Club Atlético Banfield is an Argentine sports club located in the city of Banfield, Buenos Aires. Founded on 21 January 1896 by town residents of British origin (mostly from England and some from Scotland and Ireland), Banfield is mostly known for its football team, which was relegated in June 2012 to the Nacional B, the second division of the Argentine football league system.
The club’s greatest sporting achievement was obtained in 2009, when it became champion of the Apertura, the first official national championship won by the club in the professional era of Argentine football. In the First Division the club has also achieved two runners-up places, in 1951 and 2005. Banfield’s main rival is Club Atlético Lanús, with which the club has a strong rivalry.
Club Atlético Banfield is one of the oldest football clubs in Argentina. In the second half of the 1880s, many British families settled in the village of Banfield, located 14 miles south of Buenos Aires. These families, with their English-style houses and Victorian social dynamics, gave the suburbs a distinctly British profile. The history of the club began on 21 January 1896, when a group of professionals and English merchants residing in Banfield decided to found a club which they named after the village, which had been named after the railway station, established in 1873, which in turn was named after Edward Banfield, the first manager of Great Southern Railroad Company. Heading the group of founders were Daniel Kingsland and George Burton, vice president and first. Kingsland was an exporter of cattle in Britain and an accountant, Burton was a Cambridge University graduate.
The pitch was a field for grazing located two blocks north of the railway station, next to the tracks on the east side.
With Kingsland as president, Banfield cricket was the major sport, leaving football relegated to a background, which explains the poor performances of the club in football championships from 1897 to 1898, where the team finished at bottom places even suffering some of the largest defeats ever such as a 0–10 at the hands of defunct Flores AC.
This situation lasted until 1899, when Alfredo Goode (a football enthusiast) was named president. In 1899 Banfield played in the first second division football league of Argentina, proclaiming champion over Español High School. Banfield remains the only club currently affiliated with the Argentine Football Association (AFA), that had won a title in the nineteenth century.
The players were all born in Great Britain except the center half and captain James Dodds Watson, an Argentine native born in Buenos Aires. The following year (1900), as there was still no promotion, Banfield retained the Second Division championship. That time the club won the title without being defeated. Key players included the goalscorer Edward “Invincible” Potter, noted dribbler Charles Douglas Moffatt, captain Watson Dodds, and goalkeeper/president Goode.
After that success, the club began to decline until December 1904, when Banfield was reorganized, with all of its assets liquidated to meet a hopeless bankruptcy. During those years, the figure of George Burton, another true lover of football, presided over the club until his death in 1928.
Atlético Banfield logo vector
In 1908 the club’s first team, playing in the Third Division, won the championship. In December 1910, a Banfield squad including William Peterson, Roger Jacobelli, Amador García, Carlos Lloveras, Galup Lanus and Bartholomew, amongst others, faced Racing in a two legged playoff for a place in the top division. The first match ended 0–0, with Racing finally winning, with a goal in extra time during the second match. In 1912, with the leadership of Captain Adolfo Pellens, Banfield won the championship for the third category thus the club ensured its return to second division. However, a restructuring of the tournament caused the first split in Argentine football, sending Banfield directly to the top category.
Banfield made good performances in 1913 and 1914 tournaments, but when the First World War began, many of the team’s players, who were of British origins, were enrolled in the Army and sent to the battlefront in Europe. In 1919 Banfield returned to first division after beating defunct club Del Plata in the final game.
On January 2011 Sebastián Méndez was named manager of the club. Banfield finished 8th in 2011 Clausura and started the following tournament (2011 Apertura) losing four consecutive matches, which lead to Méndez’ resignation. After some provisional replacements as coaches, Ricardo La Volpe was chosen as new manager. La Volpe was fired only three months after his hiring. La Volpe had been involved in some controversies with some representative players of the institution, who even called president Carlos Portell to tell him they “Could not stand La Volpe anymore”.
Uruguayan manager Jorge da Silva (who had previously worked in Godoy Cruz achieving a qualification to the Copa Libertadores) was hired to replace La Volpe since the 2012 Clausura. Banfield did not achieve good results, what precipitated Da Silva’s resignation and his return to his country of origin. Eduardo Acevedo succeeded Da Silva but the team made another bad campaign, getting only 7 points over 42.
On June 2012 Banfield was relegated to the second division (Primera B Nacional) after being defeated by Colón de Santa Fe 3-0. Banfield had placed last (19th of 19 teams) in the last two tournaments of Argentina. The team only won 5 games in both competitions, with 7 ties and 26 loses. Two days after, president Carlos Portell resigned, being accused of corruption by the fans and members of the club. Apart from Portell, of the managing left the club (including vice-president and treasurers), so a new eletion had to be held in order to chose a new chairman and managing for Banfield. The election was finally held in July 2012, being Eduardo Spinosa chosen as new chairman of the club. Espinoza won with a big margin of 77%.
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