Rosario Central

The beginning

By the end of the 1880s, a group of workers of British–owned company Central Argentine Railway used to play a kind of football game in fields located near Alberdi Avenue in Rosario. In the Christmas eve of 1889 they met at a bar with the purpose of establishing a club. British English citizen Thomas Mutton suggested the name "Central Argentine Railway Athletic Club", which was approved. Scotsman Colin Calder was chosen as first president of the new club.

At the beginning, only CAR employees were admitted as members. The first field was located on a railway's land while a disused wagon served as club's headquarters. The first recorded game was played in 1890 when CARAC played a friendly match v the crew of a British ship's crew, which ended 1–1. A second match between both teams finished with CARAC winning 2–1.

During many years Central Argentine played only internal matches or faced the Rosario Cricket Club (current Club Atlético del Rosario) occasionally. In 1904 the railway companies Central Argentino and Buenos Aires merged, which caused a high number of criollo workers moved to Rosario. They quickly became football enthusiasts so the club increased its number of members to 130 people. During an assembly, executive Miguel Green (also forward of the team) suggested that people outside the railway company could be accepted as member of the club. The proposal was widely discussed until it was finally approved so the statute was modified, including the change of name to Spanish form "Club Atlético Rosario Central". Since those changes were approved, a significant number of workers of the city came to Rosario Central to become members of the club.

Liga Rosarina and National cups

The Liga Rosarina de Football (Rosario's Football League) was created in March 1905. The first tournament organised by the body was the "Copa Santiago Pinasco", named that way because the Mayor of Rosario, Santiago Pinasco, donated the trophy.

Central debuted on May 21, 1905, defeating Rosario A.C. by 3–1. On June, Rosario Central player Zenón Díaz was called for a Rosario combined that played a friendly match v English club Nottingham Forest (that was touring South America). The first official title won by Rosario Central came in 1908, when the squad won the "Copa Nicasio Vila" (the first division of LRF). The team finished unbeaten with 48 goals scored and only 9 conceded. Some notable players were Zenón Díaz, Harry Hayes, Augusto Winn, J.H. Grant, Juan Díaz.

In 1913 the club disaffiliated from the Liga Rosarina, founding with other clubs the dissident "Federación Rosarina de Football". Central won this league in 1913. That same year, Rosario Central won its first national title, the Copa de Competencia La Nación, a domestic cup organised by dissident Federación Argentina de Football. Rosario Central won the competition after defeating Argentino de Quilmes 3–2 in Estadio G.E.B.A. of Buenos Aires.

In 1914 Central would return to Liga Rosarina, winning the championship after playing 20 matches, winning 19 games with 1 draw. The team scored 99 goals and only conceded 10, being Harry Hayes the top scorer of the tournament with 51 goals.

The squad also would win the 1915, 1916 and 1917 regional titles, becoming four-champion of the Rosarian League. In 1919, Central won the Rosario's league title again, winning 3–2 the final match against their history rivals: Newell's Old Boys.

The second national title won by Rosario Central was the Copa Dr. Carlos Ibarguren, a trophy contested by the champions of Buenos Aires and Rosario. Central won the 1915 edition beating Racing Club (that had won three Primera División titles consecutively) 3–1 in the final.

In 1916 Central won the Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires after beating Independiente 1–0. That same year the Rosarino team won the Copa de Competencia Jockey Club defeating Independiente again. A new national title would come in 1920, when Central won the Copa de Competencia organised by dissident body Asociación Amateurs de Football (AAmF) against Sportivo Almagro. During the 1910 decade, Rosario Central won a total of five National cups.

In 1920 Rosario Central left the Rosarian League again, and joined other clubs to establish a dissident league, winning the 1920 and 1921 titles. Two years later, Central and the dissident clubs would return again to the Rosarian league.

In the following years, Central won the 1923, 1927, 1928 (won against Newell's in the final match), and 1930 championship, becoming the most successful team in Liga de Rosario's history.

In 1931 football became professional in Argentina, so a new Association, "Asociación Rosarina de Fútbol", was created in Rosario to organize the first professional championships. The Copa Nicasio Vila changed its name to "Torneo Gobernador Luciano Molinas", honoring then Governor of Santa Fe Province Luciano Molinas. Rosario Central won the 1937 and 1938 titles.

Coming to Primera División

In 1939, Rosario Central and its arch-rival Newell's Old Boys requested Argentine Football Association to be added to the main league championship of Argentina, the Primera División. The Association accepted the requirement therefore both clubs joined the top-flight division of Argentine football.

Despite playing in the Primera División, Rosario Central continue contesting the Rosarian Football Association competitions with reserve teams formed by amateur footballers. During its first year in Primera División, Rosario Central finished 11° with 33 points earned (15 loses).

In 1941 Rosario Central was relegated to the second division, Primera B, after losing 20 matches with only 6 won. Nevertheless, Central only lasted one season in second division, returning one year later, after 25 matches won and only 4 lost. In 1950 Central was relegated again after a poor campaign in Primera. As its precedent relegation, Central promoted to the top division one year after being relegated, so the team returned to Primera in 1951.

First league titles

Rosario Central won its first national league title, in the 1971 Nacional championship with Angel Labruna as coach defeating San Lorenzo in the final game. Central had previously beat arch-rival Newell's 1–0 in semi-finals with a goal scored by Aldo Poy, who dove to head the ball before it touched the grass (a way of heading popularly known as "palomita" in South America). That goal is still remembered by Central supporters who usually reunite on December 19, to recreate the goal. Many times Poy himself has taken part of the celebration.

The second league title for the club came two years later, winning the 1973 Nacional with Carlos Griguol as coach. Some of the most notable players were Poy, Carlos Aimar and Eduardo Solari. The most frequent line-up was: Carlos Biasutto, Jorge González, Aurelio Pascuttini, Daniel Killer, Mario Killer, Carlos Aimar, Eduardo Solari, Aldo Poy, Ramón Bóveda, Roberto Cabral and Daniel Aricó.

For the 1974 season, Central acquired striker Mario Kempes from Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba (Kempes and Instituto mate Osvaldo Ardiles were to be reunited in the national team that won the 1978 World Cup).

After seven years without titles, Central won the 1980 Nacional with Ángel Tulio Zof on the bench. That team was called La Sinfónica (the Symphony Orchestra) because of the exquisite playing displayed by the team on the field. Central defeated Racing de Córdoba 5–0 in the first final game, and lost 2–0 in the second match but proclaimed champion due to goal average. Daniel Carnevali, Juan Carlos Ghielmetti, Edgardo Bauza, Oscar Craiyacich, Jorge García, José Gaitán, Daniel Sperandío, Eduardo Bacas, Félix Orte, Víctor Marchetti and Daniel Teglia was the frequent line-up on the fields.

After a few years with bad seasons, the team was relegated in 1984, but returned to first division just one year later after winning the Primera B championship, coached by Pedro Marchetta. Central returned to Primera to play the 1986–87 season, winning the title at the end of the tournament but coached by Zof again. This was a first in Argentine football (oddly, Central Español performed a similar feat in Uruguay in the years 1983–84, also a first).

The 1986–87 team was formed by Alejandro Lanari, Hernán Díaz, Jorge Balbis, Edgardo Bauza, Pedernera, Omar Palma, Adelqui Cornaglia, Roberto Gasparini, Osvaldo Escudero, Fernando Lanzidei and Hugo Galloni.

International titles

Rosario Central won its first national league title, in the 1971 Nacional The first years of the decade of 1990 Central did not make good campaigns in domestic tournaments, although the team won the CONMEBOL Cup (the precursor of the current Copa Sudamericana) in 1995, being the only international title achieved by a Santa Fe Province based team to date. Central defeated Brazilian squad Atlético Mineiro 4–0 in Arroyito after losing by the same score in the first match in Brazil. Finally Central won the Cup by Penalty shoot-out, with a score of 4–3.

The club has participated in eleven editions of the Copa Libertadores, and is currently tied for fifth place with Estudiantes de la Plata and Vélez Sársfield, all of which trail participation leaders Boca Juniors, River Plate, Independiente, and San Lorenzo de Almagro.

Decline and resurrection

After the 2010 Clausura, Rosario Central's poor form over the past three years forced it into a relegation/promotion play-off against Nacional B side All Boys, which won the tie over two legs 4–1 on aggregate (defining the series with a thrashing 3–0 in Arroyito), relegating Rosario Central to Primera B Nacional, the second tier of Argentine football. It was the fourth time the club was relegated to play in the second division.

Rosario Central spent several seasons in the B Nacional until May 19, 2013, when the squad secured the promotion to Primera División after beating Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy by 3–0. The three goals were scored by Javier Toledo. The team was coached by Miguel Ángel Russo.