Club Atlético River Plate Puerto Rico
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| Full name | Club Atlético River Plate Puerto Rico |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | River Plate, River, RPPR |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Stadium |
Pista Atlética Municipal Fajardo, Puerto Rico |
| Capacity | 12,500 |
| Owner | Verónica Chardón |
| Head Coach | Walter Zermatten |
| League | Puerto Rico Soccer League |
| 2011 (PRSL) | Regular Season: 3rd, Group A Playoffs: 3rd |
| Website | Club home page |
Club Atlético River Plate Puerto Rico is a Puerto Rican professional association football team based in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Founded in 2007, the team plays in the Puerto Rico Soccer League, and is the reigning Supercopa DirecTV champion.
The team plays its home games at Roberto Clemente Stadium in nearby Carolina. The club's colors are red, white and black. Their current head coach is Argentine Walter Zermatten.
On 27 June 2004, a group of 31 fans of Club Atlético River Plate signed an affiliation document with the club. The event was led by the group's founder, Steven Alvarez. After several meetings, the group organized an in-door football team along with the team from a neighboring town Academia Quintana, finishing in the fourth place of an invitational tournament held in Bayamon which marked its debut.
In August 2004, Club Atlético River Plate Corp registered in Puerto Rico's Department of State, founding its first office in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Between 2005 and 2006, Club Atlético River Plate had several meetings with the Federación Puertorriqueña de Futbol, seeking authorization to establish the first franchise team in Puerto Rico. The federation's president, Joe Serralta, signed a contract with them agreeing to license Club Atlético River Plate Puerto Rico, which was consequently founded on 1 January 2007.
Seeking exposition, the team reached an agreement with professional boxer Miguel Cotto, who wore the club's colors in several of his world championship contests. The team's directive underwent several integrations, including Erick Rodríguez as First Vice-President, Kenneth Cintrón as Second Vice-President and Alvaro Nazor as vocal. In 2006, the team's secretary, Eduardo Fabrizi, decided to include Club Atlético River Plate Puerto Rico in the Liga Premier de Fútbol marking its debut. Rubén Muñoz coached a lineup that included Walter Fabian Zermatten, Leonel Pipa Ganzedo and Martin Gómez, winning its first championship before 3,000 followers. Its defender, Marcelo Roca, was selected the 2007 Premier League Most Valuable Player. While seeking for a definitive home stadium, Fabrizi visited Ponce, choosing it over the other municipalities. He subsequently had meeting with Ponce's incumbent mayor, Francisco Zayas Seijo, reaching an agreement to play there.
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