# Cerro Porteño

Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Primera División titles and is one of the most popular football clubs in Paraguay. Its president is Raúl Zapag and the manager is Carlos Jara Saguier. Cerro Porteño plays the Paraguayan derby with its main rival Club Olimpia. They play their home games at the 45,000-seat General Pablo Rojas Stadium, also known as La Nueva Olla (The New Boiler), the biggest in the country.

## History

Cerro Porteño was founded on 1 October 1912 by Susana Núñez and a group of young people looking to create a new football club. At the time of Cerro's foundation, the situation in Paraguay was tense with instability in the government caused by the fervent rivalries between the two leading political parties, the Partido Colorado (Crimson Party) and the Partido Liberal (Liberal Party).
Because of the tensions, the founders of the club decided to use the colours of both parties, red (Colorados) and blue (Liberals), as the club's colours as a symbol of unity and friendship between Paraguayans. Later, white was used on the shorts to incorporate all the colours of the Paraguayan flag.
The club owes its name to the battle fought between the forces of Buenos Aires, Argentina (The Porteños) and the Paraguayan army, in the neighbourhood of the Cerro Mbaé (Mbaé Hill) – named after that battle as the Cerro Porteño (Porteño Hill) – on 19 January 1811. During that battle, the troops of Paraguay (at that time a Spanish colony) were abandoned by the Spanish governor but continued to be led by the Paraguayan officials, who led them to a great victory against the Porteño's troops. That battle is known as the "Battle of Cerro Porteño" and is a highlight of Paraguayan military history.
Over the years the club has won a significant number of national championships. However, to date, it has not won any international tournaments despite a few good runs in the Copa Libertadores including semi-final appearances in 1973, 1978, 1993, 1998, 1999 and 2011.
Osvaldo Ardiles joined the club as manager in May 2008, but was sacked in August of the same year after a string of poor results and was replaced by Pedro Troglio.
In 2014, Cerro Porteño president Juan José Zapag spoke in reference to the corruption in Paraguayan football that various persons had complained to him about not buying games and that if his club were to win then they would not do it by buying and doping players to become champions.

## Stadium

Cerro Porteño's stadium, Estadio General Pablo Rojas, also known as "La Nueva Olla" or "La Olla", is located in Asunción's Obrero neighborhood. It has a seating capacity of 45,000, making it the biggest in Paraguay.

## International record

* Copa Libertadores: 45 appearances
       Best: 1973, 1978, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2011 (Semi-finals)
* Copa Sudamericana: 11 appearances
       Best: 2009, 2016 (Semi-finals)

## Honours

Cerro Porteño honours :
| Type | Competition | Titles | Seasons |
| National | Primera División | 34 | 1913, 1915, 1918, 1919, 1935, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1950, 1954, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2009 Apertura, 2012 Apertura, 2013 Clausura, 2015 Apertura, 2017 Clausura, 2020 Apertura, 2021 Clausura |
| National | Torneo República | 3 | 1989, 1991, 1995 |
| National | Plaqueta Millington Drake | 2 | 1949, 1950 |
* record
* $^S$ shared record

## Ranking
### World Club Ranking

    As of 21 March 2024.
| Rank | Team |
| 45 | Aston Villa |
| 46 | Panathinaikos |
| 47 | Cerro Porteño |
| 48 | Atlético Nacional |
| 49 | Monaco |

### South America Club Ranking

    As of 21 March 2024.
| Rank | Team |
| 12 | Estudiantes de La Plata |
| 13 | Cruzeiro |
| 14 | Cerro Porteño |
| 15 | Atlético Nacional |
| 16 | Racing |

## Players
### First team

    As of 1 January 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ARG | Alexis Martín Arias |
| 2 | DF | PAR | Alan Benítez |
| 3 | DF | PAR | Gustavo Velázquez |
| 5 | DF | PAR | Jorge Morel |
| 6 | DF | ARG | Abel Luciatti |
| 8 | MF | ARG | Federico Carrizo |
| 9 | FW | BRA | Chico |
| 10 | FW | PAR | Cecilio Domínguez |
| 11 | FW | PAR | Juan Iturbe |
| 13 | GK | BRA | Jean |
| 14 | DF | PAR | Lucas Quintana |
| 15 | DF | PAR | Rodrigo Melgarejo |
| 16 | FW | PAR | Édgar Páez |
| 17 | FW | PAR | Gabriel Aguayo |
| 18 | DF | PAR | Bruno Valdez (on loan from Boca Juniors) |
| 20 | MF | PAR | Wilder Viera |
| 21 | FW | ARG | Sergio Araujo |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | FW | PAR | Derlis Rodríguez |
| 25 | GK | PAR | Gatito Fernández |
| 26 | MF | PAR | Robert Piris Da Motta |
| 28 | MF | PAR | Alexis Fariña |
| 29 | DF | PAR | Enzo Cabrera |
| 30 | DF | PAR | Alan Núñez |
| 31 | DF | PAR | Luis Vargas Zorrilla |
| 32 | DF | PAR | Víctor Cabañas |
| 36 | FW | PAR | Luis Olmedo |
| 37 | DF | PAR | Diego León |
| 38 | DF | PAR | Tobías Marecos |
| 39 | FW | PAR | Tobias Portillo |
| — | GK | PAR | Antonio Martínez |
| — | DF | ARG | Matías Damián Pérez |
| — | DF | ARG | Guillermo Benítez |
| — | MF | USA | Alan Soñora |
| — | MF | PAR | Gastón Giménez |
| — | FW | ARG | Jonathan Torres |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | PAR | Rodrigo Delvalle (at Sol de América until 31 December 2024) |
| — | DF | PAR | Daniel Rivas (at Nacional until 31 December 2024) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | PAR | Ángel Cardozo Lucena (at Libertad until 31 December 2024) |
| — | MF | PAR | Antonio Galeano (at Nacional until 31 December 2025) |

## Notable players

    To appear in this section a player must have either:
* Played at least 125 games for the club.
* Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club.
* Been part of a national team squad at any time.
* Played in the first division of any other football association (outside of Paraguay).
* Played in a continental and/or intercontinental competition.
Non-CONMEBOL players
* Adriano Custódio Mendes (1988)
* Jerry Laterza (1994–95)
* William Inganga (1996)
* Tobie Mimboe (1996)
* Geremi Njitap (1997)
* Cyrille Florent Bella (1998)
* Kenneth Nkweta Nju (2000–01)
* Nozomi Hiroyama (2001)
* Froylán Ledezma (2001–02)
* Diego Madrigal (2011)
* Daniel Güiza (2013–15)
* Luís Leal (2016–17)

## Managerial information

Cerro Porteño coaching history from 1913 to present :
| Dámaso Ávila (1913) Eduardo Jara (1914) Unknown (1915–1918) Humberto Camperchiolli (1919–20) Clemente Talavera (1920) Espiridón Galeano (1921) Clemente Talavera (1921) Roque J. Medina (1922) Unknown (1923) Eduardo Jara (1924–25) Antonio Castagnino (1926) José A. Caso (1927–28) Luis Laterza (1929) Alejandro Delgado (1930–31) Fausto Menchaca (1932) None (1933–34) Alejandro Delgado (1935–36) Manuel Recalde (1936) Inocencio Agüero (1936) Pedro P. Cazal (1937) Inocencio Agüero (1937) Jacinto Villalba (1937–39) Benjamín Laterza [es] (1939–40) Clemente Talavera (1940) Manuel Recalde (1940) Athuel Velázquez (1941) None (1942) Juan P. Parodi (1943) Jacinto Villalba (1944) Alejandro Delgado (1944) Garibaldi Bougermini (1944) José G. Vinsac (1945) Pedro Osorio (1946–47) Espiridión Galeano (1947) Casiano López (1948) Benjamín Laterza [es] (1948) Gerardo Buongermini (1948) Héctor Vidal (1949) | Benjamín Laterza [es] (1950) Pedro Osorio (1950–51) Julio Ramírez (1952) Atilio Mellone [es] (1952) Luis Benítez Chilavert (1952) Julio Ramírez (1953) Benjamín Laterza [es] (1953) Luis Benítez Chilavert (1953) Rogelio Negri (1954) Luis Benítez Chilavert (1954) Grégorio Juan Esperón (1954) Benjamín Laterza [es] (1955) Grégorio Juan Esperón (1955) Miguel Cabrera (1955) Antonio Fernández (1955) Rogelio Negri (1956) Gabriel Calonga (1956–57) Luis Benítez Chilavert (1957) Atilio Mellone [es] (1957) Benjamín Laterza [es] (1958) Luis Benítez Chilavert (1958) Isidoro García (1959) Sinforiano García (1960) Luis Benítez Chilavert (1960) Rogelio Negri (1960–61) Vessilio Bártoli (1961–62) Mario Fortunato (1963) Modesto Bria (1964–65) Mario Fortunato (1966–67) Egidio Landolfi (1967–69) Salvador Breglia (1969) Sinforiano García (1969) Marcos Pavlovsky (1970–71) Darío Jara Saguier (1971) Gradim (1971) Salvador Breglia (1972) Néstor Rossi (1972) Salvador Breglia (1972) | Marcos Pavlovsky (1973–74) Salvador Breglia (1974) Sinforiano García (1975) Mario González Benítez (1975–76) Egidio Landolfi (1976) Salvador Breglia (1976) Eliseo Báez Riveiro (1976–77) Salvador Breglia (1977–78) Egidio Landolfi (1980) Hugo González (1980) Egidio Landolfi (1980) Hugo González (1981) Robustiano Maciel (1981) Hugo González (1982) Ramón Rodríguez [es] (1983) Oscar Malbernat (1983–84) Silvio Parodi (1984) Saturnino Arrúa (1984) Hugo González (1984) Cayetano Ré (1985) Saturnino Arrúa (1985) Peter Mucha (1986) Ferenc Puskás (1986–87) Valdir Espinosa (1987–88) Carlos Kiese (1988) Otacílio Gonçalves (1989) Sergio Markarián (1990–91) Paulo César Carpegiani (1991–92) Valdir Espinosa (1992) Paulo César Carpegiani (1993–94) Gerardo González Aquino [es] (1994–95) Antônio Lopes (1995–96) Carlos Kiese (1996) Jorge Fossati (1997) Carlos Báez (1998) Julio Carlos Gómez Cáceres (1998) Jair de Jesús Pereira [es] (1999) Carlos Báez (1999) | Saturnino Arrúa (2000) Luis Cubilla (2000) Mario César Jacquet (2001–02) Carlos Báez (2002–03) Gerardo Martino (2003–04) Gustavo Costas (2005–07) Estanislao Struway (2007) Valdir Espinosa (2007) Javier Torrente (2007 – Dec 31, 2007) Blas Marcelo Cristaldo (2008) Osvaldo Ardiles (2008) Pedro Troglio (July 1, 2008 – June 5, 2010) Blas Marcelo Cristaldo (2010) Javier Torrente (Jan 28, 2011 – Feb 14, 2011) Blas Marcelo Cristaldo (2011) Leonardo Astrada (March 1, 2011 – Sept 26, 2011) Ernesto Corti (2011) Mario Grana (Sept 25, 2011 – April 12, 2012) Hugo Caballero (2012) Jorge Fossati (July 1, 2012 – Feb 23, 2013) Francisco Arce (March 4, 2013–Aug 14) Leonardo Astrada (Aug 28, 2014–15) Roberto Torres (2015) César Farías (2016) Gustavo Morínigo (2016) Leonel Álvarez (2017–18) Luis Zubeldía (2018–2019) Miguel Angel Russo (2019) Víctor Bernay (2019) Francisco Arce (2019–2023) Facundo Sava (2023) Diego Gavilán (2023) Víctor Bernay (2023-2024) Manolo Jiménez (2024) Carlos Jara Saguier (2024-) |

## Records

Most appearances for the club (in all competitions):
* Julio Dos Santos: 267
* Jorge Achucarro: 257
* Aldo Bobadilla: 265
* Estanislao Struway: 227
Most goals for the club (in all competitions):
* Virgilio Ferreira: 90
* Julio Dos Santos: 88
* Erwin Ávalos: 70
* Saturnino Arrua: 88
* José Vinsac: 58
Most appearances for the club (in league):
* Salvador Breglia: 225
* Jorge Achucarro: 215
* Julio Dos Santos: 212
* Blas Marcelo Cristaldo: 201
Most goals for the club (in league):
* Virgilio Ferreira: 67
* Erwin Ávalos: 64
* José Vinsac: 58
* Saturnino Arrua: 55
Most appearances for the club (in international cup):
* Aldo Bobadilla: 67
* Estanislao Struway: 64
* Virgilio Ferreira: 61
* Blas Marcelo Cristaldo: 57
Most goals for the club (in international cup):
* Virgilio Ferreira: 23
* Santiago Salcedo: 15
* Celino Mora: 14
* César Ramírez: 13

## Other disciplines
### Women

The women's team has won the Paraguayan women's football championship four times, in 2007 and 2012 to 2014. The team then played in the Copa Libertadores Femenina.

### Youth

One of the club's youth teams played at the 2006 Torneo di Viareggio.

### Futsal

The club's futsal division is the best club in the Liga Premium de Futsal, the premier professional futsal clubs league of the country, having won all of its seven editions as of 2023, for which they are known as "Los Dueños del Futsal" (The King of Futsal).