Arsenal de Sarandí facts for kids
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| Full name | Arsenal Fútbol Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Los del Viaducto (The Viaduct men) El Arse |
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| Founded | 11 January 1957 | ||
| Ground | Estadio Julio H. Grondona, Sarandí, Avellaneda Partido |
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| Capacity | 18,500 | ||
| Chairman | Lara Grondona | ||
| Manager | Darío Franco | ||
| League | Primera Nacional | ||
| 2024 | 17th (Zona A) | ||
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Arsenal Fútbol Club, often called Arsenal de Sarandí, is a sports club from Argentina. It's located in Sarandí, a part of Greater Buenos Aires. Their main team plays football in the Primera Nacional, which is Argentina's second-highest football league.
They play their home games at the Estadio Julio H. Grondona. This stadium is named after one of the club's founders. It can hold 18,500 fans. The stadium opened in 1964 but was not used for top-division games until 2004. Arsenal's team colors are red and light blue. These colors honor two older, famous teams from Avellaneda: Independiente and Racing. Arsenal won its first top-tier championship in 2012. Before that, their biggest win was the Copa Sudamericana in 2007. Besides football, the club also has teams for field hockey, futsal, and handball.
Contents
History of Arsenal de Sarandí
How the Club Started
Arsenal Fútbol Club was started in January 1957. Two brothers, Héctor and Julio Humberto Grondona, founded the club. They were inspired by the famous English football club, Arsenal. Both clubs even have similar stories about their names. They were both near military arsenals, which are places where weapons are stored.
The team's jersey is light blue with a red stripe across it. This design is similar to the jersey worn by River Plate. The colors were chosen to combine the colors of two older clubs in Avellaneda. Racing uses light blue, and Independiente uses red.
Julio Grondona later became the president of Independiente. Then, in 1979, he became the president of the Argentine Football Association. He held this important role until 2014. He was also a vice-president of FIFA, the world's football governing body. Héctor Grondona, and later his son Julio Ricardo, became presidents of Arsenal.
One of Arsenal's most famous former players is Jorge Burruchaga. He started his career at Arsenal in 1979. He also coached the team many times. Jorge, nicknamed Burru, scored the winning goal for Argentina in the 1986 FIFA World Cup final. This was against the German team.
Arsenal's football team moved up to higher leagues in 1962, 1986, and 1992. They finally reached the top league, the Primera División, in 2002. In 2006, Arsenal and the Spanish club FC Barcelona (Barça) made a deal. Barça would help improve Arsenal's facilities. In return, Barça could have the option to sign young Arsenal players. However, this deal ended in 2007. It was reported that Arsenal could not afford the improvements needed for the plan.
Playing in International Tournaments
Arsenal first played in an international tournament in 2004. The team was coached by Jorge Burruchaga. They reached the Quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana. They beat Argentine teams Banfield and River Plate. They then lost to the Bolivian club Bolívar. This was their first official game against a non-Argentine team.
Arsenal's performance in the 2006–07 season helped them qualify for two big international tournaments. These were the 2007 Copa Sudamericana and the 2008 Copa Libertadores. It was the first time Arsenal qualified for South America's top club tournament.
Arsenal's journey in the 2007 Copa Sudamericana was amazing. Sports Illustrated magazine even called them "the underdog that couldn't be stopped." They beat Argentine champions San Lorenzo to get into the Round of 16. There, they faced the Brazilian team Goiás. Arsenal won 3–2 in Brazil and drew 1–1 at home. This meant they won the match 4–3 overall. It was their first official win against a foreign team.
Next, Arsenal played the Mexican team Guadalajara in the quarter-finals. They drew 0–0 at home and won 3–1 in Mexico. This sent them to the semi-finals. They met another Argentine team, River Plate. Both games against River ended 0–0. Arsenal won the penalty shootout 4–2. Their goalkeeper, Mario Cuenca, made several great saves.
In the first game of the 2007 Copa Sudamericana final, Arsenal beat Club América of Mexico 3–2. This game was played at the famous Estadio Azteca. The second game could not be held at Arsenal's home stadium. The Estadio Julio H. Grondona was too small for a major final. The game was played at the Estadio Juan Domingo Perón in Avellaneda instead. Arsenal's captain, Carlos Castiglione, could not play due to a red card. The match started tough for Arsenal. Christian Díaz scored an own goal early on. Arsenal's José Luis Calderón hit the goalpost twice. In the second half, Arsenal gave up another goal. But with only seven minutes left, Martín Andrizzi scored. This goal gave Arsenal their first major title. They won because of the away goals rule.
Arsenal was not as successful in the 2008 Copa Libertadores. This tournament started the month after their Copa Sudamericana win. However, on July 30, 2008, Arsenal won their second international cup. This was the Suruga Bank Championship. They qualified for it as the Copa Sudamericana champions. Their opponent was J.League Cup champions Gamba Osaka from Japan. After a tough game, captain Carlos Casteglione scored the only goal. He headed the ball into the net in the 86th minute.
First National Titles
Arsenal won its first national championship on June 24, 2012. They beat Belgrano de Córdoba 1–0. Lisandro López scored the winning goal. The team earned 38 points from 19 games. They won 11 matches and lost only 3. Arsenal also became the first team to win a Primera División title after playing in all five divisions of the Argentine football league system.
As champions, Arsenal qualified for the Supercopa Argentina. This is a single match between the Primera División winner and the Copa Argentina winner. On November 7, 2012, Arsenal beat Copa Argentina champions Boca Juniors. The game was a 0–0 draw, and Arsenal won 4–3 in a penalty shootout. Arsenal then won the Copa Argentina on October 16, 2013. They defeated San Lorenzo de Almagro 3–0 in the final match. This game was played in Catamarca Province.
Stadium
The Estadio Julio H. Grondona is in Sarandí. It can hold 36,300 people. It is also known as el Viaducto, which means "The Viaduct." The stadium is located at 3660 Juan Díaz De Solís in Sarandí.
Construction on Arsenal's first stadium began on October 11, 1962. It officially opened on August 22, 1964. When Arsenal was promoted to the top league, their basic concrete stadium was not considered good enough. So, the team played at the stadiums of Lanús and Racing for two seasons. This was while work on their own stadium was finished. The newly renovated stadium, named "Julio Humberto Grondona," opened on August 7, 2004. There was a big party for the fans. The first game played there was against Banfield in the Copa Sudamericana. The new stadium has seen wins against big Argentine teams like Boca Juniors and River Plate.
Players
Current squad
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Out on loan
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Former coaches
Oscar López- Juan Emilio Elena (1961–72)
- Roberto Iturrieta (1973–74)
- Juan Emilio Elena (1974–82)
- Roberto Iturrieta (1983–84)
- Juan Emilio Elena (1985–89)
- Roberto Iturrieta (1989–94)
- Roberto Ferreiro (1994–95)
- Humberto Grondona (1995)
- Roberto Iturrieta (1995–97)
- Roberto Ferreiro (1997–98)
- José María Bianco (1998–01)
- Roberto Mariani (2001)
- Jorge Burruchaga (1 Jan 2002 – 30 June 2005)
- José María Bianco (1 July 2005 – 22 March 2006)
- Luis de Luise (interim) (2006)
- Miguel Ángel López (2006)
- Gustavo Alfaro (1 Dec 2006 – 30 June 2008)
- Daniel Garnero (1 July 2008 – 26 April 2009)
- Jorge Burruchaga (1 May 2009 – 30 April 2010)
- Carlos Ruiz (interim) (1 May 2010 – 30 June 2010)
- Gustavo Alfaro (2010–2014)
- Martín Palermo (2014-2015)
- Ricardo Caruso Lombardi (2015)
- Sergio Rondina (2016)
- Lucas Bernardi (2016)
- Humberto Grondona (2017)
- Sergio Rondina (2018-2021)
- Israel Damonte (2021)
- Leonardo Madelón (2022)
- Carlos Ruiz (2023)
- Federico Vilar (2023)
- Tobías Kohan (2024)
- José María Bianco (2024)
- Martín Rolón (2025)
- Darío Franco (2025-)
Honours
Senior titles
- Keys
- Record
- (s) Shared record
| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning years |
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| National (League) |
Primera División | 1 | 2012 Clausura |
| National (Cups) |
Copa Argentina | 1 |
2012–13
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| Supercopa Argentina | 1 |
2012
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| International |
Copa Sudamericana | 1 | 2007 |
| Suruga Bank Championship | 1 | 2008 |
Other titles
Titles won in lower divisions:
- Primera B Nacional (1): 2018–19
- Primera División C (1): 1964
- Primera de Aficionados (1): 1962
See also
In Spanish: Arsenal Fútbol Club para niños
