Club Jorge Wilstermann

Jorge Wilstermann

Full name	Club Jorge Wilstermann
Nickname(s)	El Equipo Aviador, Wilster, Hercules, Rojo del valle
Founded	November 24, 1949
Ground	Felix Capriles, Cochabamba, Bolivia (Capacity: 52,000 [1])
Chairman	Victor Hugo Lopez
Manager	Claudio Chacior
League	Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano
LFPB - 2010	1st (Apertura), Semifinals (Torneo Invierno), 11th Relegated
Home colours Away colours

Club Jorge Wilstermann is a Bolivian football club from the city of Cochabamba. It is named after Bolivian aviator Jorge Wilstermann.

History

On November 24, 1949, a group of employees of Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano met to form a football club that would be identified with the company and become the pride of its workers. After two hours of debate, they founded the club with the name "San Jose de la Banda" in tribute to the area and the airport in Cochabamba. They proceeded to the election of the board, and appointed Justo Mancilla as club president. After some debate, blue and white were chosen as the team colors.

After the death of the company's first commercial pilot in Bolivia, Jorge Wilstermann, the name of the club was changed. In 1953, Captain Walter Lemma, manager of the company and partner of the deceased, suggested that both the airport and the team bear the name of the pilot, who had been very dear to the institution.

After the club's foundation, the leaders entered it in Cochabamba's Football Association (AFC) to compete in the second division. Wilstermann had no clear rival for first place and its good campaign forced it to seek to intervene^{[clarification needed]} in the AFC championship, which was played in La Paz and Oruro between teams from those cities.

When Dr. Jorge Rojas was appointed Wilstermann's chairman, he changed its colors to red and blue. "I chose those colors because they mean force, ferocity, and total dedication in the field", he stated. It was also the only team in the country which used those colors.

Golden ages

First golden era

Wilstermann's first national title came in 1958. This was the first in the club's "golden age", highlighted by star players such as Walter Zamorano, Mario Zabalaga, Carlos Trigo, Cesar Sanchez, Maximo Alcocer, Ausberto Garcia, Renan Lopez, Alfredo Soria Romulo Cortez, Wilfredo Villarroel, Jose Trujillo, and Jose Oscar Claure Rocabado. At that time, Wilsterman was the only team in Bolivia that played with five forwards, which shattered defenses.

In 1959, Wilstermann repeated as national champions, earning the honor to be the representative Bolivian side in the first edition of the Copa Libertadores de América in 1960. Their initial match pitted them against Peñarol of Uruguay. The Uruguyans defeated Wilster 7-1 in Montevideo, although the Bolivians drew their home game 1-1.

In 1960, Wilstermann won its third consecutive national title, an achievement that has not been equalled by any other Bolivian club.

In the 1961 Copa competition, Wilster played to a tie against Santa Fe, Colombia, winning 3-2 in Cochabamba and losing 1-0 in Colombia. The governing body decided to draw lots to determine which team would advance to the next round. "The draw was a fraud. After many years we learned that the full intention of the South American Football Confederation, which at that time was based in Bogota, was to eliminate Wilstermann and promote Santa Fe to the semis," claimed then Wilster club chairman, the late Jorge Rojas. The unsubstantiated story was that both of the pieces of paper that were put in the hat had Wilstermann's name. The team that was drawn was eliminated. "The Confederation official of that process confessed that he had been forced to proceed in this manner," recalled Rojas.

Second golden era

Wilstermann enjoyed a second "golden era" in the 1970s under the chairmanship of Alfredo Salazar. The Wilstermann team again won the national championships in 1972 and 1973. "They were spectacular years. Wilstermann had that mystique of a winning team: they did not like to lose ever, even less to a visiting side. Besides they were always on the attack and even achieved a historic 2-2 tie with River Plate in Buenos Aires," recalls Antonio Yanez, organization leader since 1975.

The Wilstermann sides of this era were highlighted by players such as Rene Bilbao, Jaime Olivera, Hugo Perez, Hugo Franco, Juan Jose Ponce, Victor Hugo Bravo, Juan Carlos Sanchez, Freddy Vargas, Limbert Cabrera Rivero, Milton Theodore Abel and Joana Gangas, Carlos Canelas. Substitutes included Batista, Limbert Cabrera Buceta, Avendaño, Soto, Alberto Segovia, Wilfredo Siles, Acevedo, Mario Perez, Edward Villalón and Jose Victor Issa.

Third golden era

Following a period of club organizational turmoil and the founding of the League of Professional Football, Wilstermann enjoyed its third "golden era," winning national titles in 1980 and 1981.

During this period, the team looked to achieve something sought unsuccessfully by many Bolivian football clubs before: qualifying for the second phase of the Copa Libertadores de America. In opening Copa round play, Wilster beat good teams Club Deportivo Técnico Universitario, Ambato and Barcelona Sporting Club. To seal their qualification for the second round, Wilstermann beat The Strongest 4-1 in the match tiebreaker in a memorable match at the stadium Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.

In the second phase, Wilstermann faced the formidable rosters of Deportivo Cali of Colombia and Flamengo of Brazil. They first tied the Colombian side 1-1 in Cochabamba, but fell 1-0 in Cali. The team from Rio de Janeiro defeated Wilster 2-1 at home, as well as in Maracanã, 4-1. While these results were disappointing, Wilstermann had accomplished what no Bolivian team had before.

Achievements

National honours

• First Division - Professional Era: 5

1980, 1981, 2000, 2006-ST, 2010

Runners-up (5): 1978, 1985, 1994, 1998, 2003-C

• First Division - Semiprofessional Era: 6

1958*, 1959*, 1960, 1967, 1972, 1973 (* Torneo Nacional)

Runners-up (2): 1965, 1974

• Second Division, Copa Simón Bolivar: 0

• Copa Bolivia: 3

1976, 1991, 1998

Runners-up (2): 1989, 2002

• Copa Aerosur: 2

2004, 2011

Runners-up (4): 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010

Record in CONMEBOL competitions

• Copa Libertadores: 15 appearances

Best: Semifinals in 1981

• Copa Sudamericana: 1 appearance

2007 - First round

• Recopa Sudamericana: 0 appearances

• Copa CONMEBOL: 1 appearance

1998 - Quarterfinals

Former notable players

Cristián Chaparro Wálter Maladot Gerardo Reinoso Juan José Urruti José Daniel Valencia Guery Agreda Demetrio Angola Carmelo Angulo Julio César Baldivieso Carlos Cárdenas Cesar A. Enriquez Sergio Galarza Gonzalo Galindo Sacha Lima

Ricardo Pedriel Mauricio Soria Hugo Suárez Gastón Taborga Iván Álvarez Víctor Villalón Vladimir Marín Jairzinho Túlio Costa Nicolas Asencio Edwin Tenorio Mauro Caballero Ubaldo Roa Jesús Toscanini

Current squad

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Mauro Machado 2 DF Marcelo Carballo 3 DF Jussélio da Silva 5 DF Daniel Garzón 6 MF Víctor Hugo Melgar 8 MF Amílcar Sánchez 9 FW Pablo Olmedo 10 MF Ronald Gutiérrez 11 FW Leo Ferreira

No. Position Player 15 MF Cristhian Machado 16 DF Diego Bengolea 17 MF Diego Villarroel 19 FW Oliver Fernández 20 MF Edson Hinojosa 21 GK Dennis Cartagena 22 DF Nicoll Taboada 25 DF Daniel Taboada 29 DF Ronald Arana 30 MF Lucas Godoy

External links

• Fan site
• Fan site