Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba
 | |||
| Full name | Club Deportivo Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
Tomba Expreso ("Express") Bodeguero ("Wine-Producer") | ||
| Founded | 21 June 1921 | ||
| Ground |
Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Godoy Cruz, Mendoza | ||
| Capacity | 21,774 | ||
| Chairman | José Eduardo Mansur | ||
| Manager | Sebastián Méndez | ||
| League | Primera División | ||
| 2016 | 2° of Zona 1 | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
|
| |||
Club Deportivo Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba, known simply as Godoy Cruz, is an Argentine sports club from Godoy Cruz, Mendoza. The club is best known for its football team, that plays in the Primera División, the top level of the Argentine football league system.
Other activities practised at Godoy Cruz are basketball, team handball, field hockey, tennis and volleyball.
History
The club was founded on 21 June 1921 under the name sportivo Godoy Cruz, and changed to its current name on 25 April 1930 after the fusion with Deportivo Bodega Antonio Tomba. In 1959, Godoy Cruz' stadium, the [Estadio Feliciano Gambarte], was constructed. The stadium is nicknamed La Bodega (Spanish for "wine cellar") and holds 14,000 people.
Godoy Cruz played in the regional league for several years before reaching the national level. The club won the Mendoza first division championship in 1944, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1968, and also in 1989 and 1990 that qualified to play in the defunct Torneo del Interior national-level tournament.
Winning the Torneo del Interior in 1994, Godoy Cruz reached the Primera B Nacional (Argentine second division) that year. After more than ten years in the second division, the club was finally promoted to the Primera División in 2006, after winning the 2005–06 season of the Primera B Nacional, defeating Nueva Chicago in the final.
Twenty-year-old Enzo Pérez scored the first goal by Godoy Cruz in the Argentine Primera, in a 1–1 draw with Belgrano on 9 September 2006.
At the end of the 2006–07 season, Godoy Cruz was relegated from the Primera after losing their promotion/relegation play-off with Huracán. Their stay in the second division was short, as they earned automatic promotion to the first division after finishing runners-up to San Martín de Tucumán during the 2007–08 season.
Godoy Cruz secured their best ever league position of 3rd place under Omar Asad's management during the 2010 Clausura. In that tournament, they also achieved the best-ever point total (37) for a team indirectly affiliated to the Argentine Football Association (meaning clubs under the administration of the Federal Council branch of AFA, which are teams outside Buenos Aires, Greater Buenos Aires, Rosario and Santa Fe). These results qualified them for the 2011 Copa Libertadores, their first appearance in this tournament. When Godoy Cruz made their Copa Libertadores debut in February 2011 in a 2–1 win against 2008 champions LDU Quito they became the first indirectly affiliated side ever to represent Argentina in the Copa Libertadores.[1]
Nickname
Godoy Cruz is nicknamed Tomba and Bodeguero, in reference to the wine selling activity of the Deportivo Bodega Antonio Tomba, one of the merging clubs of 1921. Since the stadium is located near a railway, the club is also called El Expreso ("The Express").
Current squad
Current squad of Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba as of October 16, 2016
()
Sources: Argentine Soccer
|
|
Manager: Sebastián Méndez
Friendly matches
Godoy Cruz played friendly matches against patriotic clubs and other countries. A memorable friendly played in 1964, against Santos Football Club, with soccer star Pele ended in favor of the Brazilian team by a score of 3-2. In 1969, against Universidad de Chile, the "Expreso" claimed a 3-0 victory. Another match in 1990, against Sevilla in which the team from Mendoza claimed victory by a score of 2-1. In 2007, a visiting Godoy Cruz squad were defeated 5-nil by Nacional de Montevideo. Godoy Cruz also played several friendly matches against national teams, such as Argentina in 1969, Chile in 1970, and Poland in 1977.
A source of historical pride for the team's supporters are two friendly matches won against Argentine giants: in 1965, they defeated Boca Juniors 4–0, and in 1997 they defeated River Plate by the same margin.
Godoy Cruz won the summer 2009 edition of the friendly pentagonal cup known as the "Copa Ciudad de Tandil", after defeating both Chacarita Juniors and Quilmes in penalty shootouts.[2]
Managers
|
Stadium
The official Stadium Club is the Estadio Feliciano Gambarte opened in 1959. In 2004, the team played his last professional match, pitting Tiro Federal, matching ending 0–0. Since that time, the team plays its home games at the provincial Estadio Malvinas Argentinas. Since 2014, the fans campaigned to return to play in the Stadium Club.
Honours
National
- Primera B Nacional (2): Apertura 2005, 2005–06
- Torneo del Interior (1) 1993–94
Regional
- Mendoza Football League (12): 1944, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1968, Apertura 1987, Apertura 1989, 1989, 1990, Clausura 1993, Apertura 1993.
References
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba. |
- Official website (Spanish)