Estudiantes de La Plata

In that event, Estudiantes won their semifinal match against Pohang Steelers 2–1, and lost the final against FC Barcelona 2–1 in extra time, after a 1–1 tie in regulation time.

After the Club World Cup participation, Estudiantes finished second in the 2010 Clausura (with local favorite José Sosa playing on loan), and won the 2010 Apertura after a protracted battle against Vélez Sarsfield. The team was in transition following the departure of Sosa and the sales of Boselli, right back Marcos Angeleri, and other key players.

On March 2009, former player Alejandro Sabella became head coach, his first such engagement (his coaching experience was limited to being an assistant to Daniel Passarella). The team improved their standing in the local league and advanced to the final of the 2009 Copa Libertadores, winning 2–1 on aggregate over Cruzeiro after a goal-less draw in La Plata and an away win on 15 July 2009. Verón was chosen as the competition's most valuable player, and Mauro Boselli was its top goalscorer, with a decisive header in the final match. Thus, Estudiantes earned the right to play the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.

Simeone left the team after the 2007 Apertura, and was replaced by former S.S. Lazio teammate Roberto Sensini. After a weak finish in the 2008 Clausura, Sensini was replaced with Leonardo Astrada. Under his guidance, Estudiantes reached the final of the 2008 Copa Sudamericana, which it lost to Brazilian side SC Internacional. Shortly thereafter, a string of bad results caused Astrada's departure.

Bilardo returned as coach in 2003, with new management bent on rebuilding the club in his winning ways. Some young players were promoted, such as Marcos Angeleri and José Ernesto Sosa. When Bilardo departed, the team remained a contender under coaches Reinaldo Merlo and Jorge Burruchaga. The team made history when it came from behind (0–3 at half-time) to win 4–3 against Peruvian Sporting Cristal in a Libertadores match played on 21 February 2006.

During the 2005 Apertura tournament, Estudiantes played its home games in the nearby Gimnasia stadium, and after that in Quilmes Atlético Club's Centenario field. There, Estudiantes made history with a come-from-behind 4–3 Libertadores win against Sporting Cristal.

Estudiantes was relegated for the second time after the 1993–94 season, and again returned to the first division the very next season, which was the breakout year for Juan Sebastián Verón (son of former player Juan Ramón). In the ensuing years, the club had irregular results, and became known mostly as the breeding ground for strikers such as Martín Palermo, Luciano Galletti, Bernardo Romeo, Ernesto Farías and Mariano Pavone, as well as other quality players such as José Ernesto Sosa and Pablo Piatti.

With the erection of Estadio Ciudad de La Plata in the 1990s, both Estudiantes and Gimnasia decided initially against relocating their home games. However, Estudiantes's field was closed down in September 2005 because of new safety regulations which forbid standing-only wooden stands. This began a sequence of political infighting between the club and City Hall.

Bilardo went on to coach the Argentina national football team, that won the 1986 FIFA World Cup. The captain of Estudiantes' 1982 champions, José Luis Brown, scored the opening goal in the final match against West Germany. Four years later, Bilardo's Argentina reached the final of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Madero was team physician for both events, and Ricardo Echevarría, also from Estudiantes, was fitness coach.

In the 1983 presidential election, Estudiantes fans were, together with their peers from Vélez Sársfield, the first to voice their support for eventual winner Raúl Alfonsín in his bid against the Peronistas. The friendship with Vélez supporters has since vanished, especially after an Estudiantes win denied Vélez the 2003 championship.

In the ensuing years, Bilardo alternated between coaching Estudiantes and Colombian teams. He was briefly the coach of the Colombian national team, but was called again by Estudiantes in 1982. Soon after, the team won the 1982 Metropolitano championship. Under his successor Eduardo Luján Manera, also a member of the Zubeldía's team, Estudiantes won the 1983 Nacional tournament as well. Both wins were at the expense of a star-studded Independiente.

Estudiantes is on friendly terms with several clubs from the South side of Greater Buenos Aires; especially Quilmes and Témperley. Platense, from the North side of Greater Buenos Aires, held a special place in the hearts of Estudiantes fans, as it cemented Gimnasia's relegation in 1979 (Platense currently plays in the lower divisions).

After the 1970 season, Carlos Bilardo retired from play and got involved in his family's furniture business. As the team's fortunes were declining and relegation seemed a possibility, he was called by management in mid-1971 to coach the team. Under his guidance, Estudiantes lost the 1975 Nacional title in the last day of play and made it to the 1976 Copa Libertadores.

Estudiantes went on to win the Copa Libertadores three years in a row (1968, 1969 and 1970), and the 1968 Intercontinental Cup against Manchester United. The latter game is still remembered for the violent behaviour of Estudiantes' players. They lost the Intercontinental title against A.C. Milan (1969) and Feyenoord (1970). Estudiantes won the maiden edition of the Copa Interamericana in a three-legged final against the reigning CONCACAF title-holders, Mexican club Toluca (the games were played in 1969, but official references call it the 1968 edition).

The club is a successful team in Argentina. In 1967, Estudiantes was the inaugural team outside the traditional "big five" to win a professional league title. It has won four additional league titles and has had greater international success, having won six international titles. Estudiantes' international title championships are four Copa Libertadores (including three straight from 1968–70), an Intercontinental Cup, and an Interamerican Cup.

In the 1960s, Miguel Ignomiriello coached the Estudiantes under-19 team known as La Tercera que Mata ("The Killer Juveniles"), which would evolve, with a few acquisitions, into the team coached by Osvaldo Zubeldía that won the 1967 Metropolitano championship. With this title, Estudiantes became the first club outside the "big five" (Boca Juniors, River Plate, Racing Club, Independiente and San Lorenzo) to obtain a professional title. This opened the floodgates, and soon other "small" clubs would do likewise (Vélez Sársfield in 1968, Chacarita Juniors one year later, and soon other teams joined as well).

Jorge Luis Hirschi Stadium is located on 1st Avenue, between 55th and 57th Streets, in La Plata. In its previous incarnation, it had room for 23,000. The wooden stands behind the goal-lines were standing-room only. The stands next to the avenue were sitting-room, and were separated from the avenue by a row of tile trees. The opposite side was roofed and had the best seating arrangements. The noisiest fans used to occupy the 55th Street popular, while visiting fans were often directed to the 57th St. popular, opposite a technical high school (whose inconvenient location was responsible for the relatively small size of the pitch, at 105 x 68 m).

The 1950s saw the emergence of goalkeeper Gabriel Ogando, and players such as Walter Garcerón, Alberto Bouché, Juan Urriolabeitía, Ricardo Infante, Héctor Antonio, as well as the final seasons of striker Manuel Pelegrina, who remains Estudiantes' all-time top scorer with 221 goals. Following a confrontation with the Peronist government of Buenos Aires Province, the club's management was removed by authorities (allegedly for refusing to distribute copies of Eva Perón's book to club members) The government-appointed management disbanded the team: top scorers Infante and Pelegrina signed with Huracán. The decimated team was relegated in 1953, but after the return of Pelegrina (who tricked Huracán by becoming a free agent without the club's consent) [2], Estudiantes was promoted the following year. The club was allowed to govern itself soon thereafter.

In 1937, a pioneering lighting system was installed in the stadium, allowing night games to be played.

When professionalism was adopted in Argentine football in 1931, Estudiantes had a famous offensive lineup: Miguel Ángel Lauri, Alejandro Scopelli, Alberto Zozaya, Manuel Ferreira and Enrique Guaita, known as Los Profesores ("The Professors"), and still regarded as one of Argentina's all-time finest [1]. Alberto Zozaya scored the first goal of professional football in Argentina and was the top goalscorer of the first professional tournament. Ferreira played for the national team in the 1928 Olympic Games and the 1930 World Cup; Guaita and Scopelli played for Italian national team that won the 1934 FIFA World Cup. Saúl Calandra, the Sbarra brothers (Raúl and Roberto) and Armando Nery were feared defensive players.

In subsequent years, Estudiantes made irregular campaigns, in some cases finishing at the bottom of the table. Nevertheless, the team made a great performance in 1928 when finishing third to champion Huracán and Boca Juniors. The last year of amateur era saw Estudiantes being runner-up to Boca Juniors. The team totalized 56 points in 35 matches, with 27 won and 7 losses.

In 1914 Estudiantes made another great campaign but the team finished second to Porteño. 1919 saw Estudiantes finishing second to champion Boca Juniors although the Association put an end to the tournament with 14 fixtures still to be played. The Association alleged that "the championship took longer than expected" so it was suddenly finished.

Estudiantes' first achievement was the 1911 Primera B title which allowed the team to play at the top tier of Argentine football, Primera División. Just two years later Estudiantes won its first title in Primera, playing at the dissident Federación Argentina de Football (FAF). That season the team disputed 18 matches, winning 14 with only 1 lost and scoring 64 goals (with an average of 3,55 goals per match).

The nickname pincharratas (rat stabbers), often shortened to pinchas, comes from the nickname of Felipe Montedónica, who spent much time chasing after rats in the La Plata market in the 1910s and 1920s, and hence was known as "el pincharratas". Pictures exist of Montedónica with some of the players, where his nickname is mentioned [7]. Traditionally, the nickname is also associated with the laboratory work done by the many Medicine students among the club's early members.

The first pitch of the club was located at the intersection of 19th and 53rd streets in La Plata (now Plaza Islas Malvinas), with the first match being played on November 7, 1905, when Estudiantes faced Nacional Juniors from Buenos Aires. A year later, Estudiantes enrolled in the Associación Amateurs de Football (AAF). The stadium on 1st Avenue opened on 25 December 1907.

On 28 February 1906 Estudiantes adopted a jersey design of striped red and white, in honor of Alumni, that had won ten championships between 1900 and 1911. However, during the early years, Estudiantes had to use a red shirt with a white stripe in the chest, because league authorities decided the uniform was too similar to Alumni's.

The club was founded in 1905 when a group of players and fans decided to break away from Gimnasia de La Plata, which favored indoor sport rather than football. Matches between the two clubs are known as the Clásico Platense.