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Danubio
Escudo oficial de Danubio FC.png
Full name Danubio Fútbol Club
Nickname(s) La Franja
Los de la Curva
La Universidad del Fútbol Uruguayo
Founded 1 March 1932; 92 years ago (1932-03-01)
Ground Jardines del Hipódromo
María Mincheff de Lazaroff,
Montevideo, Uruguay
Ground Capacity 11,018
Chairman Jorge Lorenzo
Manager Mario Saralegui
League Primera División
2023 Primera División, 8th of 16
Third colours

Danubio Fútbol Club is a Uruguayan football club based in Jardines del Hipódromo, Montevideo that currently plays in the Uruguayan Primera División.

Founded in 1945, the club's home stadium is Jardines del Hipódromo, which has a capacity of 19,450.

History

Danubio was founded by the Bulgarian-born brothers Mihail (Miguel) and Ivan (Juan) Lazaroff on 1 March 1932 together with other youths from the "Republica de Nicaragua" school in Montevideo. The club's name is a reference to the Danube river, the second-longest river in Europe. It was proposed by Mihail and Ivan's mother, María Mincheff de Lazaroff. Initially, she suggested the club be named after a different river in Bulgaria – Maritsa. However, the proposal was not approved, as the name was viewed as too feminine.

Danubio won its first league title in 1988 with a fantastic young squad that included Rubén da Silva, who was the league's top scorer that season with 23 goals. This title gave the club qualification to its first Copa Libertadores, the 1989 Copa Libertadores, where they reached the semi-finals and had their best continental tournament participation. Their campaign started in Group 5, where they finished second with three wins and three losses. In the round of 16, the club beat fellow Uruguayan powerhouse Nacional 3–1 on aggregate, and in the quarter-finals, they beat Chilean club Cobreloa 4–1 on aggregate. In the semi-finals, they faced Colombian club Atlético Nacional; the first leg in Montevideo finished in a 0–0 draw, but Atletico Nacional dominated the second leg with a 6–0 victory, eliminating Danubio from the tournament.

Danubio won its second league title in 2004 by beating Nacional with a last minute backheel goal scored by Diego Perrone. Although the squad lost the first leg 4–1, Danubio won the title by placing first in the Clausura and in the Annual table.

The club won its third league title in the 2006 Apertura after defeating Peñarol 4–1 in December 2006. Danubio went into the final matchday with 31 points behind Peñarol, who was first with 32 points. This meant Danubio had to win the match to secure the league title, and Peñarol would only need a draw to win the title. Peñarol scored first, but then Danubio turned the score around to secure the top position in the league table with a very young Edinson Cavani scoring the last goal. In the following season, the 2007 Clausura, the club defeated Peñarol again on penalties after a 1–1 draw at the end of extra time. With this title, Danubio became the first club to win both Apertura and Clausura tournaments since Nacional did in the 1998 season.

Danubio won their fourth Uruguayan league title in the 2013–14 season by defeating Montevideo Wanderers on penalties after extra time in the second leg of the final that finished 2–2 with a last minute bicycle kick equalizer from Camilo Mayada.

Colours and badge

In 1932, the club decided to take Montevideo Wanderers' kit and colours (black and white) as homage to them being the last amateur champion of Uruguay in 1931. Later when entering a zonal league they planned to alter the kit design as Universal Ramírez used the same pattern. The current design was inspired by the red diagonal sash over the white kit worn by River Plate, but with the sash in black. The accompanying shorts are typically black (although some seasons they have been white), whilst the accompanying socks are white. In the 2005–06 season, the club wore an unusual green shirt with a white sash as their third kit to play against teams similar in colours (such as Miramar Misiones and Wanderers). In 2007, green was reintroduced in a match against Costa Rican club Saprissa. As of late 2007, it was decided to discontinue use of the green shirt, due to the repetitive defeats against Wanderers and Miramar leading to it being considered a cursed shirt. Red is now used for the third kit. Red and green colors come as alternative colors to the team since Bulgaria's national flag consists of white, green and red.

In late 2019, Danubio introduced a third kit, which pays tribute to the club's Bulgarian roots. The kit's red shirt included white and green horizontal stripes across the chest and sleeves, embodying the Bulgarian tricolour. Further detail, such as a verse of Bulgaria's anthem was also inscribed into the kit.

Stadium

Danubio play their home matches at the Estadio Jardines del Hipódromo. The venue was opened in 1957 and has a capacity of 18,000 people. In 2017, the club's members voted on a new stadium name; the winning option was María Mincheff de Lazaroff, paying tribute to the mother of the founders of Danubio, Mihail 'Miguel' and Ivan 'Juan' Lazaroff. This became the first football stadium in Uruguay to be named after a woman.

Current squad

No. Position Player
1 Uruguay GK Mauro Goicoechea
2 Uruguay DF Santiago Etchebarne
3 Uruguay DF Lucas Monzón
5 Uruguay MF Santiago Silva
6 Uruguay DF Leandro Sosa
7 Uruguay FW Facundo Silvera
8 Uruguay MF Ribair Rodríguez
9 Uruguay FW Diego Vera
12 Uruguay GK Emiliano Bermúdez
14 Uruguay MF Juan Millán
15 Uruguay DF Sergio Rodríguez (captain)
16 Uruguay DF Alejo Cruz (on loan from Albion)
17 Uruguay DF Rafael Haller
No. Position Player
19 Uruguay MF Santiago Romero
20 Uruguay DF Lucas Ferreira
21 Uruguay DF Martín Rea
22 Uruguay DF Facundo Saravia
25 Uruguay DF Kevin Lewis
25 Uruguay MF Ignacio Pintos
29 Colombia MF Jannenson Sarmiento
30 Uruguay FW Sebastián Fernández
99 Uruguay MF Francisco Martinicorena
Argentina MF Franco Faría
Colombia FW Vilington Branda
Uruguay FW Gonzalo Bueno
Argentina FW Mauro Zárate

Other players under contract

No. Position Player
Uruguay GK José Río
Uruguay MF Máximo Cabral
Uruguay MF Facundo Silvestre

Out on loan

No. Position Player

Notable players

Must have made at least 50 appearances for the club and/or 30 with the national team

Honours

Senior titles

Keys
  •      Record
  • (s) Shared record
Type Competition Titles Winning years
National
(League)
Primera División 4 1988, 2004, 2006–07, 2013–14
National
(Cups)
Torneo Competencia 1
1988
Liguilla Pre-Libertadores 1
1983

Other titles

Titles won in lower divisions:

Type Competition Titles Winning years
National
(League)
Segunda División 3 1947, 1960, 1970
Divisional Intermedia 1
1943
Divisional Extra 1
1942

Performance in CONMEBOL competitions

1978: First Round
1984: First Round
1989: Semi-finals
2005: Group Stage
2007: Preliminary Round
2008: Group Stage
2015: Group Stage
2002: First Round
2003: Preliminary Round
2004: Preliminary Round
2005: First Round
2007: First Round
2012: First Round
2023: Group Stage
  • Copa CONMEBOL: 4 appearances
1992: First Round
1993: First Round
1994: First Round
1997: Quarter-finals

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Danubio Fútbol Club para niños

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