Who Are Club Atletico Banfield?

Apart from becoming potentially the most disliked football club on the planet, this side of the Quebec/Ontario border, Club Atletico Banfield is a sports club based in the Banfield area of Buenos Aires.

The club was founded four years prior to the dawn of the 20th century by residents mostly from England, but also from Scotland and Ireland. The club is best known for its football section, hardly surprising in Argentina, since it’s a regular member of the country’s top league, the Superliga.

They are known as ‘El Taladro’ (The Drill) and play at the he 35,000 capacity Estadio Florencio Sola and the club’s colours are green and white.

Although long-established, Banfield is not one of Argentina’s more celebrated clubs, having won only one national championship in history, the 2009 Apertura, but they have been managed among others by Hernan Crespo, current San Jose Earthquakes boss Matias Almeyda and World Cup wining pal of Diego Maradona’s, Jorge Burruchaga.

Former players include James Rodriguez (Real Madrid) and the former Internazionale pair, Javier Zanetti and Julio Cruz. Ricardo Lavolpe, Argentina’s back-up goalkeeper to Ubaldo Fillol when they won the World Cup in 1978 is also a former player, as is Rodrigo Palacio, now playing for Joey Saputo’s other club, Bologna of Serie A.

Banfield has had an up and down existence over the past 30-odd years, three times since 1992/93 winning Primera B and returning to the country’s top division, the last of these achieved in 2013/14 under the guidance of the afore-mentioned Almeyda.

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Their main rivals are Club Atletico Lanus the club from which Alejandro Silva once joined Montreal Impact and have recorded three participations in the Copa Libertadores, the best of which was their first in 2005 when the quarter-finals were reached before losing to River Plate

Last season El Taladro finished 16th in the 24-team Superliga, and in 2019/20 they continue to struggle in 17th place with 21 points from 17 games. The potential signing of Ignacio Piatti for the second half of the season would be considered team-strengthening to insure against becoming embroiled a relegation dog-fight.