Estudiantes de La Plata

Four Copa Libertadores titles put Estudiantes in a bracket almost no South American club reaches, and the first of them, in 1968, took a third match to settle. Palmeiras held them to two draws before Estudiantes won the decider 2-0 on neutral ground, then beat Manchester United home and away for the Intercontinental Cup. They retained the Libertadores in 1969 against Nacional and again in 1970 against Peñarol, three in a row under coach Osvaldo Zubeldía, before losing back-to-back Intercontinental finals to Milan and Feyenoord. A fourth Libertadores followed in 2009, beating Cruzeiro on away goals after two draws.

The club traces back to 4 August 1905, to a meeting in a shoemaker's workshop on Calle 7 in La Plata. Tomás Shedden, a former pupil at the English High School, wanted to keep the red-and-white of his old club Alumni alive; since most of those present were students, Estudiantes became the name. Miguel Gutiérrez took the presidency three weeks later, and the club joined the Argentine Football Association in 1906.

That 1968-70 side carried Carlos Bilardo, who went on to coach Argentina to the 1986 World Cup, and Carlos Bianchi, later the top scorer in Libertadores history. José Luis Brown, capped as captain when Estudiantes won the title in 1982, lifted the World Cup with Argentina four years later. Diego Simeone arrived in 2003, captained the club to the 2006 Apertura, and left for the management career that built Atlético Madrid; Juan Sebastián Verón, who debuted in 1994, returned in the 2000s and later became club president.

Estudiantes play at the Jorge Luis Hirschi stadium, rebuilt on the same site and reopened on 9 November 2019 after the old ground, standing since 1907, was demolished in 2007; it now holds 32,530. The nickname Pincharrata, the rat stabbers, has stuck since the early years. The 2025 Clausura, added to a roll of championships stretching back to 1913, keeps Estudiantes among the current Primera División contenders.