Atlanta · History

Club Atlético Atlanta is a football club from Buenos Aires based in the Villa Crespo neighbourhood. It has played in the Primera Nacional, the second tier of Argentine football, since 2019. The club was founded on 12 October 1904 as Atlanta Athletic Club. Its colours are yellow and blue, and its players and supporters are known as the “Bohemios”.

Foundation and early years

The founding meeting took place in a house on Alsina Street, in the Montserrat district. The origin of the name is uncertain, with two accounts in circulation. One links it to the earthquake that hit the US city of Atlanta shortly before the club was formed. The other points to a United States warship that reached the port of Buenos Aires as Manuel Quintana took office as president of Argentina. The colours came from the awnings of local shops. In 1906 the club joined the third division of the Argentine Football Association, and a year later it won its first official title, the 1907 championship of that division. By 1908 it was playing in the Second Division, where it won the Copa Bullrich.

The amateur era

Atlanta reached the First Division in 1912 and made its top-flight debut on 14 July that year against Estudiantes de La Plata. The club went through the splits that divided Argentine football in those decades. It joined the Asociación Argentina de Football in 1915 and was part of the Asociación Amateurs de Football from 1919. In 1922 it opened a ground on Humboldt Street in Villa Crespo with a 1-1 draw against River Plate, and the club has been tied to the neighbourhood ever since. In 1931 it was one of the founders of the Liga Argentina de Football, the league that launched professional football in the country.

Professionalism and the top flight

In 1934 the league forced Atlanta into a merger with Argentinos Juniors, and the side left the tournament after round 25. In 1935 it returned to the AFA as an independent club. Its first relegation came in 1947. Atlanta won Primera B in 1956 and was back in the top flight in 1957. Its best league finishes followed, with fourth place in 1958 and again in 1961. The club’s only official top-flight trophy is the Copa Suecia, a competition the AFA began in 1958. Atlanta won the final on 29 April 1960, beating Racing Club 3-1 with goals from Julio Nuin, Roberto Bellomo and Alberto González. In 1969 it was runner-up in the Copa Argentina. In the 1973 Nacional it finished third in the final round, and Juan Antonio Gómez Voglino was the tournament’s top scorer with 18 goals. Coaches at the club included Osvaldo Zubeldía in the 1960s and Juan Carlos Lorenzo, who led the 1983 promotion.

The ground on Humboldt Street

The Estadio Don León Kolbowsky stands on Humboldt Street in Villa Crespo. It is named after the club president in office when construction began. It opened in 1960 with a First Division match against Argentinos Juniors. In February 2005 the Buenos Aires city government closed it over safety and sanitary conditions, and it reopened for good in March 2009 with a 3-1 win over Deportivo Español.

The Villa Crespo derby

Atlanta’s traditional rival is Chacarita Juniors. The rivalry grew out of proximity: in 1922 Chacarita moved to the same Humboldt Street, about a hundred metres from Atlanta’s ground, and stayed there until 1930. The first official meeting was played on 13 November 1927 and Chacarita won 2-0. The first of the professional era, on 4 June 1931, ended in a 3-1 win for Atlanta. Atlanta’s biggest win in the fixture dates from 1944.

From bankruptcy to the Primera Nacional

After going down in 1979, Atlanta won Primera B in 1983 and returned to the top flight, only to be relegated again in 1984, its last season at that level. In 1986 it dropped to the Primera B Metropolitana. On 25 September 1991 the club was declared bankrupt. In 1995 it was promoted to the Nacional B, which it left at the end of the 1998-99 season. Atlanta won the Primera B Metropolitana in 2010-11 and went up again, but fell back to the third tier a year later. In May 2019 it secured promotion to the Primera B Nacional, which was renamed the Primera Nacional that same year.