C.A. Nacional Potosí

For the basketball team, see C.A. Nacional Potosí (basketball).

Nacional Potosí

Full name	Club Atlético Nacional Potosí
Nickname(s)	La Banda Roja
Founded	April 8, 1942; 82 years ago (April 8, 1942)
Ground	Estadio Victor Agustín Ugarte
Capacity	32,000
Chairman	Wilfredo Condori
Manager	Flavio Robatto
League	División Profesional
2023	División Profesional, 5th of 17
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

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 has a basketball team as well.^[1]

History

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

Main article: Estadio Víctor Agustín Ugarte

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

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 Christian Chilo 2 DF  BOL Luis Torrico 3 MF  BOL Edgar Escalante 4 DF  BOL Juan Carlos Gálviz 5 DF  BOL Wálter Rioja 6 MF  BOL Isaías Dury 8 MF  BOL Rosauro Rivero 9 FW  BOL Aldo Velasco

No. Pos. Nation Player 11 FW  BOL Jheimy Sivera 12 GK  BOL Jorge Ruth 14 FW  BOL Edson Pérez 15 MF  BOL Henry Tórrez 17 MF  BOL Luahay Pedraza 18 DF  BOL Yamil Quinteros 19 MF  BOL Israel Gutiérrez 20 DF  BOL Jorge Flores — DF  BOL Leandro Gareca

Rivalries

Main article: es:Clásico Potosino

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]

Achievements

National Honours

• First Division – Professional Era: 0
• First Division – Semiprofessional Era: 0
• Second Division, Copa Simón Bolivar: 2

2008, 2010

Runners-up (1): 2007

International record

• Copa Libertadores: 1 appearance

Best: 2023 (1st stage)

• Copa Sudamericana: 7 appearances

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

Managers

• Víctor Hugo Andrada (2007–09)
• Juan Carlos Paz (May 19, 2012 – March 3, 2013)
• Julio César Baldivieso (March 4, 2013 – Nov 28, 2013)

References

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.

External links

• Nacional Potosi on Instagram
• Ascenso a Primera División Archived 2009-01-02 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
• Nacional Potosi at Soccerway