Nueva Chicago · History

In 1919, barely eight years after its founding, Foot-ball Club Nueva Chicago won promotion to the top flight of the Argentine Football Association and made its first-division debut in 1920. Club Atlético Nueva Chicago was founded on 1 July 1911 in Mataderos, a neighbourhood in western Buenos Aires. The club plays in green and black, hosts its home games at the Estadio Nueva Chicago, opened in 1940, and is known as “el Torito de Mataderos” (the Little Bull of Mataderos).

Founding and name

The club’s first minutes list its founders as Benjamín Picazza, Carlos Rodríguez, goalkeeper and first president, Felipe Maglio, José Varela, Cristóbal Cambiazo, Sergio Varela, Antonio Carini and Gastón Lespy. It began as Foot-ball Club Los Unidos de Nueva Chicago, became Foot-ball Club Nueva Chicago in 1917 and adopted its present name on 19 February 1930. Nueva Chicago was the neighbourhood’s original name, after the cattle slaughterhouse that reminded people of the American city. The nickname comes from Justo Suárez, a local boxer nicknamed “el Torito” who was a popular hero in his day.

Early decades in the top flight

After its first-division debut in 1920, the team finished fourth in 1921 and runner-up in 1925, losing a play-off against Huracán that was held in 1926. That same year the club switched to the rival football association, and in 1930 it won Primera B and was promoted once more. In 1933 it won the Copa de Competencia Jockey Club, its first official trophy; since 2021 a star above the crest has marked that title. The first relegation on sporting grounds came in 1937, and in 1940 Chicago won the third-tier championship.

The Mataderos stadium

The earliest games were played on a vacant lot behind the slaughterhouse and later on several local pitches, including the ground at Piedrabuena and Campana where the club played its first top-flight matches in 1920. In 1939 the city donated a plot that had served as a rubbish dump, and members helped level it. The stadium opened on 27 October 1940 with a 2-0 win over Sportivo Buenos Aires and received final approval on 7 May 1941. It sits on Justo Suárez street, and Chicago has played its home games there ever since.

Half a century in the lower leagues

After that relegation, Nueva Chicago spent decades in the second tier. In 1958 it was Primera B runner-up behind Ferro Carril Oeste. The return came in 1981, when it won its second Primera B title and rejoined the top flight for the 1982 tournaments. In 1991 it reached the Primera B Nacional after beating Gimnasia y Esgrima de Concepción del Uruguay on penalties. In June 2001 it won promotion to the Primera División again with a 3-2 win over Instituto at Córdoba’s Estadio Chateau Carreras in the second leg of the playoff final, Oscar Gómez scoring in the last minute.

Ups and downs in the 21st century

In 2003 the club kept its place by beating Argentinos Juniors 2-0 in the second leg of the relegation playoff, but it went down in 2004. In the 2005-06 Primera B Nacional it won the Clausura, lost the championship final to Godoy Cruz and then went up after knocking out Belgrano 6-4 on aggregate. In 2007 it lost the relegation playoff to Tigre: the second leg was abandoned when hundreds of fans invaded the pitch with Tigre leading 2-1, and a Tigre supporter, Marcelo Cejas, was killed in the violence. The sanctions that followed included a points deduction, and in 2008 the team lost a playoff to Los Andes and dropped to Primera B Metropolitana.

The double promotion of 2014

In 2012 Chicago returned to the Primera B Nacional by beating Chacarita Juniors in the promotion playoff, winning the first leg and drawing 1-1 in the second. In May 2013 it finished bottom and fell back to the third tier. It won the 2013-14 Primera B Metropolitana after beating Colegiales, and in the Primera B Nacional tournament of the second half of 2014 it completed a second straight promotion: on 19 December 2014 it beat Gimnasia de Jujuy 1-0 in Córdoba, Cristian Gómez scoring, in the final three-team round of Zone A. It played the 2015 Primera División and was relegated at the end of that season.

Rivalries

Its main rival is All Boys, a fixture dating back to 1919 known as the “Superclásico del Ascenso”. Chicago also has rivalries with Almirante Brown, Chacarita Juniors and Deportivo Morón, and Almagro is the opponent it has faced most often in official matches. After a decade in the second tier, on 2 November 2026 it lost 2-0 to Chacarita on the final matchday of the Primera Nacional and was relegated to Primera B Metropolitana.