C.A. Cerro

Cerro
Full nameClub Atlético Cerro
NicknamesVilleros
Albicelestes
Cerrenses
FoundedDecember 1, 1922 (1922-12-01)
GroundEstadio Luis Tróccoli,
Montevideo, Uruguay
Capacity25,000[1]
ChairmanAlfredo Jaureguiverry
ManagerTabaré Silva
LeagueLiga AUF Uruguaya
2025Liga AUF Uruguaya, 10th of 16
Websitecacerro.com

Club Atlético Cerro, usually known simply as Cerro, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo that currently plays in the Uruguayan Primera División. Founded in 1922, the club plays its home games at Estadio Luis Tróccoli.

Uruguay's second most important derby is played between Cerro and Rampla Juniors, called "Clásico de la Villa". It is only behind the Uruguayan Clásico between Peñarol and Nacional.

History

The club was founded on 1 December 1922. The Uruguayan Segunda División was founded in 1942, and Cerro was one of its founders. It spent five years there, and was promoted to the Primera División in 1947, where it stayed for 50 consecutive years until 1997, when the club was deducted points due to an incident with Nacional fans.[2]

Cerro came close to winning the league title in 1960. It finished runner-up to Peñarol, and lost in a heated final to them 3–1.[3][4] Cerro was considered as Uruguay's third biggest club in the 1960s, because they finished third in the league four consecutive years between 1965 and 1968.

In 1963, Cerro had an international tour through Europe. Their first match was played on 23 May in Romania, a 2–0 loss against Progresul București. Their next match was a 2–0 win against Ştiinţa Timişoara. On 9 June Cerro beat Chornomorets Odesa 2–0; Chernomorets had beat Inter Milan and Flamengo, so this was seen as a very unexpected result. On 14 July Cerro began their tour in South Africa with a match against a local Durban side, winning 2–1. Three days later they beat Cape Town FC 4–0, and on 20 July they drew the South African national team 2–2. Their tour ended with a 3–0 win against the Rhodesia national team.[5]

By defeating Defensor Sporting in a league play-off in December 1994, Cerro qualified for the 1995 Copa Libertadores, their first time participating in the competition. The Estadio Luis Tróccoli was renovated to meet the regulations, including the construction of four lighting poles. Cerro had one victory in the campaign, defeating Argentine club Independiente 1–0 at home, and finished last in the group stage.

Cerro was relegated after finishing second to last in the 2005–06 Uruguayan Primera División, but won the 2006–07 second division and made an immediate return.

After winning the 2009 Liguilla Pre-Libertadores, Cerro qualified for their second Copa Libertadores in their history: the 2010 Copa Libertadores. At home they played in the Estadio Centenario and the Estadio Atilio Paiva Olivera. The club finished third in their group, with 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses.

Cerro participated in the 2017 Copa Libertadores, where they were eliminated in the second qualifying stage by Chilean club Unión Española.

The following year, the club participated in the 2018 Copa Sudamericana, its first ever Copa Sudamericana appearance. Cerro began the tournament by beating Peruvian club Sport Rosario 0–2 on aggregate in the first stage. It was eliminated in the second stage by Brazilian club Bahia 3–1 on aggregate (2–0 and 1–1).

Cerro participated in the Copa Sudamericana again for the 2019 edition, being eliminated by Montevideo Wanderers in the second stage.

Imported to USA

Cerro was one of the clubs imported to the United Soccer Association, a former professional soccer league featuring teams from the United States and Canada; the club played as the New York Skyliners. The league survived only one season (1967). All the teams in the league were imported from Europe and South America.[5]

Titles

Professional

  • Segunda División Profesional (3): 1946, 1998, Apertura 2006
  • Liguilla Pre-Libertadores (1): 2009
  • Campeonato Presentación (1): 1986
  • Torneo Integración (1): 1993

Friendly / Amateur

  • Segunda División Amateur (2): 1940, 1941
  • Tercera Extra de FUF (1): 1923
  • División Intermedia de FUF (1): 1924
  • Copa Montevideo (1): (1985)

Performance in CONMEBOL competitions

1995: First Round
2010: Second Round
2017: Qualifying stages
2018: Second Stage
2019: Second Stage

Current squad

As of 22 March, 2026

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF  URU Ariel Lima (on loan from Defensor)
4 DF  URU Mateo Argüello
5 MF  ARG Alejo Macelli
6 DF  URU Francisco Bregante (on loan from Liverpool (M))
7 FW  URU Alejandro Severo (on loan from Racing Montevideo)
8 MF  URU Agustín Miranda
9 FW  URU Bruno Morales
10 MF  URU Brahian Alemán
12 GK  URU Yonatan Irrazábal
13 MF  URU Brian Quinteros (on loan from Nacional)
14 FW  URU Nahuel Soria
15 FW  URU Alan Zamurio
16 DF  ARG Juan Guasone (on loan from Estudiantes)
17 DF  URU Gianni Rodríguez
18 FW  URU Nahuel Sena
19 MF  URU Emiliano Sosa
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 DF  ARG Facundo Butti
21 FW  URU Axel Méndez (on loan from Nacional)
22 DF  URU Damián Suárez
23 DF  URU Martìn Farías
24 DF  ARG Iván Valenzuela
25 GK  URU Fabrizio Correa
27 FW  URU Cristian Barros
28 FW  URU Augusto Cambón (on loan from Defensor)
29 FW  URU Santiago Paiva
30 FW  PER Jeison Cubas
31 MF  URU Jairo Amaro
32 MF  URU Rodrigo Mederos (on loan from Nacional)
33 FW  URU Tiago Rijo (on loan from Nacional)
35 MF  URU Pablo Nongoy (on loan from Peñarol)
40 GK  URU Diego Capdevila
44 DF  URU Emanuel Carlos

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF  URU Simón Bentancur (at Nacional B until 31 December 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
DF  URU Maximiliano Rao (at Oriental until 31 December 2024)

Managerial history

  • Uruguay Washington Etchamendi
  • Uruguay Enrique Fernández
  • Uruguay José Sasía
  • Uruguay Ondino Viera (1965)
  • Uruguay Gerardo Pelusso (1993–95)
  • Uruguay Jorge González (Jan 1, 1998 – Dec 31, 2001)
  • Uruguay Gerardo Pelusso (Jan 1, 2003 – Dec 31, 2003)
  • Uruguay Roland Marcenaro (Jan 20, 2004 – June 24, 2004)
  • UruguayPeru Julio César Balerio (May 16, 2005 – March 5, 2006)
  • Uruguay Julio Acuña (March 6, 2006 – Dec 31, 2006)
  • Uruguay Jorge González (Aug 1, 2006 – June 30, 2008)
  • Uruguay Pablo Repetto (July 1, 2008 – Feb 25, 2009)
  • Uruguay Richard Martínez (interim) (Feb 2009)
  • Uruguay Eduardo Mario Acevedo (Feb 2009 – Aug 09)
  • Uruguay Guillermo Sanguinetti (Aug 13, 2009 – Dec 2, 2009)
  • Uruguay Pablo Repetto (Dec 15, 2009 – May 23, 2010)
  • Uruguay Alejandro Apud (May 26, 2010 – Feb 15, 2011)
  • Uruguay Ricardo "Tato" Ortíz (Feb 17, 2011 – Dec 21, 2011)
  • Uruguay Hugo Parga (Dec 28, 2011 – May 3, 2012)
  • Uruguay Gabriel Camacho (May 3, 2012 – July 4, 2012)
  • Uruguay Ricardo "Tato" Ortíz (July 5, 2012 – Feb 26, 2013)
  • Uruguay Danilo Baltierra (Feb 27, 2013 – Nov 19, 2013)
  • Uruguay Pablo Alonso (Nov 21, 2013 – March 2, 2014)
  • Argentina Pablo Rodríguez (March 5, 2014 – Jul 1 2015)
  • Uruguay Eduardo Acevedo (Jul 1, 2015 – Dec 31, 2015)
  • Uruguay Gustavo Ferrín 2016
  • Uruguay José Puente 2016
  • Colombia Diego Barragán 2017
  • Argentina José Basualdo 2017
  • Uruguay Fernando Correa 2018
  • Uruguay Jorge González 2019
  • Uruguay Richard Martínez 2019
  • Uruguay Santiago Kalemkerian (interim) 2019
  • Uruguay Julio César Antúnez 2019
  • Uruguay Fernando Gentile (interim) 2019
  • Uruguay Nathaniel Revetria 2020
  • Uruguay Juan Jacinto Rodríguez 2020–2021
  • Argentina Rolando Carlen 2021
  • Uruguay Walter Pandiani 2021–2022
  • Uruguay Edgardo Adinolfi 2022
  • Uruguay Danielo Núñez 2022–2023
  • Uruguay Héctor Burguez (interim) 2023
  • Uruguay Gustavo Ferreyra 2023
  • Uruguay Damián Santín 2023
  • Uruguay Ignacio Pallas 2024
  • Uruguay Tabaré Silva 2025–

References

  1. ^ Estadio Luis Tróccoli
  2. ^ "LUTO EN EL FÚTBOL URUGUAYO". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 1 April 1996. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Cerro, el primero de los chicos en llegar a la final". LARED21 (in Spanish). 2008-05-21. Archived from the original on 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  4. ^ "A 60 años de una final histórica para el fútbol uruguayo". El Pais Uruguay (in Spanish). 20 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-12-20. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  5. ^ a b "Uruguay: Giras internacionales". www.el-area.com. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.