Full name | Club Deportivo Olimpia |
---|---|
Nickname(s) |
Los Leones (The Lions) Los Albos (The Whites) Los Merengues (The Meringues) Los Melenudos El más popular (The Most Popular) |
Founded | 12 June 1912 |
Ground |
Estadio Tiburcio Carias Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras |
Capacity | 35,000 |
Owner | José Rafael Ferrari |
Manager | Héctor Vargas |
League | Liga Nacional de Honduras |
2015–16 Clausura | Champions |
Website | Club home page |
Club Deportivo Olimpia, commonly referred to as Olimpia, is a professional Honduran football club based in Tegucigalpa, Francisco Morazán. The club is the nation's most successful team both in the domestic league and in international club competitions.
Olimpia was originally founded as a baseball club on June 12, 1912, by Héctor Pineda Ugarte, Carlos Bram, Arturo Bram, Enrique Buik, Santiago Buik, Miguel Sanchez, Samuel Inestrosa Gómez, and Ramón Field. In 1917, it also became a football team.
Olimpia is the most successful football team in Honduras, having won 30 domestic league titles since it was founded in 1912, the latest being the 2015–16 Apertura & Clausura season. It has also represented the Honduran football association in international club competitions more than any other team by far. They are the only Honduran club that has won the CONCACAF Champions Cup twice, first in 1972 and again in 1988. Olimpia is also the first team to win the Domestic Cup, known as "Copa Presidente," in 2015.
In 1957, CD Olimpia represented the Department of Francisco Morazán and was the first national football championship team endorsed by the Sports Federation School of Honduras, after beating the teams: Vida (Departmental champion Atlantis), Hibueras (Departmental Champion Cortes) and CD Honduras (Yoro Departmental Champion). The following year the team repeated, beating teams: Independiente de San Pedro Sula, Tela Railroad, CD Honduras and El Progreso (Fortuna Columbus Department representative).
In 1959, Olimpia won the tri-national championship. In the subsequent two years, Olimpia continued its dominance both at departmental and national levels. Players like "Furia" Solis, Rolin Castillo, Ricardo "Chendo" Rodriguez and others became fixtures.
For the 1963–64 School Sports Federation tournament changed and became a Regional tournament in which teams would be eliminated by zone. On December 14, 1963, Olimpia defeated Chorotega of Choluteca 10–0 and Amapala Liberia 3–2.