Atlético Junior


Club Deportivo Popular Junior F.C. S.A., commonly known as Junior de Barranquilla, by its old name Atlético Junior, or simply as Junior, is a Colombian professional football team based in Barranquilla, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. Junior is the main Caribbean team in the top flight of Colombian football.
The club was founded on August 7, 1924. Known as Los Tiburones, or El Equipo Tiburón. Junior have won the Colombian professional football championship nine times. Some of the most notable players that have played for the club include Heleno de Freitas, Garrincha, Dida, Juan Ramón Verón, Efraín Sánchez, Carlos "El Pibe" Valderrama, Iván Valenciano, Teófilo Gutiérrez, Carlos Bacca, Julio César Uribe, Giovanni Hernández and Sebastián Viera.

History

In the early 1920s a team named Juventus came into being at the Colegio Salesiano in the San Roque neighborhood of Barranquilla, unsurprisingly given the name made up primarily of Italian immigrants. Soon after its launch the name was changed to the Spanish Juventud, though both translate the same in English: youth. In August 1924 some of the younger members of Juventud along with other young men from San Roque created an offshoot of Juventud: Juventud Infantil.
Around the 1940s they became known as one of the country's best clubs. In 1945 the players of Junior were selected to represent Colombia at the South American Championship, finishing a respectable fifth. In 1949 they were again selected to represent Colombia but this time their decision to play would have its consequences.
In 1948 Junior were founder members of División Mayor del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano. Their debut match as a professional outfit came at home on August 15, 1948 against Deportivo Cali, which ended in a 2–0 victory for the home side. Early the following year they were again chosen to play as the de facto Colombia national team. Because of ongoing strife between Adefutbol and the Dimayor, Junior were threatened with expulsion from the Dimayor if they participated. They went ahead and did so and were initially given a two-year suspension from the league. This was later reduced to one year and they returned to the Dimayor for the 1950 season.
This was the golden age of Colombian football commonly referred to as El Dorado, a time when the Dimayor was a "rebel league" unaffiliated with FIFA and many high-profile players from around the world broke their contracts and came to play. Junior were no exception, picking up players from Brazil, Argentina, Hungary and the Czech Republic in these years. But El Dorado eventually came to an end for Colombian football and for Junior and the club left the Dimayor because of financial problems after the 1953 season.
A way ahead surfaced in the mid-1960s when a rift had again developed in Colombian football, this time between Adefutbol and the newly created Federación Colombiana de Fútbol, an organization devoted to developing professional football in the country. Adefutbol was still the official body in the eyes of FIFA and organized the national team in this period and additionally Colombian clubs did not enter the Copa Libertadores. Peace was finally made and the bulk of the amateur team that had attempted to qualify for the England World Cup signed up for Junior, who returned to the Dimayor in 1966. Junior have remained in the top level ever since.
In 1977 Junior won their first Colombian championship, finishing first place in the Apertura. They won further championships in 1980, 1993, 1995, the 2004-II, the 2010-I, and the 2011-II. Junior have appeared in the Copa Libertadores nine times, and the Copa Sudamericana and Copa CONMEBOL once each.

Symbols

Badge

The team's badge has a Swiss shape; it's 6cm wide by 8cm tall, divided into two horizontal stripes.
The inferior stripe is divided into 9 vertical white and red stripes. The superior part is another horizontal blue stripe where the stars are placed. The stars have 5 points; each star represents a league championships the team has won.

Flag

Junior's flag is composed of 9 horizontal stripes, 5 red and 4 white ones which alternate, the superior and the inferior ones are red. Overlaped on top of the strips there is a blue triangle. This triangle occupies all the wide of the flag on its vertical side. The white stars are superimposed on the triangle.

Honours

Domestic competitions

Current squad

Out on loan

Personnel

Technical staff

Notable players

Most appearances

Most goals

Historic players

Affiliated clubs