Learn more about the meaning behind the names of some of South America’s most historic clubs.
One of the most historic competitions in world soccer, the Copa Libertadores brings together South America’s top teams as they compete for the continent’s most prestigious trophy.
In most South American countries, soccer was introduced by the English. That cultural legacy is reflected in the names of many of the tournament’s historic clubs. Historical figures—particularly those associated with the colonial era and the independence movements of their respective countries—also played an important role in the naming of many teams.
Here is the story behind the names of several prominent Copa Libertadores clubs.
The Strongest (Bolivia)
The Strongest is one of the most successful clubs in Bolivian soccer. The team was founded in La Paz on April 8, 1908, by a group of 12 young men. Some of the founders had recently returned from studying in England, where they had discovered soccer.
Influenced by the English language, they initially named the new club Strong Foot Ball Club. After more members joined, the definite article “The” was added. The superlative ending “-est” was intended to emphasize the team’s strength and importance. The name Club The Strongest was eventually adopted.
Major honors: 16 Bolivian championships.
Always Ready (Bolivia)
Club Deportivo Always Ready was founded on April 13, 1933. The club was established by a group of young students from Colegio La Salle, a school attended by members of El Alto’s elite.
The English name, which was not unusual at the time, was intended to reflect the courage and determination on which the new club wanted to build its identity.
Major honors: 4 Bolivian championships.
O’Higgins (Chile)
O’Higgins Fútbol Club was founded in Rancagua on April 7, 1955. Its name honors Bernardo O’Higgins, a leader of Chile’s independence movement.
A military leader and national hero, Bernardo O’Higgins was the illegitimate son of Ambrose O’Higgins, an Irish military officer serving the Spanish Crown, and Isabel Riquelme, the daughter of Don Simón Riquelme y Goycelea, a member of the Chillán town council.
Following Chile’s independence in 1817, Bernardo O’Higgins ruled the country as Supreme Director until 1823. He then went into exile in Peru to help prevent a civil war. He died in the neighboring country in 1842 at the age of 64.
Major honor: 1 Chilean championship (2013).
Huachipato (Chile)
The club’s history dates back to June 7, 1947. Club Deportivo Huachipato was founded by workers at the Compañía Siderúrgica Huachipato steel company.
The name Huachipato comes from Mapudungun, an Indigenous language, and means “bird-catching trap.”
The club crest has featured a white circle with three yellow, red and blue “asteroids” since 1967. The design resembles the logo of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers.
Both symbols are based on the former logo of U.S. Steel, the American steel producer. The shared design highlights the clubs’ connection to the steel industry.
Major honors: 3 Chilean championships.
Junior Barranquilla (Colombia)
Historic club Deportivo Popular Junior was founded on August 7, 1924. The team was originally called Juventus because its founders—members of Barranquilla’s historic Salesian school—had Italian ancestry.
The club was later renamed Juventude. This change was intended to emphasize its sporting mission, particularly its focus on developing young players. In 1928, the team became Juventude Junior, before being renamed Atlético Junior in 1948.
Shortly afterward, the club from Shakira's hometown adopted the name it still uses today.
Major honors: 11 Colombian championships.
Barcelona SC (Ecuador)
Barcelona Sporting Club was founded on May 1, 1925. As the name suggests, the club is a tribute to Spanish side FC Barcelona.
A group of young Spaniards from the Astillero neighborhood of Guayaquil met at the home of Eutimio Pérez, a Catalan. There, they founded a new club named after their favorite team and hometown.
Major honors: 16 Ecuadorian championships.
2 de Mayo (Paraguay)
The club was (surprisingly) founded on December 6, 1935, and named in honor of Paraguay’s 2 de Mayo Infantry Regiment. The military unit had fought against Bolivia in the Chaco War.
Veterans who had recently returned from the battlefield founded Club Sportivo 2 de Mayo in the city of Pedro Juan Caballero. The Paraguayan city is directly connected to the Brazilian town of Ponta Porã. The two cities are closely linked and are often referred to as “twin cities.”
As a result, many Brazilian fans can also be found in the stands at the club’s games.
The club’s location creates another unique situation. Because of its proximity to Ponta Porã, 2 de Mayo can use the airport on the Brazilian side of the border, as Pedro Juan Caballero does not have its own airport.
Major honor: 1 Paraguayan second-division championship (2005).
Sporting Cristal (Peru)
Club Sporting Cristal was founded on December 13, 1955. Its origins can be traced to Backus y Johnston brewery, whose best-known product is Cristal beer.
Company executives wanted to establish a professional soccer club to represent the brewery. The company was based in Lima’s Rímac district, where a professional team called Sporting Tabaco was already operating. However, the club was facing serious financial difficulties.
Backus y Johnston subsequently took over Sporting Tabaco. The team then competed under the name Sporting Cristal Backus. A few years later, the club’s leadership dropped “Backus” from the name. The team eventually became a nonprofit civil association.
That is why Sporting Cristal fans like to joke that the club was born a champion: It won its first national title in 1956, before it had even celebrated its first birthday.
Major honors: 20 Peruvian championships.
Liverpool (Uruguay)
Liverpool Fútbol Club was founded on February 15, 1915. The name is a tribute to the English city of Liverpool, whose coal-laden ships regularly arrived at the port of Montevideo.
The club’s founders were students at a Capuchin school in Nuevo París. They remembered geography lessons in which the priests repeatedly explained that Liverpool was the United Kingdom’s most important coal port. Almost all of the ships that later reached Uruguay’s capital had departed from there.
There is also a curious story behind the name. Liverpool’s Uruguayan club was apparently not named as a direct tribute to its English “sibling.” Instead, the name may have been a playful acknowledgment—or almost a joke—aimed at the geography teachers at the religious school.
Major honor: 1 Uruguayan championship (2023).
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