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| Full name | Club Sporting Cristal [1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Los Cerveceros Los Rimenses Los Celestes La Fuerza Vencedora La Máquina Celeste | ||
| Founded | 13 December 1955 | ||
| Ground | Estadio Alberto Gallardo | ||
| Capacity | 11,600 | ||
| Owner | Innova Sports | ||
| President | Joel Raffo | ||
| Manager | Guillermo Farré | ||
| League | Liga 1 | ||
| 2024 | Liga 1, 2nd of 18 | ||
| Website | http://www.clubsportingcristal.pe | ||
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Club Sporting Cristal S.A. is a Peruvian sports club located in the city of Lima, best known for its football team. It was founded on 13 December 1955 in the Rímac district by engineer Richard Bentín Mujica and his wife Esther Grande de Bentín, stockholders of the Peruvian brewery Backus and Johnston.[2][3] The club and the brewery have been closely linked since its inception, and it is for this reason that it is popularly known as los Cerveceros ("the brewers").
The team has played in the Primera División since 1956, where it obtained the title that year. Due to this achievement, Cristal is often referred to as "El club que nació campeón".[4] Since their first participation, they have won the league title 19 times and are one of the few teams in Peru to have never been relegated from the top division. Sporting Cristal is also the first Peruvian team to have been crowned tricampeóns, successively winning the 1994, 1995, and 1996 seasons.[5][6] In 1997, they were runners-up of the Copa Libertadores, losing the final to Brazilian side Cruzeiro. Cristal holds the longest undefeated streak in the tournament; 17 games without suffering a loss.[7]
Cristal has a heated rivalry with Club Universitario de Deportes. One of the main reasons for the enmity between the two sides is the series of transfers of Universitario's star players to los Celestes. The club also has rivalries with Alianza Lima, Deportivo Municipal, and Sport Boys.
Sporting Cristal plays its home games at the Estadio Alberto Gallardo. They play at the Estadio Nacional for international competitions such as the Libertadores or Sudamericana. The Estadio Nacional is also the venue for matches against Universitario and Alianza Lima.
In addition to football, the club has teams specializing in Esports, futsal, women's football, and volleyball.[8][9]
- ^ "Club Sporting Cristal S.A conocida como Club Sporting Cristal con RUC 20510014279 en RIMAC".
- ^ "La grandeza de la Familia Bentín" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "Pasión 'Cervecera': Sepa cómo se fundó el Sporting Cristal" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 December 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "El club que nació campeón" (in Spanish). FIFA. 23 May 2012. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "Sporting Cristal superó en títulos a Universitario en torneos Descentralizados" (in Spanish). La República. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ José Luis Pierrend, Carlos Manuel Nieto Tarazona (2013). rsssf.org (ed.). "Peru - List of final tables". Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ José Luis Pierrend (2007). ElArea.com (ed.). "Libertadores: Curiosidades y datos accesorios". Retrieved 21 February 2011.
- ^ internetsceleste.com, ed. (1998). "Equipo Femenino de Fútbol del Sporting Cristal". Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ elcristalconquetemiro.com, ed. (2013). "2013: Los Balances. Parte VI: Voley". Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2020.