Racing Club de Avellaneda

Racing Club () is a professional sports club based in Avellaneda, Argentina. The institution is best known for its football team, which competes in the Primera División, the top tier of the Argentine football league system. Founded in 1903, the club joined the Argentine Football Association two years later. Its football team plays home matches at Estadio Presidente Perón, commonly known as El Cilindro, which stands on the site of club's former Alsina y Colón ground. Historically, it is regarded as one of the Big Five of Argentine football.

Though mainly a football club, Racing also hosts other sports such as artistic gymnastics, basketball, beach soccer, boxing, chess, field hockey, futsal, handball, martial arts, roller skating, tennis, and volleyball.

The club has won the Primera División 18 times, including an unmatched streak of seven consecutive titles—five of them unbeaten—between 1913 and 1919, becoming the first club in the world to achieve this and the only one in the Americas. It has also won 15 national cups, holding the record for the most titles in the Copa Ibarguren, Copa de Honor MCBA, Copa Beccar Varela, Copa Británica, and Trofeo de Campeones (SAF).

On the international stage, the club has won eight titles—five organised by CONMEBOL and three jointly by the Argentine Football Association and the Uruguayan Football Association. These include the 1967 Copa Libertadores, the 1967 Intercontinental Cup, the 1988 Supercopa Libertadores, the 2024 Copa Sudamericana, and the 2025 Recopa Sudamericana.

In footballing terms, the team is nicknamed La Academia (The Academy) because it was the most successful side during the amateur era, known for a creole style of play that set the standard and taught its rivals how the game should be played. It is also known as El Primer Grande (The First 'Big'), as it was the first of the Big Five to win a league title, a national cup, and an international trophy. Moreover, it was the first Argentine club to win the World Championship (Intercontinental Cup), achieving this historic milestone in 1967.

Its traditional colours are sky blue and white, chosen as a tribute to the flag of Argentina. Its neighbours and main rivals are Independiente, with whom it contests the Avellaneda Derby. Matches against the other three members of the Big Five (Boca Juniors, River Plate, and San Lorenzo) are also regarded as classics. The club currently has 103,422 active club members.

History

thumb|230px|Racing in 1910, when the squad promoted to Primera División

The club was officially established on 25 March 1903 under the name Foot Ball Racing Club was officially founded.

Racing affiliated to Argentine Football Association (AFA) in 1905 and began to compete in the lower division championships organised by the body. After a failed attempt to promote to Primera División at hands of River Plate, Racing finally promoted in 1910 after defeating Boca Juniors in the final.

The 1910s was a golden age for Racing so the team won a seven consecutive league titles (a record that remains unmatched to present days) between 1913 Argentine Primera División and 1919. Besides, Racing won nine national cups and two Rioplatense cups to totalise 18 titles won within the decade.

That huge success earned the club the nickname "Academia" (Academy of football), known for a creole style of play that set the standard and taught its rivals how the game should be played.

Identity and symbols

Racing's light blue and white colours are reflected in the club crest, which has evolved since the institution's early years. According to the club, its first symbolic mark appeared in the first book of minutes in 1903, as a laurel-framed seal containing a football and the inscription "Foot Ball Racing Club - Barracas al Sud". A similar official seal was documented in 1912, while the first crest recognised by the club as official appeared around 1929. The club statute describes as a vertical rectangular shield with a sky-blue upper field bearing the word "Racing" and seven alternating sky-blue and white vertical stripes below.

Stadium

thumb|Aerial view of Alsina y Colón in 1939.

Racing's stadium history reflects its growth and challenges over time. Around the early 1900s, the club relocated to a new pitch on Miguel O'Gorman Street (now 25 de Mayo). This ground featured a modest wooden structure affectionately known as La Caseta Multifunción (The Multipurpose Booth), which served various practical roles during the club’s early years.

However, due to frequent flooding at this location, Racing returned in 1906 to its previous grounds at Alsina y Colón. Following the 1946 season, when the government of Juan Perón, through Finance Minister Ramón Cereijo, granted a loan to build a more modern venue, the team left this stadium.

In 1950, Racing inaugurated its current home, Estadio Presidente Perón (President Perón Stadium) and popularly known as El Cilindro (The Cylinder). Today, it stands as the second largest stadium in Argentina, behind only River Plate’s Monumental.thumb|center|1000px|Panoramic view of the Racing Club stadium, August 2019

Other facilities

Beyond Estadio Presidente Perón, Racing Club operates several facilities connected to its sporting, educational, and institutional activities. These include Sede Avellaneda, Sede Capital, Predio Tita Mattiussi, Casa Tita Mattiussi, Colegio Racing Club, Polideportivo Avellaneda, and Predio Ezeiza.

The Predio Tita Mattiussi, located in Avellaneda, is used as the training base for the club's football youth divisions, as well as for youth home matches and player trials.

Other sports

Although football is Racing Club's most prominent activity, the institution also organises a wide range of sports at its Avellaneda and Villa del Parque facilities. These include basketball, futsal, field hockey, handball, tennis, boxing, athletics, artistic skating, gymnastics, volleyball, judo, taekwondo, fencing, and other disciplines.

Kit manufacturers and sponsors

In 2026, Nike became Racing Club's technical sponsor under a three-year agreement, with the club introducing new uniforms as part of the deal. The club lists Betsson as its main sponsor and as one of the official sponsors of its men's football team; other official sponsors of the men's team include American Vial, Cetrogar, PAX and Río Uruguay Seguros.

Players

Current squad

Reserve squad

Out on loan

All-time player records

Most appearances

thumb|upright|[[Natalio Perinetti has the record of most appearances with 405 matches in 17 years with the team]]

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

! style="width:40px;"|Rank.

! style="width:200px;"|Player

! style="width:40px;"|Position

! style="width:180px;"|Tenure

! style="width:60px;"|Match.

| 1 || align=left| Natalio Perinetti || FW || 1917–1933 || 405

| 2 || align=left| Gustavo Costas || DF || 1982–92, 1994–1995 || 337

| 3 || style="text-align:left;"| Agustín Cejas || GK || 1962–1969, 1977–1980 || 334

| 4 || style="text-align:left;"| Claudio Ubeda || DF || 1995–2003, 2005–2006 || 329

| 5 ||style="text-align:left;"| Juan Carlos Cárdenas || FW || 1964–1972 || 321

| 6 ||style="text-align:left;" | Iván Pillud || DF || 2010–2013, 2014–2023 || 321

| 7 ||style="text-align:left;"| Ezra Sued || FW|| 1943–1954 || 308

| 8 ||style="text-align:left;"| Carlos Squeo || DF || 1969–1972, 1974–1977, 1984 || 303

| 9 ||style="text-align:left;"| José García Pérez|| DF || 1938–1957 || 272

|10 ||style="text-align:left;"| Armando Reyes || DF || 1911–1929 || 269

Top Scorers

thumb|upright|[[Alberto Ohaco, all-time topscorer with 244 goals in 12 years playing for Racing]]

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

! style="width:40px;"|Rank.

! style="width:200px;"|Player

! style="width:40px;"|Position

! style="width:180px;"|Tenure

! style="width:60px;"|Goals

|1 ||style="text-align:left;"| Alberto Ohaco || FW || 1912–23 || 244

|2 ||style="text-align:left;"| Alberto Marcovecchio || FW || 1911–22 || 207

|3 ||style="text-align:left;"| Albérico Zabaleta || FW || 1916–23 || 141

|4 ||style="text-align:left;"| Evaristo Barrera || FW || 1932–38 || 138

|5 ||style="text-align:left;"| Juan José Pizzuti || FW || 1952–54, 1956–62 || 125

| 6 || align=left| Pablo Frers || FW || 1907–12 || 121

| 7 ||style="text-align:left;"| Natalio Perinetti || FW || 1917–33 || 112

| 8 ||style="text-align:left;"| Pedro Ochoa || FW || 1916–31 || 109

| 9 ||style="text-align:left;" | Llamil Simes || FW || 1948–55 || 106

| 10 || align=left| Juan Perinetti || FW || 1908–27 || 99

Current coaching staff

|Head coach || Sebastián Romero (caretaker)

|Assistant coach || Luciano Aued

|Assistant coach || Fernando Gatti

|Assistant coach || Pablo Romero

|Fitness coach || Hernán Fernández

|Fitness coach || Danilo Volonte

|Goalkeeping coach || Nacho González

|Video analyst || Federico Anastasi

|Video analyst || Alejandro Fusario

|Doctor || Ariel De Toma

|Doctor || Juan Martín Linares

|Kinesiologist || Agustín Güiraldes

|Kinesiologist || Rosendo Regueiro

|Kinesiologist || Ignacio Astraldi

|Kinesiologist - Rehabilitation Specialist || Nasif Matías Balín

|Masseur || Aníbal Luis González

|Nutritionist || Karina Gavini

|Nutritionist || Matías Beier

|Sports psychologist - Neuroscience || Andrea Ricagno

|Coordinator first team football || Damián Kimelman

|Kit man || Oscar Gregorio Alvarez

|Kit man || Carlos Chirón

|Press officer || Fabián Alves da Costa

|Professional football manager || Miguel Rosello

|Sporting director || Sebastián Saja

|Technical secretary || Javier Wainer

|Team manager || Franco Zuculini

|Scouting || Ezequiel Scher

|Scouting || Alejandro Bonamico

|Scouting || Nicolás Pérez

Coaches since 2000

thumb|upright|[[Gustavo Costas the current coach of the team]]

{| class="wikitable sortable centre" style="font-size:90%"

|- style="horizontal-align: top;"

Alberto Jorge (2000)
Óscar López (2000)
Reinaldo Merlo (2001)
Osvaldo Ardiles (2002)
Emilio Commisso (2003)
Ángel Cappa (2003)
Miguel Ángel Colombatti (2003)
Ubaldo Matildo Fillol (2003)
Guillermo Rivarola (2004)
Fernando Quiroz (2005)
Alberto Fanesi (2006)
Diego Simeone (19 Feb 2006–17 May 2006)
Reinaldo Merlo (30 Apr 2006–31 March 2007)
Miguel Ángel Micó (2007)
Gustavo Costas (25 Apr 2007–1 Dec 2007)
Miguel Ángel Micó (1 Dec 2007–1 Apr 2008)
Juan Manuel Llop (1 Apr 2008–22 Feb 2009)
Ricardo Caruso Lombardi (26 Feb 2009–31 Oct 2009)
Juan Barbas (interim) (31 Oct 2009–1 Nov 2009)
Claudio Vivas (1 Nov 2009–15 Feb 2010)
Miguel Ángel Russo (17 Feb 2010–23 Jun 2011)

Diego Simeone (23 Jun 2011–22 Dec 2011)
Alfio Basile (26 Dec 2011–15 Apr 2012)
Luis Zubeldía (16 Apr 2012–25 Aug 2013)
Carlos Ischia (30 Aug 2013–7 Oct 2013)
Ignacio González (interim) (8 Oct 2013–14 Oct 2013)
Reinaldo Merlo (14 Oct 2013–7 May 2014)
Fabio Radaelli (interim) (7 May 2014–16 Jun 2014)
Diego Cocca (16 Jun 2014–31 Dec 2015)
Facundo Sava (1 Jan 2016–15 Aug 2016)
Claudio Ubeda (interim) (15 Aug 2016–29 Aug 2016)
Ricardo Zielinski (29 Aug 2016–31 Dec 2016)
Diego Cocca (1 Jan 2017–27 Nov 2017)
Juan Ramón Fleita (interim) (28 Nov 2017–16 Dec 2017)
Eduardo Coudet (17 Dec 2017–17 Dec 2019)
Sebastián Beccacece (1 Jan 2020–9 Jan 2021)
Juan Antonio Pizzi (14 Jan 2021–9 Aug 2021 )
Claudio Úbeda (interim) (9 Aug 2021–20 Oct 2021)
Fernando Gago (21 Oct 2021–30 Sept 2023)
Gustavo Costas (1 Jan 2024–23 May 2026)

Honours

Senior titles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="font-size:95%; text-align:center;"

!Type

! width=250px| Competition

! Titles

! Winning years

| National<br>(League)

! scope=col| Primera División

|18

| align=left| 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1921, 1925, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1958, 1961, 1966, 2001 Apertura, 2014, 2018–19 1924 , 1926