Club Deportivo Universitario

Club Deportivo Universitario
Full nameClub Deportivo Universitario
Nickname(s)La "U"
Universitarios
Founded1974 as Chorrillo FC
GroundEstadio Universitario
Penonomé, Panama
Capacity1,000
ChairmanManuel E. Arias
ManagerJose Anthony Torres
LeagueLiga Panameña de Fútbol
2023 (A)Champions (4th after regular season)

Club Deportivo Universitario (formerly Chorrillo F.C.) is a Panamanian football team playing in the Liga Panameña de Fútbol, the highest level of football in Panama.

It is based in Penonomé, Coclé Province, and is the first panamanian team to play on a privately owned stadium facility.

History

[edit]

Chorrillo FC was founded in 1974 to prevent youngsters from becoming involved in criminal activities.[1] They won promotion to the top fight for the first time in 2001 by beating Pan de Azúcar 2–1 in a promotion playoff. This was their second serious attempt at promotion, the first ending in a loss on penalties to Municipal de Colón.[2]

The club won its first title in Apertura 2011, beating Plaza Amador 4–1.[3] In May 2014 they won the 2014 Clausura title.[4] They won another title in Clausura 2014, and later in Apertura 2017, as well as twice finishing runners-up.

In 2018, financial problems forced Chorrillo FC to merge with CD Centenario and Panama City's Universidad Latina, the new name agreed is Club Deportivo Universitario. Parts of the agreement included that the team will be relocated to Penonomé on the Province of Coclé from Panama City´s El Chorrillo neighborhood, a construction of the new stadium that would be completed on late March 2019 and relocate/lease CD Centenario team from Penonomé to Colón Province as New York FC/Centenario.

Crest

[edit]

The El Chorrillo district was heavily bombard by the United States Army during Operation Just Cause. The club adopted the phoenix emblem to symbolize the district's recovery.[5]

Municipal Chorrillo's old crest

Honours

[edit]

Players

[edit]

Current squad

[edit]
  • As of June 2024

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Colombia COL Esteban Giraldo
2 DF Panama PAN Samuel Batchelor
3 DF Panama PAN Samuel Batchelor
4 MF Panama PAN Luis Dean
6 MF Panama PAN Rolando Botello
7 MF Panama PAN Ricardo Castillo
8 MF Panama PAN Joel Guevara
10 MF Panama PAN Luis Canate
11 FW Colombia COL Juan Vasquez
12 GK Panama PAN Ariel De la Cruz
14 MF Panama PAN Enrique Machacen
15 MF Panama PAN Nicolas Wood
16 DF Panama PAN Alejandro Yearwood
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 FW Panama PAN Andrick Edwards
19 DF Panama PAN Felix General
21 DF Panama PAN Osvaldo Valencia
22 FW Panama PAN Julian Rodriguez
24 FW Panama PAN Randy Rangel
26 DF Panama PAN Luis Gonzalez
27 MF Panama PAN Eric Moreno
39 FW Panama PAN Dilan Herbert
40 MF Panama PAN Eduardo Jiménez
43 MF Panama PAN Pablo Penalba
50 FW Panama PAN Roberto Reina
89 GK Panama PAN Joseph Esquina

Notable players

[edit]

Historical list of coaches

[edit]
  • Colombia Óscar Upegui (June 2018 - September 2018)
  • Panama Julio Medina III (September 2018 - December 2018)
  • Argentina Gustavo Onaindia (December 2018 - March 2019)
  • Panama Donaldo González (March 2019 - June 2019)
  • Argentina Leonardo Pipino (June 2019 - October 2019)
  • Colombia Richard Parra (October 2019 - December 2019)
  • Panama Gary Stempel (January 2020 - February 2022)

References

[edit]
[edit]