Club Deportivo El Nacional

History

The 1990s

El Nacional produced some of the greatest players in Ecuador and won two more championships in 1992 and 1996 with the help of Cléber Chalá, Agustín Delgado, and Oswaldo Ibarra. They also disputed the semi-finals of the Copa Conmebol 1992 and the 1994 edition.

Present

The current success of the team has added two more championships in 2005 and 2006, bringing their total to 13 titles. El Nacional has brought up talented players such as Antonio Valencia, Segundo Alejandro Castillo, Christian Benítez and Felix Borja. There have been plans to build a new stadium but no official decision has been taken yet. Former coach Juan Carlos Burbano resigned after an unsuccessful first stage in the league. Julio Asad was appointed head coach on 16 July 2009.In 2024 El Nacional won their biggest achievement in a long time with manager Marcelo Zuleta the team had won the Copa Ecuador.

Stadium

El Nacional play their home matches in the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa. Plans have been enabled to build a new stadium, however no official decision has been taken. The management even showed the model of what the 42,000-seat stadium would look like.

Supporters

On 13 May 1998, a group of friends met and decided to form a highly dedicated barra brava called La Marea Roja (English: The Red Tide). Over the years, they aimed to integrate more people, and becoming better organized to be the largest fan group of El Nacional. It is made up of over 250 members, with members owning proper identification cards. La Marea Roja stands at the south part of the stadium for 90 minutes every game, which attracts adults, women and large numbers of children.

Honours

National

• Serie A
  • Winners (13): 1967, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1996, 2005 Clausura, 2006
• Copa Ecuador
  • Winners (2): 1970, 2024
• Serie B
  • Winners (2): 1979 E2, 2022

Players

Current squad

World Cup players

The following players were chosen to represent their country at the FIFA World Cup while contracted to El Nacional.

• Ecuador Juan Carlos Burbano (2002)
• Ecuador Cléber Chalá (2002)
• Ecuador Ángel Fernández (2002)
• Ecuador Oswaldo Ibarra (2002)
• Ecuador Christian Benítez (2006)
• Ecuador Félix Alexander Borja (2006)
• Ecuador Segundo Castillo (2006)
• Ecuador Jorge Guagua (2006)
• Ecuador Christian Lara (2006)
• Ecuador Adrián Bone (2014)

Managers

Noted managers

The following managers won at least one trophy while in charge of El Nacional:

• Italy Vessilio Bártoli (won the 1967 Serie A)
• Ecuador Héctor Morales (first tenure, won the 1973 Serie A; second tenure, won the 1977 and 1978 Serie A)
• Ecuador Ernesto Guerra (won the 1976, 1982, and 1992 Serie A in three tenures)
• Brazil Roberto Abrussezze (won the 1983, 1984, and 1986 Serie A)
• Brazil Paulo Massa (won the 1996 Serie A)
• Paraguay Ever Hugo Almeida (won the 2005 Clausura & 2006 Serie A)

References

References

1. "Vuelve la ‘Gloria del Fútbol’".
2. "Estadios - FEF".
3. (23 January 2012). "Todos las participaciones internacionales de El Nacional".