Ground Capacity 5,000 Apertura 2016 1st Manager Ramón Otoniel Olivas Founded 1960 | Chairman Fidel Moreno Arena/Stadium Estadio Independencia Location Estelí, Nicaragua | |
Full name Real Estelí Fútbol Club Nickname(s) El Tren del Norte
(The Train of the North) Ground Estadio Independencia,
Estelí, Nicaragua League Nicaraguan Primera División Profiles | ||
Real Esteli Fútbol Club is a Nicaraguan football club playing in the top national league, the Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol de Primera División (First Division National Championship). The club play out of their home stadium, Estadio Independencia, based in the northern city of Estelí.
Contents
- History
- Crest
- El Clsico rivalry
- National titles
- Performance in CONCACAF competitions
- Record versus other nations
- Squad Changes 2017 Clausura
- Former notable players
- References
Real Estelí is the second most successful club in Nicaragua (behind Diriangén), earning a combined 13 national Apertura/Clausura championships. The club has the distinction of winning the most consecutive championships in CONCACAF with seven.
History
The club was founded in 1960 as Estelí FC, but acquired its current name in 1961. Real Estelí FC plays at the Estadio Independencia, one of the biggest stadiums in Nicaragua, with a capacity of 4,800. The club is known by the nickname, El Tren del Norte (Train of the North), coming as it does, from the northern region of Las Segovias.
The club made history in Nicaraguan and Central American Football in 2004, eliminating favorites Real España in the First Round of the Copa Interclubes UNCAF, becoming the first Nicaraguan football team in history to advance to the second round of the tournament.
Real Estelí FC has finished in the top five of Nicaragua's top division every year since 1986 and has achieved some of the highest attendances in the league during this period.
Real Estelí won the 2013 Apertura Nicaraguan championship after 4–0 aggregate victory over Managua team Walter Ferreti. For "El Tren del Norte" it was their seventh consecutive league title and 11th overall. Estelí created history by equaling the Central American record for most successive league championships, alongside legendary Salvadoran side, Hércules who won seven consecutive titles from 1927 to 1934.
Crest
The club crest consists of a crown, representing 'Real' (meaning 'Royal'). Similar crowns can be seen on the crests of many other clubs with the prefix 'Real', such as Spanish clubs Real Betis, Real Zaragoza and Real Madrid
The two gold stars of the crest mark the first two national championships won by the club (in 1991 and 1999), while the red and white striped shield represents the club colours as used on team shirts. The logo was redesigned and digitalised in 2000 by Nakor'd J. García and Michael D. Raney (current President/CEO of the World Football Organization), based on the original design by Arnulfo Rivera Zeledón and Johnny Herrera Vallejos.
'El Clásico' rivalry
There is often a fierce rivalry between the two strongest teams in the national league, where the game between Real Estelí and Diriangén has become known as El Clásico (The Classic).
National titles
Performance in CONCACAF competitions
Record versus other nations
As of 2016-09-13The Concacaf opponents below = Official tournament results: (Plus a sampling of other results)
Squad Changes 2017 Clausura
In:
Out:
Former notable players
Players in Bold = Represented their national team