Sporting Cristal
 |
|
| Full name | Club Sporting Cristal |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Los Cerveceros, Los Rimenses, Los Celestes, La Fuerza Vencedora, La Máquina Celeste |
| Founded | 13 December 1955 |
| Ground |
Estadio Alberto Gallardo, Lima |
| Capacity | 15,000 |
| President |
 Federico Cúneo |
| Manager |
José del Solar
|
| League | Torneo Descentralizado |
| 2016 | Torneo Descentralizado, Champion |
| Website | Club home page |
Club Sporting Cristal is a Peruvian football team. Based in the Rímac District, in the department of Lima, it plays in the professional league known as the Peruvian First Division. Sporting Cristal has won the league title 18 times, and it is the Peruvian team with the third most National titles. All its titles have been won in the professional era.
It is one of the most popular football teams in Peru, along with Universitario and Alianza Lima; it is the youngest of the three. In 1997, it became the second Peruvian football club to reach the final of the Copa Libertadores, an international competition.
Sporting Cristal plays home games at the Estadio Alberto Gallardo, but they also play at the Estadio Nacional. They also use the Estadio Nacional when playing international competitions, such as Copa Libertadores.
Ricardo Bentín Mujica, with the support of his wife, co-owners of Backus and Johnston brewery, was the man who is credited with achieving the company's goal. A club from Rímac ward, known as Sporting Tabaco founded in 1926 and originally belonging to the tobacco growers' union, was already playing in the professional Peruvian First Division. Never having won a national championship, the club was in dire economic straits. Bentín decided to buy the club and search for a playing ground, so that the club could develop and be able to play better at the professional level. The club found a lot in the neighborhood of La Florida of 137,000 m².
On December 13, 1955 the club was founded as Sporting Cristal , after Backus' best-known beer brand, Cristal. The new club from Rímac ward debuted in 1956 in the professional Primera Division and won their first national title that same year. Journalists thus called them the club born a champion (nació campeon). The team managed to win more titles over the years and was known as one of the best football clubs in Peru after Universitario and Alianza Lima. A few years later, the club eliminated the word Backus from their name to demonstrate their economic independence.
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