Colón: Once top-flight champions, now struggling in the lower leagues | OneFootball

Arsenal, Ferro, Quilmes, and Colón climbed to the top of Argentine football, but now they fight to stay in the Primera Nacional.

Arsenal, Ferro, Quilmes, and Colón tasted the sweetest victories in Argentine football and all celebrated as champions at least once, but currently, the four wander aimlessly and, far from leading positions, struggle to remain in the Primera Nacional, the second division.

El Arse, founded by brothers Hector and Julio Grondona in 1957, is second to last in Zone A with 30 points, the result of 7 wins, 9 draws, and 13 losses. However, the team coached by Darío Franco defeated Güemes at home (2-1) and San Martín in Tucumán (3-0) in their last two matches; results that allowed them to surpass Alvarado, who is last, by two points, but they did not escape the direct relegation zone.

The club from Sarandí was promoted to the elite of Argentine football for the first time in the 2002 season and lifted the Torneo Clausura trophy a decade later. Also in 2012, they defeated Boca in the Argentine Super Cup, while they beat San Lorenzo in the final of the Argentine Cup the following season. Finally, they were relegated in 2023.

Internationally, they claimed the 2007 Copa Sudamericana after overcoming River in the semifinals and América of Mexico in the final. Immediately after, they won the now-defunct Suruga Bank against Gamba Osaka of Japan.

Ferro is also experiencing a distressing situation. The club from Caballito is 15th out of 18 participants in Zone A, with just 31 points. Thus, the institution that was recognized for its social services by UNESCO in 1988, which was relegated to Nacional B on June 11, 2000, and has already played over 800 matches in the category, is heading towards a second campaign without participating in the playoffs.

El Verde, led by Carlos Griguol, was the undefeated champion of the 1982 National Tournament after achieving two runner-up finishes in 1981. A couple of seasons later, they defeated River 4-0 (aggregate score) and returned to the top of national football. However, the situation began to deteriorate rapidly, worsened in the last decade of the past century, and has not improved since.

Quilmes, founded in 1887, was one of the fathers of football in the country and won the 1912 Copa Campeonato and the 1978 Metropolitano, has more breathing room in Group A. The Cervecero is tenth with 35 points, five more than Arsenal and five less than Deportivo Maipú, which is eighth and closes the playoff entry stage.

Nonetheless, the draw against Almagro (14th) raised alarms, as the team led by Alfredo Grelak was winning 2-0, but the Ciruja equalized the score with goals in the 90th and 95th minutes. Additionally, the team from the southern suburbs, which has been stuck in the Primera Nacional since 2017, has recorded one win in their last five matches.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.