football * FIFA Intercontinental Cup, an association football competition involving the club champions of the six confederations of FIFA * Intercontinental Cup (1960–2004), an association football competition o ...
; being world champion in
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
, beating Italian
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
1–0 at the
Stadio Olimpico Stadio Olimpico (; ), colloquially known as l'Olimpico (The Olympic), is an Italian multi-purpose sports venue located in Rome. Seating over 70,000 spectators, it is the largest sports facility in Rome and the second-largest in Italy, after ...
in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
(goal by Bochini), and in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, beating Liverpool at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium (goal by
José Percudani José Alberto Percudani (born 22 March 1965) is an Argentine former footballer who played as a striker. Club career Between 1982 and 1988 he played for Independiente, winning both the Libertadores Cup and the Intercontinental Cup in 1984 wi ...
). The duel against Liverpool was special, since it was the first confrontation between Argentine and British teams after the
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
that occurred two years earlier and marked the end of the civil-military dictatorship. The entire Argentine public supported Independiente, and its victory gave it the nickname of "National Pride" in all the newspapers. The other four participations in the Intercontinental ended in defeats against
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...
(twice),
Ajax Amsterdam Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...
and
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
(although not without having visited historic stadiums such as the
San Siro San Siro is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal ...
, the Bernabéu, the Amsterdam Olympic and Vicente Calderón).
Ricardo Bochini Ricardo Enrique Bochini (born 25 January 1954) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is nicknamed ''El Bocha''. He spent his nearly 20-year professional career at club Independiente, becoming o ...
, who completed a long career at the club between 1973 and 1991, is remembered as the institution's greatest idol, scoring the goal against Juventus and having a 19-year career at Independiente, where he won twelve titles (record which he shares with
Ricardo Pavoni Ricardo Elvio Pavoni Cúneo (born August 8, 1943 in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan former football defender who played the majority of his career for Club Atlético Independiente in the Argentine First Division. Career Club Pavoni began his foot ...
). Other highlights on the non-competitive stage include the winning of the 1965 Consular Cup 2–1 on aggregate over
Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...
(first in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
and then in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
), beating Greek
Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...
(champions of
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
) 1–0 in
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
in 1972, beating
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...
1–0 in the
Estadio Azteca Estadio Azteca () (officially known as Estadio Banorte for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium located in Coyoacán, Mexico City. It is the official home of football team Club América, as well as the Mexico national team. The stadium ...
in 1974, tying 2–2 with the famous American team
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...
on their 1985 farewell season, and playing an unofficial club world championship in
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
against
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
(champions of
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
), which they lost in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
2–1. In 1994 Supercopa Libertadores, 1994 and 1995 Supercopa Libertadores, 1995, "el Rojo" obtained two more international titles; the two-time
Supercopa Libertadores The Supercopa Libertadores (English: ''Libertadores Supercup''), also known as the Supercopa Sudamericana, Supercopa Libertadores João Havelange, Supercopa João Havelange or simply Supercopa, was a football club competition contested annually b ...
, the first against
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 ...
and the second against a Romário-led
Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...
, at the latter becoming the first foreign club to be crowned champions at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, before an impressive attendance of 105,000 Brazilian spectators. They also won the
1995 Recopa Sudamericana The 1995 Recopa Sudamericana was the seventh Recopa Sudamericana, an annual football match between the winners of the previous season's Copa Libertadores and Supercopa Sudamericana competitions. The all-Argentinian final took place in the neutral v ...
, played at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium (same place where they beat Liverpool in 1984). Additionally, they won the 1994 Copa Presidente Carlos Menem by defeating
Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...
3–2 in the semifinals and AS Roma, Roma 2–1 in the final in Estadio José María Minella, Mar del Plata. Before playing the 1995 Recopa, the red team faced and won Sanfrecce Hiroshima 5–0 and Urawa Red Diamonds 5–3. One year later, Independiente travelled once again all the way to Japan to contest the 1996 Recopa Sudamericana in Kōbe, but this time they lost 1–4 to Grêmio. In 1997, they beat Feyenoord 3–0 in Estadio José María Minella, Mar del Plata, with the Dutchmen starring Ronald Koeman. The "golden era" of Independiente came to an end in 1995 and, from then on, the sporting achievements occurred in a more isolated way. Nothing that relevant occurred between the 1995–2010 period, except for the isolated 2002–03 Argentine Primera División, 2002 Aperture title, where the pillar was team captain Gabriel Milito. In 2004 club legend José Pastoriza died while at his fifth stint as the club manager. Some days before, Independiente won the DAIA Cup 1–0 to El Salvador national football team, El Salvador. Among other players, a young Sergio Agüero was sold to
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
for a record US$28,75 million in 2006, which was planned to be used for a complete renovation of the
La Doble Visera La Doble Visera (; , named after its two flat concrete-roofed stands), officially known as Independiente Stadium (, ), was an association football stadium in Avellaneda, Argentina. It was the home of Independiente, before the club moved to the c ...
to a brand new stadium.


New stadium and hard times

As the old Doble Visera stadium was in severe decay, the project of a new and modern stadium advanced, made possible by the Sergio Agüero record transfer to Europe. On 8 December, 2006–07 Argentine Primera División, 2006, the farewell match took place against Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy, Gimnasia with 1–2 defeat. While the
Estadio Libertadores de América The Libertadores de América – Ricardo Enrique Bochini Stadium (, ; )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 ...
5–4 away at La Bombonera. As a result of the poor performances since the 2010 Aperture, aggravated by the bad management and institutional crises, Independiente finished in second-to-last place in the point averages at the end of the 2012–13 Argentine Primera División season, 2012-13 season, getting relegated to the Primera B Nacional for the first time after 101 years in the Primera División (after a 0-1 home loss to
San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Villa San Lorenzo, town and municipality in Salta P ...
at the second-to-last date) alongside San Martín de San Juan, San Martín (18th) and Unión de Santa Fe, Unión (20th). At the institutional level, the crisis had the
Estadio Libertadores de América The Libertadores de América – Ricardo Enrique Bochini Stadium (, ; )
held in Osaka, Japan, which extended the international record of the club recognized by CONMEBOL to 18 titles and recovered its record as the club with the most international titles in the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
(shared with
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 ...
). The team captain Nicolás Tagliafico continued his career in AFC Ajax and ultimately won two times the Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup with the Argentina national football team, Argentine national team along goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who also emerged from Independiente's youth ranks. Between the sales of important players the club earned approximately US$42 million. But despite this, in 2022 the Moyanos left the presidency of the club having once again led it to another critical financial situation, with more than U.S. dollar, US$22 million in debt. By 2023, in addition to former players, Independiente was in big debt with four Mexican clubs (Club América, América, Club Universidad Nacional, UNAM, Club Tijuana, Tijuana and Mazatlán F.C., Mazatlán), with the América one putting Independiente under a Court of Arbitration for Sport, TAS-imposed embargo. As a result, a collection was carried out among fans and other donors through a digital wallet raising US$3.5 million, an amount of money that managed to help the club lift that dangerous embargo. At the same time, the team had the worst Primera División campaign in its history, finishing the tournament in 24th place. However, after an austere season and a strong appreciation of the Argentine peso under the Presidency of Javier Milei, the club overcame the red numbers and earned a spot to the 2025 Copa Sudamericana.


Kit and badge

The first shirt worn by the club since its foundation in 1904 was white, with a blue badge on its chest with the acronym "IFBC" ("Independiente Football Club"). That badge was inspired on
St. Andrew's Athletic Club St. Andrew's Athletic Club was a sports club established in Argentina by Scotland, Scottish immigrants from the St. Andrew's Scots School, the oldest private school of Argentina. Playing its home games in Barracas, Buenos Aires, St. Andrew's was ...
's. a club established by Scottish descendants that had been the first Primera División champion in 1891 Argentine Primera División, 1891. The traditional red shirt was not worn until 1908, and was inspired on English side Nottingham Forest F.C, Nottingham Forest, which had British football clubs tours to South America, toured Argentina in 1905. Independiente executives were so impressed by the performance of ''The Forest'' that they decide to adopt the red colors for the club. The red shirt debuted on 10 May 1908.Dos vecinos íntimos
by Alejandro Fabbri on Tiempo Argentino, 15 March 2022 The first badge of the club was also inspired on Saint Andrew's and was used until 1912 when the club switched to a red seal. The logo changed again in 1930, being the closest version of the current emblem. It has been modified (with minor alterations) several times since then.


Stadium

Independiente plays home matches at the Estadio Libertadores de América, Libertadores de América–Ricardo Enrique Bochini Stadium, located in
Avellaneda Avellaneda (, ) is a port city in the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 342,677 as per the . Avellaneda is located within the Greater B ...
,
Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...
, with a capacity of 49,000. Opened unfinished in 2009 and completed in 2016 (except for the roof), it stands beside the General Roca Railway tracks. The stadium was built on the site of the historic La Doble Visera, Doble Visera, used from 1928 to 2006, where Independiente won national and international titles and hosted early Argentina national team matches. It was Argentina’s first concrete stadium and the third worldwide. During construction (2006–2010), the club played home games at the stadiums of Estadio Ciudad de Lanús – Néstor Díaz Pérez, Lanús, Estadio Tomás Adolfo Ducó, Huracán, and El Cilindro, Racing, including key matches in the 2010 Copa Sudamericana, which it won. Before moving to Avellaneda in 1906, Independiente had various home grounds in Buenos Aires, notably in
Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...
,
La Paternal La Paternal or Paternal () is a ''Barrios of Buenos Aires, neighborhood'' or district in the centre of Buenos Aires city, Argentina. It was founded in 1904 by a city decree (''decreto'') and was named 'La Paternal' after the San Martín Line (Buen ...
, and Recoleta, including a site later used by River Plate at Estadio Alvear y Tagle, Alvear and Tagle. Its first stadium in Avellaneda was a rented field in Crucecita, East Crucecita (1906–1911), followed by the Estadio Crucecita, West Crucecita Stadium, used from 1911 to 1928.


Players


Current squad


Reserve squad


Out on loan


Individual records


Most appearances


Top scorers


Top-scorers by season

The following tables lists the players that have been named top scorers playing for Independiente in Primera División. Independiente has 15 top scorers.


Previous managers

* Máximo Garay (1936) * Osvaldo Brandão (1961–63) * Manuel Giúdice (1963–66) * Osvaldo Brandão (1967) * Roberto Ferreiro (1973–74) * José Omar Pastoriza, José Pastoriza (1976–79) * Miguel Ángel Santoro (1980) * José Omar Pastoriza, José Pastoriza (1983–84), (1985–87) * Jorge Solari (1987–89) * José Omar Pastoriza, José Pastoriza (1990–91) * Carlos Fren &
Ricardo Bochini Ricardo Enrique Bochini (born 25 January 1954) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is nicknamed ''El Bocha''. He spent his nearly 20-year professional career at club Independiente, becoming o ...
(1991) * Miguel Ángel Brindisi (1994–95) *
Ricardo Pavoni Ricardo Elvio Pavoni Cúneo (born August 8, 1943 in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan former football defender who played the majority of his career for Club Atlético Independiente in the Argentine First Division. Career Club Pavoni began his foot ...
(1995) * Gregorio Pérez (1995–96) * César Luis Menotti (July 1996 – June 97) * Ricardo Gareca (1997) * César Luis Menotti (1997–99) * Enzo Trossero (1999–2000) * Osvaldo Piazza (2000–2002) * Miguel Ángel Santoro (2001) * Néstor Clausen (Jan 2001 – Dec 2001) * Américo Gallego (2002–2003) * Oscar Ruggeri (2003) * Osvaldo Sosa (2003) * José Omar Pastoriza, José Pastoriza (2003–2004) * César Luis Menotti (2004) * Miguel Ángel Santoro (2005) * Julio Falcioni (July 2005 – June 2006) *
Jorge Burruchaga Jorge Luis Burruchaga (; born 9 October 1962), nicknamed ''Burru'', is an Argentine association football coach and former professional football player. He played both as an attacking midfielder and forward and scored the winning goal in the fi ...
(July 2006 – April 2007) * Pedro Troglio (2007 – 2008) * Miguel Ángel Santoro, M.A. Santoro ''(interim)'' (April 2008 – May 2008) * Claudio Borghi (football manager), Claudio Borghi (May 2008 – Oct 2008) * Miguel Ángel Santoro (Oct 2008 – March 2009) * Américo Gallego (March 2009 – June 2010) * César Luis Menotti (July 2009 – Oct 2010) * Daniel Garnero (July 2010 – Sept 2010) * Antonio Mohamed (Oct 2010 – Sept 2011) * Ramón Díaz (Sept 2011 – March 2012) * Christian Díaz (March 2012 – Aug 2012) * Américo Gallego (Aug 2012 – April 2013) * Miguel Ángel Brindisi (April 2013 – Aug 2013) * Omar De Felippe (Aug 2013 – July 2014) * Jorge Almirón (July 2014 – May 2015) * Mauricio Pellegrino (May 2015 – Jun 2016) * Gabriel Milito (Jun 2016 – Dec 2016) * Ariel Holan (Jan 2017 – May 2019) * Sebastián Beccacece (May 2019 - Oct 2019) * Fernando Berón (Oct 2019 - Dec 2019) * Lucas Pusineri (Dec 2019 - Jan 2021) * Fernando Berón (Jan 2021) * Julio Falcioni (Jan 2021 – Dec 2021) * Eduardo Domínguez (Jan 2022 – Jul 2022) * Julio Falcioni (Aug 2022 – Dec 2022) * Leandro Stillitano (Jan 2023 – Apr 2023) * Ricardo Zielinski (Apr 2023 – Aug 2023) * Carlos Tevez (Aug 2023 – May 2024)


Honours


Senior titles


Other titles

Titles won in lower divisions: *Copa Bullrich (1): 1909


Friendlies

* Trofeo Asociación Anglo-Argentina (1): 1912 * Torneo Internacional Nocturno Rioplatense (1): 1936 * Copa Confraternidad Argentino-Brasileña (1): 1939 (shared with River Plate) * Copa Ministerio de Hacienda (1): 1941 * Torneo Cuadrangular de Lisboa (1): 1953 * Torneo Internacional de Chile (1): 1964 * Festa d'Elx Trophy (1): 1967 * Trofeo Montilla Moriles (1): 1967 * Trofeo Villa de Madrid (1): 1981 * Lunar New Year Cup (1): 1975Lunar New Year Cup (1908–2011)
by Nei Morrison on the RSSSF * Torneo Internacional de Fútbol Miami (1): 1986 * Copa de las Instituciones (1): 1993 * Copa Presidente Carlos S. Menem (1): 1994 ;Notes


Notes


See also

* List of world champion football clubs


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Independiente, Club Atletico Club Atlético Independiente Association football clubs established in 1905, i Basketball teams in Buenos Aires Province, i Field hockey clubs in Buenos Aires Province, i Tennis clubs in Argentina, i Volleyball clubs in Argentina, i 1905 establishments in Argentina, i Football clubs in Avellaneda, i Copa Libertadores winning clubs, Independiente Copa Sudamericana winning clubs, Independiente Recopa Sudamericana winning clubs, Independiente Intercontinental Cup winning clubs, I Copa Interamericana winning clubs, I Works association football teams