Club Atlético Nacional Potosí is a Bolivian football team from Potosí. The football team currently plays in the Bolivian Primera División. Founded on 8 April 1942, it plays its home games at Estadio Víctor Agustín Ugarte.

Nacional Potosí
Full nameClub Atlético Nacional Potosí
Nickname(s)La Banda Roja
FoundedApril 8, 1942; 82 years ago (April 8, 1942)
GroundEstadio Victor Agustín Ugarte
Capacity32,000
ChairmanWilfredo Condori
ManagerFlabio Torres
LeagueDivisión Profesional
2023División Profesional, 5th of 17
Websitehttps://sites.google.com/view/nacionalpotosi

Nacional has a basketball team as well.[1]

History

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Nacional Potosí is one of Bolivia's oldest football clubs, being founded on 8 April 1942.[2] The team has mainly played in the second tier of Bolivian football. In 2004 it came under the ownership of Emilio Alave and the team started to mount a serious promotion challenge, coming close in 2007 when they lost to Aurora in the relegation play-off. Nacional bounced back the following year and won the Copa Simon Bolívar, gaining promotion to the first division. In 2009 Nacional made its debut in the Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano, but the club couldn't survive its first season and was relegated. In 2010, Wilfredo Condori took over as chairman and the side won both the Copa Simon Bolívar and promotion back to the first division. The club played its first ever Copa Sudamericana in 2014. They lost 1-3 on aggregate to Club Libertad of Paraguay in the first round.[3] Celebrating its diamond anniversary in 2017, the side was playing in the first division and the Copa Sudamericana for just the second time in their history.

The club debuted in the Copa Libertadores in 2023 and was eliminated in the 1st stage.

Stadium

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The club plays its home games at Estadio Víctor Agustín Ugarte in Potosí. It has a capacity for 32,000 people.

The stadium was originally called Estadio San Clemente, but was renamed Mario Mercado Vaca Guzmán after some modifications on the structure, including new illumination towers, were made. Newer modifications led ultimately to its actual name.[4]

Located 4,090 metres above sea level, the stadium is one of the highest in the world. It has raised numerous controversies in footballing circles, as its significant altitude affects the absorption of oxygen in the human body, offering considerable advantage to the home team who are more accustomed to such conditions.[citation needed][5]

Current squad

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   BOL Saidt Mustafá
2 DF   BOL Maximiliano Ortíz
3 DF   BOL Javier Guerra
5 DF   BOL Daniel Mancilla
6 DF   COL Edisson Restrepo
7 FW   COL Carlos Preciado
8 MF   BOL Luis Pavia
9 FW   COL José Erick Correa
11 MF   BOL Jorge Rojas
12 GK   BOL Jorge Mejia
13 DF   BOL Abraham Cabrera
14 DF   BOL Óscar Añez
15 MF   BOL Marcos Andia
16 FW   BOL Andrés Torrico
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF   BOL Saulo Guerra
18 MF   BOL Pedro Azogue
19 FW   BOL Victor Abrego
20 DF   BOL Martín Prost
21 DF   BOL Miyhel Ortíz
22 MF   BOL Diego Hoyos
23 DF   BOL Óscar Baldomar
25 GK   BOL Carlos Ardono
29 FW   BOL William Álvarez
32 DF   ARG Heber Leaños
33 DF   BOL Luis Demiquel
FW   BOL Alfredo Garcia

Rivalries

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The club has a rivalry with the only other first division club in the Potosí Department, Real Potosí. They share the same stadium, and matches between them usually draw lots of attention.

The first match played between the two clubs was in the 2009 Copa Aerosur on 18 January 2009. Real Potosi won 2-1.[6] The first league match between the two clubs was on 19 April 2009, which finished in a 1-1 draw.[7]

Although both clubs were founded in the 20th century, the reason why it took so long for both clubs to meet was because Nacional Potosi had been playing in the lower divisions until 2009. Nacional Potosí have won 18 times, while Real Potosí have only done it 15 times, there were 11 draws.[8]

Honours

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National

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International record

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Best: 2023 (1st stage)
Best: 2017, 2024 (2nd stage/Group stage)

Managers

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References

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  1. ^ Identidad deportiva, la fórmula del éxito del básquetbol potosino Archived 2021-08-16 at the Wayback Machine Gabriel Caero Rodríguez (Los Tiempos) (in Spanish), 22 September 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  2. ^ "NACIONAL POTOSÍ - HISTORIA". Archived from the original on 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  3. ^ "Nacional Potosí cae ante Libertad y queda fuera de la Copa Sudamericana". Los Tiempos (in Spanish). 2014-08-27. Archived from the original on 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  4. ^ "Ampliarán capacidad del estadio Mario Mercado". ANF Agencia de Noticias Fides (in Spanish). 2005-05-31. Archived from the original on 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  5. ^ López, Víctor David. "POTOSÍ, EL FÚTBOL JUNTO AL CIELO". Líbero (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2022-01-16. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  6. ^ "Copa Aerosur 1ra. Fecha: Real Potosi 2 - Naconal Potosi 1". Archived from the original on 2022-01-16. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  7. ^ "Real Potosí vs. Nacional Potosí - Resumen de Juego - 19 abril, 2009 - ESPN". ESPN.com.mx (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2022-01-16. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  8. ^ "Nacional Potosí se quedó con el clásico potosino (4-2) | EL DEBER". eldeber.com.bo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2022-01-16. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
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