Football club
Club Social y Deportivo Merlo
(usually known simply as
Deportivo Merlo
) is an Argentinean
football
club located in
Merlo, Buenos Aires
. The team currently plays in
Primera B Metropolitana
, the third division of the
Argentine football league system
.
History
[
edit
]
The club was founded on October 8, 1954, as "9 de Julio". Two years later the team debuted at
Primera D
(then named "Aficionados") of
Argentine Football Association
. In 1968 the name changed to "Deportivo Merlo" which has remained to date. One year later the institution acquired the land where its stadium was built.
One of the first Deportivo Merlo squads, in the 1950s.
In 1968 the Association announced that clubs without stadium or active members would be disaffiliated. Due to that announcement, a group of young fans of Deportivo Merlo requested the Association a 4-month period of grace to build a stadium and to get new members with the purpose of avoiding the disappearance of the institution.
The Association gave its approval to the request so the club had a meeting with mayor of
Merlo Partido
, Luis Monetti, asking him for land to build the stadium on. Monetti agreed with the only condition that the team should represent Merlo Partido at the competitions.
[
citation needed
]
Once the negotiations ended, the members joined their efforts in saving money to build the venue, organizing some events with that purpose. One of them was a friendly match vs
Velez Sarsfield
that had won the
Argentine Primera Division
championship that same year. The fans also organized dances and
asados
. In 1969 Deportivo Merlo played its first game at its own stadium recently inaugurated.
In 1977 and 1978 the team was managed by former star
Jose Maria Moreno
, nicknamed
"El Charro"
. Moreno died on August 1978 and the stadium was named in his honour. The nickname
Charros
also extended to the squad and fans. Popular
Looney Tunes
animated character
Yosemite Sam
(which resembled a Mexican
charro
) was also adopted as the mascot of the team.
[
citation needed
]
In 1975 the team promoted to
Primera C
after winning a mini-tournament in order to define a second promotion to the upper division. In 1986 Deportivo Merlo promoted to
Primera B Metropolitana
due to a restructuring of the system.
The team won its first official title in 1999?2000, the Primera C championship although it would be relegated a short time later, returning in 2005?06 when winning a new championship in the same division. In the 2008?09 season the squad promoted to the second division of Argentine football (
Primera B Nacional
), remaining there up to present. Deportivo Merlo had won the final series against
Los Andes
(by the same score of 1?0 both games) for which the team got the right to play at the second division.
[1]
In 2012 Deportivo Merlo advanced to semi-finals of
Copa Argentina
where the team was finally eliminated by
Boca Juniors
. The match had finished tied 1?1, then Boca defeated Merlo by
penalty shoot-out
with a final score of 5?4.
[2]
in June 2013 is relegated to
Primera B Metropolitana
after losing to the champion
Rosario Central
1 a 0 in Rosario.
Current squad
[
edit
]
As of July 30, 2015.
[3]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under
FIFA eligibility rules
. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Honours
[
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]
- 1999?00, 2005?06
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]