C. Nacional de Football Greatest All-Time Team
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| Copa Libertadores 1971 |
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club. The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.
Club Nacional de Football is identified with the white, blue and red colours inspired by the flag of Uruguay's national hero José Gervasio Artigas. In the domestic league, Nacional won the championship 46 times, being the last the 2016 transition championship. Nacional is the most successful club in Uruguay in terms of number of league titles. At international level, Nacional has won 21 titles, nine of them recognised by FIFA and CONMEBOL[5] that include three Copa Libertadores. In this tournament, Nacional is the all-time leader with 553 points.
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| Copa Libertadores 1988 |
GK: Andrés Mazali (Uruguay)
Andrés Mazali won two Olympic Gold Medals in 1924 and 1928, but he was banned playing in the 1930 World Cup Finals after breaking the team's curfew in the days leading up to the start of the first FIFA World Cup in Uruguay. Mazali was a member of the Nacional side that won three consecutive domestic titles between 1922 and 1924.
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| Andrés Mazali |
GK: Aníbal Paz (Uruguay)
From 1939 to 1953 he played for Club Nacional de Football, winning the Uruguayan championship nine times (1939, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47, 50 and 52). He also earned 22 caps for the Uruguay national football team from 1940 to 1950. He was part of Uruguay's championship team at the 1950 FIFA World Cup.
GK: Rodolfo Rodríguez (Uruguay)
He is the second most capped player in the history of the Uruguay with 78 appearances. He won the 50th anniversary tournament of the first World Cup, the 1980 Mundialito. and the Copa América in 1983. He went to the WC in 1978 and 1986. At Nacional, Rodríguez won the Uruguayan Championship in 1977, 1980 and 1983, the Copa Libertadores in 1980 and the Copa Intercontinental also in 1980. In 1984, he joined Santos in Brazil. At Santos he won the São Paulo State Championship in 1984. He stayed with the club until 1987. He also played for Sporting Clube de Portugal, Portuguesa and Bahia.
RB/CB/CM: Suhubert Gambetta (Uruguay)
From 1940 to 1956, he played for Club Nacional de Football, winning the Uruguayan championship ten times and captaining the team. He also earned 36 caps and scored three goals for the Uruguay national football team from 1941 to 1952. He was part of Uruguay's championship team at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Gambetta was a figure in the Maracanazo when he helped keep Zizinho and Ademir out of the game, which helped him to the 1950 World Cup All-Star Team.
RB: Alfredo Foglino (Uruguay)
Foglino made his debut for Nacional in 1911. In 14 years for Foglino played 409 matches including nine Primera División Uruguaya championships. He was captain of Nacional for ten years. He played 47 times for Uruguay, making his debut for the national team in August 1912 and playing his last international in July 1923. He played in three continental championships for Uruguay; in 1916, 1917 and 1920.
CB/RB: Jose Nasazzi (Uruguay)
He was the captain of Uruguay's legendary team that won the World Cup in 1930. He is regarded by many as Uruguay's greatest ever football player. He was known as "El Gran Mariscal" (The Great Marshal) and had already won the gold medal at the 1924 and 1928 Olympic Games, as well as the South American Championship in 1923, 1924 and 1926, by the time of the first World Cup.
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| Jose Nasazzi |
Known as Cococho, he played his entire career with Nacional of Montevideo. He held the appearance record for the club with 511 matches. He represented Uruguay between 1960 and 1967. He went to both 1962 and 1966 World Cup Finals.
CB: Jose Santamaria (Uruguay)
Jose Santamaria was a member of Real Madrid's all-conquering team of the late 1950's. He spent his 18-year career with Nacional and Real Madrid, winning 17 major titles the two teams combined, including four European Cups with the latter. He was considered one of the best ever center-backs. He played for Uruguay at the 1954 WC Finals, but played for Spain 4 years later in 1958.
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| Jose Santamaria |
CB: Hugo De León (Uruguay)
With Nacional, he won two Uruguayan league titles and the Copa Libertadores in 1980. In 1981, he joined Gremio and won the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup in 1983. After spells in Brazil and Spain he returned to Nacional in 1988 and won the Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup in that year, and the Copa Interamericana and Recopa Sudamericana in 1989. He also played for River Plate of Argentina. Capped 48 times for Uruguay and played in the 1990 World Cup. De León helped the Uruguay win the 1980 Mundialito, a tournament celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first World Cup.
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| Hugo De León |
LB: Juan Mujica (Uruguay)
Mujica played club football for Rampla Juniors, Nacional, Lille OSC, RC Lens, Liverpool de Montevideo and Defensor Sporting.Mujica made 22 appearances for the Uruguay national football team between 1966 and 1970, scoring 2 goals. He won the South American(now Copa America) in 1967.
RB/DM; Jose Leandro Andrade (Uruguay)
His nickname was "the Black Marvel' (maravilla negra). He was a wing-half at the WC 1930. He was regarded as the best player at that World Cup and perhaps, in the world at the time. As a teenager Andrade played for Montevideo club Misiones. In the early 1920s Andrade was signed by Bella Vista, where he played 71 matches and scored seven goals. It was at Bella Vista that he was first selected for the national team. Andrade later moved to Nacional where he won four Uruguayan Championships and three national cups.
CM: Santiago Ostolaza (Uruguay)
Ostolaza played with Cruz Azul (Mexico), Querétaro (Mexico), Gymnastics and Fencing Club La Plata (Argentina), Kyoto Purple Sanga (Japan) 1994, Aurora Football Club (1997), etc, but he is known for this two stints with Nacional of Uruguay. With them, he won Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup in 1988, and la Copa Interamericana and Recopa Sudamericana in 1989. He made 43 appearances for the Uruguay national football team from 1985 to 1993 and played at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
DM: Julio Montero Castillo (Uruguay)
He started his career with Liverpool FC (Montevideo), before joining Nacional in 1966. He later played for Independiente of Argentina, and Spanish side Granada. He made 64 La Liga appearances for Granada between 1973 and 1975, scoring two goals. He made a total of 68 Copa Libertadores appearances between 1966 and 1973. He represented the Uruguay national football team in the 1970 FIFA World Cup (playing in all six matches) and the 1974 FIFA World Cup.Montero Castillo is the father of the international footballer Paolo Montero.
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| Julio Montero Castillo |
RM: Luis Cubilla (Uruguay)
He was a part of Penarol that won two Copa Libertadores in the 1960 and 1961, and he won one more with Nacional in 1971. He also played for Barcelona, River Plate of Argentiona, Santiago Morning of Chile and Defensor Sporting of Uruguay where he helped the club to win their first league championship and break the complete dominance of the league by Peñarol and Nacional. For Uruguay, he played in three WC Finals: 1966, 1970 and 1974.
AM/CM: Víctor Espárrago (Uruguay)
He payed in Spain with Sevilla and Recreativo de Huelva, but he is best remembered for his career with Nacional back home.He was capped 67 times for the national team between 1966 and 1974. His playing career highlight came when he was an important member of the Uruguayan squad which achieved fourth place at the 1970 FIFA World Cup. In that tournament, he scored a winning goal in extra-time of the quarter-final against the USSR.
AM: Aníbal Ciocca (Uruguay)
He came to Nacional in 1931 from Montevideo Wanderers. member of the forward line that conquered the Quinquenio de Oro (1939-1943) for Nacional. In Nacional he was Uruguayan champion eight times. He also played for Uruguay national football team in 21 occasions, in which he scored 7 goals. He was part of the teams that won the Copa América in 1935 and 1942.
FW: Hector Scarone (Uruguay)
Scarone was known to be Uruguay's greatest players during the 1930's. He was a Double Olympic Gold medalist and won the 1930 World Cup Finals. He scored 31 goals for Uruguay. He was Uruguay's all-time leading scorer until 2011. At club level, Scarone spent most of his career with Nacional, with whom he won the Uruguayan championship eight times. He scored a total of 301 goals for the club in 369 appearances. He also played for Spanish side FC Barcelona, and Inter Milan and Palermo in Italy.
FW: Roberto Porta (Uruguay)
During his club career he played for Nacional (Uruguay), Inter (Italy) and Independiente (Argentina). He earned 33 caps and scored 13 goals for the Uruguay national football team from 1937 to 1945, and also played 1 match for the Italy national football team in 1935. He was the Uruguay national team's coach at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
SS: Walter Gomez (Uruguay)
Throughout his career, he played for Club Nacional de Football and Club Atlético River Plate. He joined River Plate in 1950 at the end of La Maquina. Later in his career, he formed a famous partnership with Omar Sivori there. So he was a connection between the two generations of Argentine club football. His national team appearance was very limited because he moved to play in Argentina in 1950. He only played 4 times for the national team.
SS: Ángel Romano (Uruguay)
Romano played 68 times for Uruguay between 1911 and 1927, scoring 28 goals. He played in the Copa América 8 times, finishing on the winning side on 5 occasions. He was also part of the Uruguayan team that won the Olympic football 1924 tournament. He played club football for Nacional between 1910 and 1930. He scored 164 goals in 388 games. The club won 21 titles during his time as a player.
SS: Pedro Cea (Uruguay)
Cea was a part of Uruguay's championship winning team at the 1923 and 1924 South American Championship. He won gold medals at both the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics. He was Uruguay's leading goalscorer in the 1930 World Cup. He scored the crucial equalising goal in the World Cup final against Argentina, levelling the score to 2–2 in the 57th minute; Uruguay went on to win 4–2. At club level, he played for Nacional, where he won several Uruguayan Championships.
ST: Luis Artime (Argentina)
Artime started his career at Club Atlético Atlanta, but better known for his career with River Plate where he became the top scorer in Argentina on three occasions and Independiente where he helped the team to win the Nacional 1967, he was also topscorer in the tournament. With Nacional of Uruguay, he helped the team to win the Copa Libertadores in 1971. He also played Palmeiras and Fluminense in Brazil. For Argentina, he scored 24 goals in 25 games. He played at the 1966 World Cup and at the South American Championship 1967, where he was the top goalscorer.
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| Luis Artime |
ST: Héctor Castro (Uruguay)
When he was 13, he accidentally amputated his right-forearm while using an electric saw, which gave origin to his nickname, El manco (meaning "the one-armed", or "the maimed"). Castro began his career in 1923/24 with Nacional and was the first player to score in a World Cup game for Uruguay. At Nacional he won three Uruguayan Championships (1924, 1933, 1934), before retiring in 1936.
ST: Pedro Petrone (Uruguay)
Throughout his career, Petrone played for Nacional, where he won two National Tournaments (1924, 1934), and in Italy with Fiorentina, where he was the top goalscorer in Serie A during the 1931–32 season). Whilst in Italy, Petrone was said to be the fastest player in the League. He was a double Olympic Gold medalist in 1924 and 1928, where he was the top scorer in 1924. He also won the WC in 1930.
ST: Atilio García (Argentina/Uruguay)
García had short spells with Club Atlético Moreno, Club Atlético Platense and Boca Juniors in Argentina before joining Nacional in 1938. He is the top goal scorer in the history of Uruguayan football with 465 goals scored in official tournaments and the second highest goal scorer in the history of the Uruguayan Football Championship. Born as an Argentine, he played for Uruguay.
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| Atilio García |
Honorable Mention
Manga, Gustavo Munúa, Waldemar Victorino, Rubén Sosa Ardáiz, Alejandro Lembo, Luis Suarez, José Saldanha, Eusebio Tejera, Horacio Troche, Atílio Ancheta, Álvaro Recoba, Julio Perez, Jorge Cardaccio, Eugenio Galvalisi, Luis Ernesto Castro, Bibiano Zapirain, Julio Dely Valdés, Julio Morales, Ildo Maneiro, Darío Pereyra.
Squad Explanation
-- This team has too many forwards. Luis Suarez was left out because he left the club too early in his career.
-- Darío Pereyra left for Brazil only after two seasons with Nacional.
-- Nacional won three Copa Libertadores: 1971, 1980, 1988. All three teams are underrepresented here.
-- Nacional has plenty of great players before the War. Most of the players played before the 1950's.
-- I dropped Waldemar Victorino because he only played a few seasons with the club.
-- Santiago Ostolaza's name seldom got mentioned in the all-time teams. He contributed to the Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup successes in 1988. Moreover, the team has too many forwards. So I need a midfielder.
Formation
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