Junior F.C.

Corporación Deportiva Popular Junior Fútbol Club SA, also known under its former official name Atlético Junior and Junior de Barranquilla as, is a football club from the city of Barranquilla on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Junior is ( Sharks ) also known as " Los Tiburones ".

History

The club first came to international attention in 1968 when the legendary Brazilian Garrincha shortly joined the club. But he was no more to give at that time due to his physique in a position the club more than one exclamation mark.

Atlético Junior has already won the championships of 1977 and 1980, but when the big time are the years to the early 1990s when the club with the two-time South American Footballer of the Year Carlos Valderrama, regarded as the best Colombian player of all time, was able to bring in two more titles. This team was defeated in the Copa Libertadores 1994 until the semi-finals to Vélez Sarsfield of Argentina.

After this episode, more emphasis was placed on the development of home-grown. The next big success but turned again until 2004, when Atlético Junior won the last championship to date with a victory on penalties against Atletico Nacional Medellin from. The Argentine Omar Sebastian Perez was considered the heart of that team.

Stadium

Atlético Junior plays its home games at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, which was originally built for the FIFA World Cup 1986, which was originally to be held in Colombia. The stadium was inaugurated in 1986 with a friendly football international match between Colombia and Uruguay, the guests won 2-1.

The once 60,000 -seat multi-purpose stadium offers these days to only 50,000 seats. It also serves as the official home of the Colombian national team and was a venue for the Copa América 2001.

Trivia

The club mascot was an owl that is endemic under the roof of the stadium. The owl flew in part while playing through the stadium and ended up taking even occasionally on the field. A bust-up occurred on 27 February 2011, than in the championship match against Deportivo Pereira the owl was injured. First, the owl was hit in the pitch of a ball and lay benommem on the ground. The Deportivo defender Luis Moreno carried the animal then with a kick from the field. The action entzürnte not only the fans, the Colombian environmental authorities even issued proceedings for animal cruelty. The owl was taken immediately after the action in an animal hospital and cared for there. The association was first that the owl had only suffered a broken leg.

But it was announced on March 2, 2011 that the owl died due to excessive lactic acid concentration.

Achievements

• Master of Colombia: 1977, 1980, 1993, 1995, 2004 -II, 2010 - II

Former Players

• Hungary Imre Danko
• Brazil Garrincha
• Brazil Heleno de Freitas
• Brazil Quarentinha, Waldir Cardoso Lebrêgo
• Brazil Dida, Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa
• Colombia Carlos Valderrama
• Colombia Jorge Eladio Bolaño
• Colombia Carlos Bacca
• Argentina Edgardo Bauza
• Juan Ramón Verón Argentina
• Argentina Carlos Babintong
• Argentina Carlos Ischia
• Argentina Omar Sebastián Pérez