Club Atlético Torque

Torque
Full name Club Atlético Torque
Nickname(s) Celeste, La T
Founded 2007 December 26 (26-12-2007)
Ground Estadio Casto Martínez Laguarda, San José, Uruguay
Capacity 4,200
Owner City Football Group
President Raúl Aquino
Manager Pablo Marini
League Primera División
2017 1st (promoted)

Club Atlético Torque are a Uruguayan football club based in Montevideo. It was founded in 2007 and in 2018 it will participate in the Uruguayan Primera División for the first time in its history.

On April 6, 2017 the conversion of the club into a Public Limited Company and the purchase by City Football Group was confirmed. In this way, Torque joins Manchester City, New York City, Melbourne City and Yokohama Marinos, clubs that are also owned by that group.

History

Club Atlético Torque were founded on 26 December 2007 by Cancún-based Uruguayan businessman Raúl Aquino Reynoso, building on a vision of achieving glory from scratch.[1] To help him build his dream, Aquino contacted Marcelo Yaurreche, an electromechanic by trade, who had blogged on the concept of sporting ventures. Yaurreche's line of work ultimately went on to inspire the name of the team through the mechanical principle of torque as an indication of strength. The nascent club's first season of competition was played in the local Liga de Punta Carretas.[1]

Segunda División Amateur

Starting from the 2008–09, Torque entered the Uruguayan football league system in the third (and lowest) tier, the Segunda División Amateur. Their first season was very positive, going unbeaten for the 11 games of the Clausura tournament before losing the play-off for the overall league title against Oriental.[2] Oriental opted to turn down their promotion to the Segunda División, prompting Torque to submit an application to take it up in their place, but their application was rejected.

In the following seasons the club continued to place highly, never finishing lower than fifth in either the Apertura or Clausura tournaments. In May 2011 Torque merged with Huracán of the Segunda División to form a new club called Huracán Torque, but by August of the same year the merger was dissolved with the new side having played no games. Torque resumed its place in the Segunda División Amateur and at the fourth time of asking finally finished top of the overall table, winning promotion to the Segunda División for the 2012–13 season.[3]

Segunda División Profesional

Torque's first season in professional football again finished positively with a fifth-place finish, including denying high-flyers Tacuarembó automatic promotion to the Uruguayan top tier and potentially even the league title itself with a 4–0 victory in the final game of the season. Torque themselves qualified for the promotion play-offs, where they again defeated Tacuarembó, but they ultimately lost the play-off final on penalties.[4]

The following season was the club's first season of underachievement with Torque finishing in last place and eight points adrift of their nearest competitor.[5] They were, however, spared the ignominy of relegation as the division expanded to 15 clubs, causing the league's organisers to opt against relegating any clubs. The following seasons offered little improvement, with the club finishing some distance from the promotion places each time.

Takeover by City Football Group

On 20 March 2017, Uruguayan online sports news site Ovacion reported that the City Football Group, owners of Premier League side Manchester City and MLS team New York City FC amongst others, were close to completing negotiations for the purchase of Torque with the aim of using the club to assist in the signing of South American players.[6] Also reported was that CFG had been working with the club for some time in anticipation of the purchase to build it a new sports complex as well as to refurbish the Estadio Juan Antonio Lavalleja in Minas with a view to relocating the side to the city in order to help establish an identity for the club as well as to give it a larger potential fanbase.[6]

Following a series of further rumours of the imminence of the deal, it was publicly announced on 5 April 2017 that the takeover had been completed and ratified by the Uruguayan Football Association.[7]

Promotion and debut in First division

In 2017, led by Paulo Pezzolano, Torque formed a very strong team for the category and achieved the title with ease. Soccer players of the stature of Diego Martiñones, Ernesto Goñi, Hernán Figueredo, Martín Bonjour, Jonathan Cubero, Julian Lalinde and Leonardo Pais, among others; added to quality foreign reinforcements such as the Venezuelan Nahuel Ferraresi, the Colombian Javier Calle and the Argentine Valentin Castellanos. As soon as the promotion was decreed, Pezzolano announced that he would not continue the next season.

In the debut in the Primera División, the team will be directed by the Argentine Pablo Marini.

Uniform

  • First uniform: light blue shirt, black pants, black averages.
  • Second uniform: white shirt, black pants, black averages.

All Torque title shirts have been light blue, but from 2016 on, the shirt has included a big blue "T" on the chest on a light blue background. The alternative shirts are generally white, although it was gray in 2013. It is currently white with a big blue "T".

2008-13
2013
Alternative
2008-2013
Alternative
2013
2016
2016
2017
2018
Alternative
2018

Kit manufacturers

Years Kit manufacturer
2008-2013Uruguay Mgr sports
2012-2013Uruguay Mategeor
2013-2016Uruguay Fit
2017–present

Luanvi

Players

First team squad

As of 9 March 2018

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

No. Position Player
Uruguay GK Maximiliano Lauz
Uruguay GK Mathías Cubero
Uruguay GK Ignacio Barrios
Uruguay GK Jhonatan Benítez
Uruguay GK Cristopher Fiermarin
Venezuela DF Nahuel Ferraresi
Uruguay DF Facundo Mallo
Uruguay DF Santiago Etchebarne
Argentina DF Martín Bonjour
Uruguay DF Matías Lazo
Uruguay DF Mauricio Gómez
Uruguay DF Andrew Teuten
Uruguay DF Yonatthan Rak
Uruguay MF Leandro Ezquerra
Uruguay MF Leonardo País
Uruguay MF Gonzalo Sena
Uruguay MF Gastón Vitancurt
No. Position Player
Uruguay MF Agustín Olivera
Uruguay MF Álvaro Brun (Captain)
Colombia MF Javier Calle
Uruguay MF Darío Pereira
Argentina MF Valentín Castellanos
Colombia MF Kevin Angulo
Uruguay MF Maximiliano Nandín
Uruguay MF Santiago Scotto
Uruguay MF Agustín González
Uruguay MF Ignacio Neira
Colombia FW Jhoaho Hinestroza
Uruguay FW Giorginho Aguirre
Uruguay FW Matías Roskopf
Uruguay FW Mathías Saavedra
Uruguay FW Maximiliano Noble
Uruguay FW Renzo Rolfo
Uruguay FW Miguel Puglia

Club information

Updated data for the 2018 season

Trajectory

Season Division Position Points
2008–09 2ªB 7º 38
2009–10 2ªB 3º 43
2010–11 2ªB 4º 50
2011–12 2ªB 1º 64
2012–13 2ª 5º 44
2013–14 2ª 14º 15
2014–15 2ª 10º 35
2015–16 2ª 7º 27
2016 2ª 6ª 15
2017 2ª 1° 53
2018 1ª

Honours

References

  1. 1 2 "¡Ándale: en México nació la idea de crear a Torque" [Go! The idea of creating Torque was born in Mexico]. www.ovaciondigital.com.uy (in Spanish). 19 July 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  2. ↑ "Clausura: ¡Torque campeón!" [Clausura: Torque are champions!]. www.futbol.com.uy (in Spanish). 26 July 2013. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "Uruguay 2011/12". rsssf.com. 21 Nov 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  4. ↑ "Uruguay 2012/13". rsssf.com. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  5. ↑ "Uruguay 2013/14". rsssf.com. 26 Feb 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  6. 1 2 "El City pone un pie en Uruguay" [City sets foot in Uruguay] (in Spanish). 20 March 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  7. ↑ "CFG Extends South American Footprint". Manchester City Official Website. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  8. ↑ RSSSF - Uruguay Third Level 2008/09
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