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Belgrano
Full name	Club Atlético Belgrano
Nickname(s)	Los piratas, Los celestes
Founded	March 19, 1905
Ground	Estadio Gigante de Alberdi; (Capacity: 24,000)
Chairman	Armando Pérez
Manager	Jorge Guyón
League	Primera B Nacional
2008-09	4th (To promotion playoff)
Home colours	Away colours

Club Atlético Belgrano is a sport club from Córdoba, Argentina, best known for its football team, currently playing in the second division. The club is very popular and it has one one of the largest fan bases outside Buenos Aires. The club has 10,000 members (season ticket holders) and last season had an average attendance of 32,000 fans.

[edit] History

The club was founded in 1905 by a group of teenagers, having 14-year-old Arturo Orgaz as its first president. They named it after the Argentine historical figure General Manuel Belgrano, and the colours are taken from the flag of Argentina, created by Belgrano.

The team started playing in the second division of the Córdoba league in 1908, winning that championship and the following two, to reach the first division of the local league. Because their precarious field didn't comply with the first division requirements, Belgrano's fans and players used to borrow post, wire and fences from the nearby houses to erect the required protections. Nevertheless, they would return all the material to their owners, leaving things as they were before the match. This kind of borrowing without consent brought them the nickname of Piratas ("Pirates").

After the foundation of the Federación Cordobesa de Fútbol ("Córdoba Football Association"), Belgrano won the first championship of 1913. The following season gave birth to the Córdoba Derby between Belgrano and Talleres. The first round of the league faced both teams, but that first derby match would only last 4 minutes, for Talleres left the field after a doubtful goal given to Belgrano.

On March 17 of 1929, the grounds of the Gigante de Alberdi were finished, one of the first cement stadiums in Argentina. El Gigante would be later renovated in 1997 to meet the requirements of the first and second national divisions.

Within the Córdoba league, Belgrano won all the championships between 1929 and 1937, except for 1934, that was won by Talleres. Then, it won the 1940, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956 (Unión Cordobesa de Fútbol) and 1957.

Belgrano was able to play its way to the Nacional tournament of 1968, and reached the Argentine second division in 1986. The club finally reached first division in 1992, where it played until 1996. In 1998 the team was promoted again to first division, to be relegated after the 2001/02 season.

Beating Olimpo de Bahía Blanca at the 2005-06 Promoción, Belgrano returned to first division for the 2006-07 season. Belgrano were relegated to the second division after narrowly missing out on a Promotion play-off berth.

[edit] Current squad

No.		Position	Player
		GK	Juan Carlos Olave
		GK	Carlos De Giorgis
		DF	Marcelo Berza
		DF	José Cárdenas
		DF	Mario Farías
		DF	Luciano Lollo
		DF	Gastón Turús
		MF	Mariano Aldecoa
		MF	Leandro Becerra
		MF	Guillermo Farré

No.		Position	Player
		MF	Juan Carlos Maldonado
		MF	Javier Lux
		MF	Adrián Maidana
		MF	César Mansanelli
		MF	Franco Vazquez
		FW	Claudio Bustos
		FW	Pablo Chavarría
		FW	Héctor Cuevas
		FW	Andrés Soriano
		FW	Juan Pablo Zárate