Defensor Sporting

Defensor Sporting Club is a sports club based in Montevideo, Uruguay. Founded in 1913, Defensor has several sports sections, with football and basketball being the most important and the ones in which the club has achieved significant achievements in Uruguay and internationally.
It is the third most highest winning club in Uruguay, with 24 official titles, only surpassed by Peñarol and Club Nacional de Football. The club's best performance at the international stage was in 2014, when they reached the 2014 [Copa Libertadores knockout stages|semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores], eventually losing to Club Nacional 2–1 on aggregate. They have won the Uruguayan Championship four times: in 1976, 1987, 1991, and 2007-08. Their 1976 title win was especially notable in Uruguay's football history as it ended 44 years of dominance by Nacional and Peñarol.

History

Founded on 15 March 1913, as Club Atlético Defensor, with heavyweight in soccer, the name of the club was changed in 1989 to Defensor Sporting Club after a merger with Sporting Club Uruguay, originally a basketball club. They played in the first professional league season in Uruguay, the 1932 Uruguayan Primera División.
Defensor has won many qualifying tournaments to the Copa Libertadores and has represented Uruguay on numerous occasions internationally. Regarded as one of the teams that creates and develops many players in Uruguay that become successful players worldwide, It is the first club of numerous players like Jorge "Polilla" da Silva, Sergio "Manteca" Martínez, Sebastián Abreu, Andrés Fleurquin, Marcelo Tejera, Darío Silva, Gonzalo Vargas, Diego "Ruso" Pérez, Nicolás Olivera, Martín Cáceres, Maxi Pereira, Álvaro González, and Tabaré Viúdez.
Legendary coach Prof. José Ricardo de León brought Defensor to the national championship in 1976 and originated a football school of thought, consistently criticized as ultra defensive, that is still present nowadays in several teams and coaches.
In September 2007, the club was considered the World's Club Team of the Month by the IFFHS.

Stadium

Defensor plays its home games at its own stadium called Estadio Luis Franzini which has a capacity for 18,000 spectators. The stadium was opened on 31 December 1963, and is located in Parque Rodó, Montevideo.

Rivalries

Defensor Sporting has had a rivalry with Danubio in recent years, because of the two clubs being the next biggest clubs in Uruguay after the historical two: Peñarol and Nacional. Matches between them are called the "Clásico de los medianos".

Honours

Senior titles

Type	Competition	Titles	Winning years
National	Primera División	4	1976, 1987, 1991, 2008
National	Segunda División	2	1950, 1965
National	Segunda División (1903-1914)\|Segunda División (1903-1914)]	1
National	Divisional Tercera Extra	1
Half-year / Short tournament	Torneo Apertura	4
Half-year / Short tournament	Torneo Clausura	4
National	Copa AUF Uruguay	3
National	Liguilla Pre-Libertadores	8
National	Campeonato Nacional General Artigas	1
National	Torneo Cuadrangular	1
National	-	-	-
National	-	-	-

Performance in CONMEBOL competitions

Copa Libertadores: 17 appearances
U-20 Copa Libertadores: 1 appearance
Copa Sudamericana: 8 appearances
'''Copa CONMEBOL: 2 appearances'''