O Athletico face the Danube for the first time in history in official games. The teams duel this Wednesday (24), at 7pm, at the Centenário Stadium, in Montevideo, for the third round of Group E of the South American Championship.
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In theory, the Uruguayan team is the strongest opponent in the group. Danubio was founded on March 1, 1932 and is considered the fourth biggest club in Uruguay – behind only Peñarol, Nacional and Defensor. In total, the team has four titles in the First Division of the Uruguayan Championship.
In the 2020 edition, the black and white club ended up in the penultimate position and was relegated to the Second Division after 50 years in A. But it returned to the elite in 2022 and last year it won a place in the Conmebol tournament after finishing in eighth place overall. .
Danubio is also known as “the university of football” for having revealed great players, such as Álvaro Recoba and Marcelo Zalayeta, who played in the 2002 World Cup, and the historic center forward Edinson Cavani.
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Midfielder David Terans, who played for Furacão between 2021 and 2023 and participated in the 2021 Sula title, also played for the team between 2017 and 2018.
The Uruguayan club’s home ground is the Jardines del Hipódromo Stadium, which is located in the neighborhood of the same name and has a capacity for 18,000 people, but all of Sula’s games have been played at Centenário.
+ Danubio x Athletico: Probable lineups, how to watch, date and time
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Campaign in season
Danubio has already played 14 games this season in the Uruguayan Championship, Uruguayan Cup and South American Cup. There are five wins, four draws and five defeats, with 10 goals scored and 11 conceded.
In the national tournament, the team is only in 10th place, with nine points, and without winning in five rounds. Last Saturday (20), Danubio drew 1-1 at home with Cerro Largo. In the World Cup, they ended up eliminated by their biggest rival (Defensor) in the quarter-finals after an away defeat.
In the South American Championship, the black and white team beat Rayo Zuliano 2-0 in Venezuela, but only drew 0-0 with Sportivo Ameliano at home. In the first phase of this edition, the team passed Montevideo Wanderers.
New coach, highlights and base team
The bad results of the season even made Danubio change coaches. Mario Saralegui left command and Alejandro “Turco” Apud (ex-Liverpool-URU, Racing-URU and Boston River) took over. The new coach debuted in the weekend’s draw.
The squad has several veterans such as goalkeeper Mauro Goicoechea (36 years old), midfielder Santigo Romero (34 years old) and strikers Gabriel Leyer (33 years old) and Sebastián Fernández (38 years old).
The latter is the team’s top scorer in 2024, with three goals – interestingly, the center forward played in the 2010 World Cup. Defender Matías Fracchia, from Chile, is the only foreigner in the group.
A base team has Goicoechea; Lucas Ferreira, Etchebarne, Fracchia and Ancheta; Ignacio Pintos, Romero, Kevin Lewis and Leyes (Sanseviero); Rossi and Sebastián Fernández.
Athletico and Danubio already faced each other in a friendly match in 2013
Athletico and Danubio face each other for the first time in official games, but the teams have already faced each other in a preparatory friendly in 2013. The confrontation ended 1-1, and Furacão recalled the meeting this Tuesday (23).
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Tags: Meet Danubio Athleticos opponent South American Championship
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