Vélez Sarsfield is a footballclub founded more than 90 years ago. Through time, it has turned into one of the most important sports, cultural and educational institutions all over the country. Its motto “Sport and Culture” has reached justified diffusion. About 28.000 members that pay a USD 7 monthly fee enjoy its playfields and gymnasiums in which 30 sports may be practiced. In turn, the respective Department manages 22 cultural activities and the educational center daily hosts 1200 students ranking from kindergarten, primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

The heart of the club is "José Amalfitani" stadium, so called in honor of the person who hold the position of chairman of the Institution during more than 30 years, and contributed more than anybody else to replace the marsh existing there for a real Colossus of cement, pride not only for Velez fans but also for all the Argentine football . Recently, Velez was the main stage of the world Youth Sub-20 played in Argentina, and Argentina won playing all the games at Amalfitani. In addition, the Club was sub-seat of the World Cup 1978, also won by the “albiceleste” * selection. Nevertheless, its fans – not in vain called“fortineros”, assert that Velez will always be “The Fortín”, as it is known from those times in which its fieldwas located in “Villa Luro” between Basualdo and Schmidl streetand 11 lions made of it almost aninexpugnablebastionthat in 1928 lodged the first nocturnal game in the history of the argentine football.

That brave and conquering team identity shaped by the great Victorio Spinetto, first as player in that "Fortín" of the thirties and later in fourteen uninterrupted years as the team coach, enabled Velez to become the most successful club of the argentine football in the last decade of the XX century, lapse in which 4 Argentine championships and five international cups were won. Among those achievements, the European-South American Cup may be highlighted, obtained in 1994 at the Olympic Stadium of Tokyo beating the great Baresi & company´s Milan2-0. In order to get to that final, Velez had to defeat, at the Libertadores Cup final, San Pablo,the other great team of those years together with the Milanese, which had won the two latter editions of the Intercontinental championship. And it was done at their premises at a memorable definition by penalties at the Morumbi which made Liniers and its surroundings shake.

Prior to those glorious nineties, Velez had obtained promotion to First Division only once, in 1968, together with great players as Daniel Willington, José Miguel Marín and Carlos Bianchi, who had started to appear in that team as a genuine product of Velez´s seed bed and who many years later, more precisely in 1993, was back to the club as coach to make it become champion of everything.

With him, many young men affirmed at the first divison of Velez such as Christian Bassedas, Mauricio Pellegrino, Omar Asad and José Flores. But the greatcharacter of that team was José Luis Chilavert, who became a symbol of that period with no precedent in the history of the club with his catches, his strong personality and that kicks that let him revolutionize the position of goal keeper, with many goals of free kick and on penalties that are already part of the football history .

Today, Vélez Sarsfield keeps steady in that path outlined by "Don Pepe" Amalfitani, in which humility and love for the club are basic values. Thanks to those values, Velez grew in an unimaginable way after the descent suffered in 1940 that left it at the verge of disappearing. Therefore, most football players reaching first division come from the club youth divisions, and not from other entities or through costly investments.For that reason and even with the difficulties existing in Argentina nowadays, Velez keeps growing ata social level,contributing with new places for the community leisure like its majestic Villa Olímpica in ituzaingó.

Football is the club’s star sportand the main magnet to attract crowds. It is so honoured by the monument to Champions located in front of the main entrance in which different bronze plates mention the names of the football players that achieved titles with the blue “V”. The same applies to the glass showcase in the central hall, where the copies of international cups lie. For all those reasons Velez is ranked among the five best teams in the historic chart of argentine professionalism, behind River, Boca, Independiente and San Lorenzo. Out of all those institutions that some time descended of category in local football, Velez is the one that most uninterruptedly remains in first division.

But Velez also means volleyball, basketball, athletics, chess and many other cultural and sports activities. A club that,as José Amalfitani used to say before the arrival of football successes, was able to understand , may be before than any other one, that

“every new member means a won championship” and that therefore it will always be champion.

* : “Albiceleste” means “blanco y celeste” (white and light blue)