A few days ago, Sportivo Ameliano celebrated its 87th anniversary in the midst of an unprecedented present in its history and one that has it congratulations: the second year in a row in the highest category of Paraguayan soccer, champion of the Paraguayan Cup 2022, contender for the title of the 2023 Super Cup and qualified for this year’s Copa Sudamericana, his first international tournament.
By Pedro Candía
The arrival of a new anniversary is always a reason for special remembrance, but in the case of Ameliano, this is multiplied: founded on January 6, 1936 in the Villa Amelia area of Asunción -origin of the club’s name-, it was habitually and traditionally classified as a team for Promotion.
In that context, in 1959 won his first official title by being crowned monarch of the Second of Ascentequivalent to the third category of the then Paraguayan Soccer League (current APF).
In the 1970s, it moved its facilities to the Jara neighborhood -in an area today called Virgen del Huerto-, hence its identification as a cast from that area of the capital. There is the Jose Tomas Silva Stadiumwhere the headquarters of the institution remain to this day.
Appearance in the Guinness Book of Records
The Sportivo Ameliano can boast that his name appears in the famous book of Guinness World Recordsdue to a certainly unusual event that occurred in 1993.
On June 1 of that year, a game of the V Azulada against the General Knight of Campo Grande -also for the 2nd Promotion Division, current First Division C-, was experienced with such harshness that the game led to the expulsion of 20 players!
William Weiler is the name of the arbitrator who established an unprecedented record in terms of most red cards shown in the same game.
After the instability, the escalation of no return
With the creation of the Intermediate Division as the second category in 1997, Ameliano was one of those who, from the third, went to the new fourth level of APF football.
After promotions to 3rd in the years 2000, 2003 Y 2006 in which he did not know how to maintain himself and returned to the last metropolitan link, where he remained consecutively for eight seasons, in 2015 the revolution came with an upward direction only.
In 2016 was awarded the Primera B runner-up and obtained the right to dispute a series of promotionto matches back and forth, against the September 22, Encarnacion for a spot in Intermediate the following year. However, the Itapúa representative took the victory and promotion.
It was not until 2019 that the barriojarense cast finally specified its move to the 2nd division of our soccer, product of its consecration as champion in the B’.
The club had to wait a whole year to debut in the Intermediatedue to the cancellation of the contest in 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic.
In 2021 the activity returned and Sportivo Ameliano took advantage of a particular context: the tournament granted three direct quotas to the Division of Honor and a place in a playoff against the penultimate of the First Division averages.
The unforgettable relay with Luqueño
The team led by Humberto Garcia finished the championship in fourth position and signed his presence in the ‘play-offs’ against a historical, the Sportivo Luquenowhich finished ninth -among 10 teams- in the 2021 average table, the year neither more nor less than the centenary auriazul.
On December 7, Ameliano delivered the blow by winning 3-2 in the first leg played in the Defensores del Chaco and took a first big step towards the First Division.
Four days later, the Barriojarense squad supported their previous victory and drew 1-1 in the rematch based again in Saxony, winning the series by a aggregate of 4-3 and completing an unprecedented step: promotion to the highest category of national football.
This outcome caused the loss of category of the Chanchón after 53 incursions consecutive as a member of the professional stratum.
Ameliano reached the First Division causing the relegation of Sportivo Luqueño. (Middle Nation)
The miraculous permanence and the first professional title
the season of premiere in the Division of Honor It presented itself with difficulties when it came to capturing points for Ameliano, who exhibited an interesting competitive level but without crowning it on most occasions with victories.
Such a shortage placed him at the bottom of the Apertura Tournament table and in the averages, so it was an obligation to make a better campaign in the second part of the year to dream of maintaining the category.
Given the need for a shake, the DT Garcia left the club and was selected as his replacement Argentine Juan Pablo Pumpidoin September.
With a surprising harvest of points in the last section of the Clausura, Ameliano reached the last day with chances of salvation faced Guarani: in a spectacular comeback on the Trinidense court, and after going down 0-2 at halftime, ended up winning 4-2 and achieving permanence by tiny decimal places (0.003) per envelope sun of americawho was relegated after not being able to win in Juan León Mallorquín.
The Jara neighborhood team made history in Encarnación. (@CupParaguayAPF / Twitter)
Along with the campaign in the First Division, Sportivo was quietly overcoming stages in the Paraguayan Cup: in the quarterfinals they beat Guaireña (2-0), in the ‘semis’ they eliminated Atlético Tembetary (2-1) and thus reached the finalin which he intersected with National.
The decisive game was played at the stadium Villa Alegre de Encarnacionand in a heart-stopping definition he kept the title via penalties (4-3) after a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
Thus, in the year of its debut as a First Division institution, Ameliano brought a professional title to his showcases, unprecedented fact in its history.
That achievement gave him the right to contest the South American Cup 2023where it will be presented internationally, and the Paraguayan Super Cupwhich will open the local soccer season.
