Welcome to our exciting series Passion and Pride, where we dive into the heart of Paraguayan football, spotlighting the 12 teams of the Primera División. In each episode, we will introduce you to one club, uncovering its rich history, fierce rivalries, and special moments that have shaped Paraguay’s top league. In part two of Passion and Pride: Libertad, Paraguay’s most successful football club in the 21st century. To read the previous one about Olimpia, you can click here.
Founding Of Libertad
Club Libertad Asunción: Repollero (Cabbage Grower)
Club Libertad Asunción was founded in 1905 by a group of young students during a politically charged time, following the Liberal Party’s victory over the Colorado Party in the 1904 revolution. Inspired by the revolutionary slogan Libertad (Freedom), the students chose this name for their newly founded football club amid celebrations of the Liberal triumph.
Though historical records do not name all the founders – estimates suggest 10 to 15 students were involved. In the early 1900s, clubs like Libertad operated on a shoestring budget, relying on the resources and support of their immediate communities, so the club’s early kit was actually handmade by the players’ mothers! A labor-intensive task reflecting the dedication of the players’ families to their sons’ passion for their sport.
Libertad’s Nickname
Cabbages The club’s nickname Repollero (Cabbage Grower) originates from the agricultural landscape that surrounded the club’s early grounds in the Tuyucuá neighbourhood of Asunción’s Las Mercedes district. In the early 1900s that area was known for its vegetable gardens, mostly tended by Italian immigrants. Among the crops grown in these gardens, cabbages (repollos) were particularly present; the club’s early playing fields were literally surrounded by cabbage patches and its current stadium in Las Mercedes is affectionately called “La Huerta,” meaning “The Garden.” Fans today still jokingly say their team “plants victories” like crops.
El Más Ganador Del Siglo XXI
That claim is far from unjustified: Libertad has won 25 Primera División titles! It makes them the third most successful team in Paraguay. Especially in the past 25 years, the club has stepped up, earning another nickname: El Más Ganador Del Siglo XXI. It means “the biggest winner of the 21st century”. With eight national football titles before the year 2000, Libertad significantly increased its winning pace. They secured 17 more league titles since then!
You can follow Libertad on Instagram here.
Coming Up… In part three of Passion and Pride we spotlight Club Guaraní, nicknamed El Aborigen: The Indigenous. Where during the 2010 title celebration fans flooded Asunción with black-and-yellow flags, reportedly causing a citywide shortage of those colours in stores!
