Club Guaraní, of Paraguay, is 110 years old today. Conmebol.com congratulates the “Cacique” and reprints a summary of its rich history from the book “Legendary Guarani, some history, anecdotes, importance and impact of an economic revolution” by Dr. Francisco J.E.J Pecci M.
Club Guaraní, of Paraguay, is 110 years old today. Conmebol.com congratulates the “Cacique” and reprints a summary of its rich history from the book “Legendary Guarani, some history, anecdotes, importance and impact of an economic revolution” by Dr. Francisco J.E.J Pecci M.
Club Guarani was founded on October 12, 1903, at the home of the Patri mansion, located on the present day street Alberdi on the corner with El Paraguayo Independiente and Benjamin Constant, now occupied by the Post Office.
Club Olimpia was founded on July 25, 1902, and attended by most senior students and clerks at the time.
Between July and August of 1903, an incident occurred on the pitch of Club Olimpia. Several young members of this institution entered the field and requested the use of the ball for practice, to which the foreman refused. The students therefore forcefully took the ball.
During this practice a youngster came and alerted the students to leave fast since the police were coming to take them to prison by order of Mr. Willian Paats, physical education teacher of the Police and member of the Executive Committee of Olimpia. The youth ran down Sebastian Cabot street heading toward the Patri home, arriving right when General Caballero was leaving and who asked: “What is wrong?“ To which they answered: “The police want to catch us.” In that moment the police arrived and Gen. Caballero says, “Go away and don’t bother the lads anymore.” And there the incident ends.
These young people stayed at the Patri house and there exchanged opinions, concluding that they needed another Club for all lovers of this new sport, football, to participate freely. These young ones, 9 in total, resolved to look for the future founders of the new entity.
The first preparatory convention was held in early September and there it was decided to set the next holiday for the constituent assembly. Gen. Caballero, great promoter of sports in general, obtained for these young people the wasteland that was behind the post office, where now stands the Bolivian tank captured during the Chaco War, where every evening many students practiced football.
On October 12, 1903 they met in the place donated by the Patri family, whose two sons were the main drivers of this meeting. This board was powered by General Caballero, who promised to extend full support.
It was five in the afternoon of that glorious day for Paraguayan football when the club was born that, over time, would become a major social and sporting entity of Paraguay.
The Assembly decided to designate the new entity with the name “Guarani Football Club” in tribute to the peoples that initially inhabited Paraguay and the native language of our country.
In discussing the colors they would use, one of the attendees motioned for the colors yellow and black, which was the flagship of the famous English privateer Francis Drake, between 1560 and 1596, who he made numerous expeditions around the world.
The brothers Melian, proposed the same colors, but in honor of club Peñarol of Montevideo, where they had started playing football.
So it was adopted that the shirt would have yellow and black vertical stripes and the club flag with the same colors.
