There are a lot of teams that are iconic and legendary in the sporting world that don’t get the respect they deserve, which makes them unknown to the public. These iconic teams then get discovered and explained by the media, and their prestige grows. This is the purpose of the unknown icons blog series, where today, the topic is the most famous team in Paraguay, Club Olimpia.
The oldest sports team in Paraguay, Olimpia was founded in 1902, and the name, which came up by Dutch founder William Paats, honors Olympia and the Olympic games. The team traditionally wears a white jersey with a horizontal stripe, and the logo, on top of looking like a stamp, has essentially not changed in the history of the club. They have 47 Paraguayan championships, three continental championships, two continental super-cup championships, and one world championship, in 1979.
Their legacy is famous down in South America, with them being a multi-sport team, with rugby and basketball both being very important to the most famous team in Asuncion. Their football team, however, is not only the most famous of their teams, but by far the most famous, with the club having millions of followers across social media.
Club Olimpia is part of the Paraguayan big five, all in Asuncion, and all massive rivals with each other. Those clubs being Club Libertad, Cerro Porteno, Club Guarani and Club Nacional of Paraguay. These five teams have combined to win all but five Paraguayan championships and have had a stranglehold of the league for over a century.
Their best goal scorer of all time is Mauro Caballero, who scored 102 goals in 206 appearances for the club in three different stints, from 1992 to 1998, from 2002 to 2004 and from 2005 to 2007. However, most likely their most famous player is Ever Almieda, who from 1973 to 1991 was the team’s main goalkeeper, who led the team to two Libertadores titles and made a total of almost 300 appearances for the club. His 113 appearances in the Libertadores are a record, and he currently is the manager of the team.
As for how the team is doing recently, they’ve been solid. Making the Libertadores consistently as usual, being dominant in Paraguay with their big five brethren, the usual for the most part. But for this year, they’d rather not talk about it. They are currently ninth in the league standings for the 2024 Clausera and are out of the races for a 48th title this season. Alongside that, their fifth place finish in the Apuerta and finishing last in their Libertadores group leaves this season as a season to forget in the long and prestigious history for Paraguay’s lions.
Club Olimpia is one of the most famous teams in South America. With being a consistent performer in the Libertadores, winning the continental crown three times, and dominating the league with 47 titles. The club is unfortunately forgotten due to the lack of global media coverage in South America, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be in the spotlight, like so many teams in that continent should be.