Defensor Sporting

Defensor Sporting

Full name	Defensor Sporting Club
Nickname(s)	El Violeta La Viola El Tuerto El Defe La Farola La Cometa
Founded	15 March 1913;112 years ago (1913-03-15)
Ground	Estadio Luis Franzini, Montevideo, Uruguay
Capacity	16,000
Chairman	Alberto Ward
Coach	Ignacio Ithurralde
League	Primera División
2024	Primera División, 4th of 16
Website	www.defensorsporting.com.uy
Home colours Away colours

Defensor Sporting Club is a sports club based in Montevideo, Uruguay. Founded in 1913, Defensor has several sports sections, with football and basketball being the most important and the ones in which the club has achieved significant achievements in Uruguay and internationally.

It is the third most highest winning club in Uruguay, with 24 official titles, only surpassed by Peñarol and Club Nacional de Football. The club's best performance at the international stage was in 2014, when they reached the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores, eventually losing to Club Nacional 2–1 on aggregate. They have won the Uruguayan Championship four times: in 1976, 1987, 1991, and 2007-08. Their 1976 title win was especially notable in Uruguay's football history as it ended 44 years of dominance by Nacional and Peñarol.

History

Founded on 15 March 1913, as Club Atlético Defensor , with heavyweight in soccer, the name of the club was changed in 1989 to Defensor Sporting Club after a merger with Sporting Club Uruguay , originally a basketball club. They played in the first professional league season in Uruguay, the 1932 Uruguayan Primera División.^{[ citation needed ]}

Defensor has won many qualifying tournaments (Pre-Liguilla) to the Copa Libertadores and has represented Uruguay on numerous occasions internationally. Regarded as one of the teams that creates and develops many players in Uruguay that become successful players worldwide, It is the first club of numerous players like Jorge "Polilla" da Silva, Sergio "Manteca" Martínez, Sebastián Abreu, Andrés Fleurquin, Marcelo Tejera, Darío Silva, Gonzalo Vargas, Diego "Ruso" Pérez, Nicolás Olivera, Martín Cáceres, Maxi Pereira, Álvaro González, and Tabaré Viúdez.^{[ citation needed ]}

Legendary coach Prof. José Ricardo de León brought Defensor to the national championship in 1976 and originated a football (fútbol) school of thought, consistently criticized as ultra defensive, that is still present nowadays in several teams and coaches.^{[ citation needed ]}

In September 2007, the club was considered the World's Club Team of the Month by the IFFHS. ^[1]

Stadium

Main article: Estadio Luis Franzini

Defensor plays its home games at its own stadium called Estadio Luis Franzini which has a capacity for 18,000 spectators. The stadium was opened on 31 December 1963, and is located in Parque Rodó, Montevideo.

Rivalries

Defensor Sporting has had a rivalry with Danubio in recent years, because of the two clubs being the next biggest clubs in Uruguay after the historical two: Peñarol and Nacional. Matches between them are called the "Clásico de los medianos" (Spanish for Classic of the Mediums).^{[ citation needed ]}

Honours

Senior titles

Keys

•   Record
• ^(s) Shared record

Type	Competition	Titles	Winning years
National (League)	Primera División	4	1976, 1987, 1991, 2008
	Segunda División	2	1950, 1965
	Segunda División (1903-1914)	1	1914
	Divisional Tercera Extra	1	1913
Half-year / Short tournament (League)	Torneo Apertura	4	1994, 2007, 2010, 2017
	Torneo Clausura	4	1997, 2009, 2012, 2013
National (Cups)	Copa AUF Uruguay	3	2022, 2023, 2024
	Liguilla Pre-Libertadores	8	1976, 1979, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2006
	Campeonato Nacional General Artigas	1	1960
	Torneo Cuadrangular	1	1957

Performance in CONMEBOL competitions

• Copa Libertadores: 17 appearances

1977: Group Stage

1980: Group Stage

1982: Group Stage

1990: Round of 16

1992: Round of 16

1994: Round of 16

1996: Round of 16

2001: Group Stage

2006: First Round

2007: Quarter-finals

2009: Quarter-finals

2012: Group Stage

2013: First Stage

2014: Semi-finals

2018: Group Stage

2019: Third Qualifying Stage

2024: First Qualifying Stage

• U-20 Copa Libertadores: 1 appearance

2012: Runner-up

• Copa Sudamericana: 8 appearances

2005: Second Round

2007: Quarter-finals

2008: Round of 16

2010: Round of 16

2015: Quarter-finals

2017: First Stage

2018: Second Stage

2023: First Stage

• Copa CONMEBOL: 2 appearances

1995: First Round

1997: First Round

Kit evolution

1913

1915–present

1922–25

1989 away

1960s–1980s & 1993

2001 away

Current squad

As of 11 July, 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   URU Lucas Machado 2 DF   URU Ariel Lima 3 DF   URU Guillermo de los Santos 5 MF   URU Germán Barrios 6 MF   URU Mauricio Amaro 7 FW   ARG Franco Soldano 8 MF   URU Kevin Altez 10 MF   URU Matías Abaldo 11 FW   URU Lucas Agazzi 12 GK   URU Kevin Dawson 14 DF   URU Patricio Pacífico 15 DF   URU Juan Viacava 16 DF   URU José Álvarez

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 FW   URU Diego Abreu 20 MF   ARG Lukas König 21 MF   URU Kevin Prieto 25 MF   MEX Xavier Biscayzacú 26 MF   URU Nicolás Wunsch 27 MF   URU Juan Manuel Jorge 29 FW   URU Rodrigo Dudok 30 MF   URU Erico Cuello 31 DF   URU Nahuel Furtado 45 MF   URU Francisco Ginella 59 MF   ARG Walter Montoya 90 FW   URU Augusto Cambón — FW   URU Brian Lozano

Notable coaches

• Hugo Bagnulo (1952–1957; 1960–1961)
• Gregorio Pérez (1983–1984)
• Juan Ahuntchaín (1996)
• Ricardo Ortiz (1996–1997)
• Juan Tejera (2004–2005)
• Jorge da Silva (2005–2009)
• Gustavo Ferrín (2009–2010)
• Pablo Repetto (2010–2011)
• Gustavo Díaz (2011–2012)
• Tabaré Silva (2012–2013)
• Fernando Curutchet (2013–2014)
• Mauricio Larriera (2015–2016)
• Eduardo Acevedo (2016–2018)

References

1. "The World's club Team of the Month". IFFHS. 20 December 2007. Archived from the original on 21 December 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2020.

External links

• Official website
• Defensor Sporting on Facebook
• Defensor Sporting on Twitter
• Defensor Sporting on Instagram