Defensa y Justicia

Argentine football club

Football club

Defensa y Justicia

Full name| Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia
Nickname(s)| El Halcón (The Hawk)
Founded| 20 March 1935; 90 years ago (1935-03-20)
Ground| Estadio Norberto "Tito" Tomaghello
Capacity| 20,000[1]
Chairman| José Lemme
Manager| Pablo De Muner
League| Primera División
2024| 21th
Website| www.defensayjusticia.org.ar

Home colours

Away colours

|

Current season

Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia, commonly known as Defensa y Justicia, is an Argentine football club from Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, established in 1935.[2] The senior squad currently plays in the Primera División, the top division of the Argentine football league system.

The team plays its home games at Estadio Norberto Tomaghello, with a capacity of approximately 20,000. Defensa y Justicia is one of the clubs with most seasons in Primera B Nacional, also having played in all the divisions of the Argentine league system since their debut in Primera D Metropolitana in 1978.[3]

In 2016, Defensa y Justicia qualified to play their first international tournament, the 2017 Copa Sudamericana.[4] The team advanced to second stage but then lost to Chapecoense on penalties.[5]

In 2021, the club achieved their first international titles after having won both, 2020 Copa Sudamericana to Lanús and 2021 Recopa Sudamericana beating Palmeiras on penalties.[6] Along with Boca Juniors and Deportivo Riestra, Defensa y Justicia is one of the clubs that have not been relegated since their promotion to Primera División.

## History

[edit]

An early amateur team of Defensa y Justicia in 1935, the year the club was founded

The institution was founded on 20 March 1935 by a group of friends who wanted to form a local team. There are no sources explaining how the name was given to the club.[7] Presided by Norberto Tomaghello, Defensa y Justicia affiliated to Argentine Football Association, built its stadium, which was opened with a friendly match against Boca Juniors reserve team in December 1977.

The club's original colors were blue with white collars and cuffs, which were changed to yellow with green details. These were the colors of the bus line "El Halcón", a company that belonged to the club president at the time. This company used its buses to bring the fans to away games, and thus received the nickname "Los Halcones de Varela".[7]

Team of Defensa y Justicia (in the original blue kit) that debuted in Primera D in March 1978

Even though the club was founded as early as 1935, Defensa y Justicia did not play in official tournaments until 1978, when the team debuted in Primera D, defeating Cañuelas 2–1.[7] The starting line-up was: Ramón Correa; Benito López, Roberto Lucarini, Raúl Bustos, Alberto Cortez; Horacio Roselli, Jorge Giache, César Echeverry; Luis Briega, Héctor Cardozo, Oscar Bruno.

Defensa y Justicia played in Primera D until 1982 when the team won the championship and promoted to the upper division, Primera C. Only three years after, Defensa promoted again (this time to Primera B, the second division by then) after winning their second title. Defensa achieved promotion after beating Barracas Central 7–0. That same year, Defensa y Justicia played an "Octogonal", an 8-team tournament which winner promoted to Primera División.

After a 1–1 draw v Atlanta, the club promoted to recently created Primera B Nacional on 1 June 1986, achieving their second promotion within six months. In the first Primera B Nacional season, 1986–87, the team finished 10th. The following years Defensa would be relegated again, but the club returned to Primera B Nacional when winning the 1996–97 title in B Metro.

In 1998–99 season and coached by Ricardo Villa, Defensa was near to promote after eliminating Arsenal de Sarandí and Cipolletti, then losing to Chacarita Juniors (which would then promote along with champion Instituto) 4–2 on aggregate. In the 1999–2000 season, Defensa was coached by Jorge Burruchaga but could not qualify to "Torneo Reducido" (promotion and relegation playoff).

On 14 May 2014, coached by Diego Cocca, Defensa y Justicia reached promotion to Primera División for the first time in its history when they beat San Martín de San Juan 1–0 with the only goal of the match scored by Brian Fernández.[8][9]

Defensa y Justicia debuted in the 2014 Primera División on 9 August 9, 2014 v Racing Club, being defeated 3–1. The team did not make a good performance, finishing 18th out of 20 teams.[10] On the other hand, Defensa had a better performance in Copa Argentina where they eliminated Godoy Cruz and San Lorenzo, but lost to Atlético de Rafaela in quarterfinals.[11] In the next season, 2015 (contested by 30 teams due a restructuring of the tournament), Defensa y Justicia finished in the 21st position, with only 8 games won.

In June 2015, Ariel Holan was appointed as coach in replacement of José Oscar Flores. It was the first tenure of Holan at a professional club in Primera Division after having worked in several coaching positions at Arsenal de Sarandí, Independiente, and Estudiantes de La Plata. He had also worked with Matías Almeyda in River Plate. In 2015–16 Copa Argentina, Defensa eliminated Talleres de Córdoba and then Independiente in the second stage before losing to Belgrano. Nevertheless, in the 2016 Primera División season it was one of the six teams to qualify to 2017 Copa Sudamericana, the first international competition where the club participated.[4] The team advanced to the second stage after eliminating Brazilian side São Paulo on away goal rule but then lost to Chapecoense on penalties after the series ended 1–1 on aggregate.[5]

Being coached by Sebastián Beccacece, Defensa y Justicia made their first performance in 2018–19 Primera División season finishing 2nd. to champion Racing therefore qualifying for the 2020 Copa Libertadores group stage. Defensa y Justicia completed the season with 15 wins, 8 draws and only 2 losses over 25 matches played with 33 goals scored and 18 against. In 2018 Copa Sudamericana, the club eliminated América de Cali and El Nacional qualifying to group stages, where it eliminated Banfield being then beaten by Colombian side Junior on away goal rule after a 3–3 on aggregate.[12]

## Players

[edit]

### Current squad

[edit]

As of 1 May 2025[13]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

1  | GK |  ARG | Facundo Masuero
2  | DF |  ARG | Samuel Lucero
3  | DF |  ARG | Alexis Soto
4  | DF |  ARG | Agustín Sienra
5  | MF |  ARG | Facundo Gutiérrez
6  | DF |  URU | Lucas Ferreira
7  | FW |  ARG | Abiel Osorio
8  | MF |  CHI | César Pérez
9  | FW |  ARG | Juan Miritello
10  | MF |  ARG | Aaron Molinas
11  | FW |  ARG | Gastón Togni
12  | GK |  ARG | Facundo Quintana
13  | DF |  ARG | Lucas Souto
14  | DF |  ARG | Ezequiel Cannavo
15  | DF |  ARG | Damián Pérez
16  | MF |  ARG | Valentín Larralde
17  | FW |  ARG | Agustín Hausch
18  | DF |  ARG | Ignacio Galván (on loan from Racing Club)
19  | MF |  ARG | David Barbona
20  | MF |  ARG | Lucas González
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

21  | MF |  ARG | Matías Miranda
22  | MF |  ARG | Santiago Sosa
24  | MF |  ARG | Maximiliano González (on loan from Lanús)
25  | GK |  ARG | Enrique Bologna
26  | FW |  ARG | Francisco González
27  | DF |  ARG | Fernando Farías
28  | DF |  ARG | Emanuel Aguilera
29  | FW |  ARG | Gastón González
30  | DF |  COL | Kevin Balanta (on loan from Tijuana)
31  | FW |  ARG | Uriel La Roza
32  | MF |  ARG | Matías Sosa
33  | MF |  ARG | Nicolás Palavecino
34  | DF |  ARG | Rafael Delgado
35  | MF |  ARG | Benjamín Schamine
36  | GK |  ARG | Roberto León (on loan from Racing Club)
37  | FW |  ARG | Matías Ramírez (on loan from Godoy Cruz)
38  | DF |  ARG | Tobías Rubio (on loan from Racing Club)
39  | FW |  ARG | Luca Franco
44  | MF |  ARG | Mateo Aguiar

#### Out on loan

[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

-- | GK |  URU | Cristopher Fiermarín (at Deportes Tolima until 31 December 2025)
-- | GK |  ARG | Marcos Ledesma (at Barracas Central until 31 December 2025)
-- | GK |  ARG | Lautaro Amadé (at Racing Montevideo until 31 December 2025)
-- | DF |  PAR | Darío Cáceres (at Nacional until 31 December 2025)
-- | DF |  ARG | Hernán Zuliani (at San Martín T. until 31 December 2025)
-- | DF |  ARG | Francisco Marco (at Los Andes until 31 December 2025)
-- | DF |  ARG | Pedro Ramírez (at Deportivo Riestra until 31 December 2025)
-- | MF |  ARG | Julián López (at Tigre until 31 December 2025)
-- | MF |  ARG | Rodrigo Herrera (at Platense until 31 December 2025)
-- | MF |  PAR | Rodrigo Bogarín (at Querétaro until 31 December 2025)
-- | MF |  PAR | Aldo Maíz (at Guaraní until 31 December 2025)
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

-- | MF |  ARG | Tomás Ortiz (at Chacarita Juniors until 31 December 2025)
-- | MF |  ARG | Braian Rivero (at Racing (Córdoba) until 31 December 2025)
-- | MF |  ARG | Manuel Duarte (at Barracas Central until 31 December 2025)
-- | MF |  ARG | Tomás Escalante (at San Martín SJ until 31 December 2025)
-- | FW |  ARG | Luciano Herrera (at Newell's Old Boys until 31 December 2025)
-- | FW |  ARG | Lautaro Fedele (at Atlanta until 31 December 2025)
-- | FW |  ARG | Ayrton Portillo (at San Martín SJ until 31 December 2025)
-- | FW |  ARG | Facundo Echevarría (at Arsenal de Sarandí until 31 December 2025)
-- | FW |  ARG | Federico Versaci (at Tristán Suárez until 31 December 2025)
-- | FW |  ARG | Leandro Espejo (at Olimpo until 31 December 2025)

## Managers

[edit]

* Ricardo Zielinski (2002–03)
* Jorge Bermúdez (2010)
* Jorge Almirón (2012–13)
* Diego Cocca (2013–14)
* José Oscar Flores (2014–15)
* Ariel Holan (2015–16)
* Sebastián Beccacece (2016–17)
* Nelson Vivas (2017–18)
* Sebastián Beccacece (2018–19)
* Mariano Soso (2019–20)
* Hernán Crespo (2020–2021)
* Sebastián Beccacece (2021–2022)
* Julio Vaccari (2022–)

## Honours

[edit]

### Senior titles

[edit]

Keys

* Record

* (s) Shared record

Type  | Competition  | Titles  | Runner-up  | Winning years  | Runner-up years

|
|
|
|
|

International
(Cup)  | Copa Sudamericana | 1 | —  | 2020 | —
Recopa Sudamericana | 1 | —  | 2021 | —

### Other titles

[edit]

Titles won in lower divisions:

* Primera B (1): 1996–97
* Primera C (1): 1985
* Primera D (1): 1982

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Defensa". www.defensaaldia.com.ar. Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
2. ^ Defensa y Justicia Archived 2022-04-28 at the Wayback Machine on Vavel
3. ^ "Defensa y Justicia logró el ascenso y escribe su historia". Clarín (in Spanish). 2014-05-15. Archived from the original on 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
4. ^ a b Leandro (2016-10-14). "¡Defensa y Justicia a la Copa Sudamericana 2017! - Infosur Diario, Estamos Cerca Informamos Mejor" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2023-01-29. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
5. ^ a b "Chapecoense eliminó a Defensa y Justicia de la Copa Sudamericana". La Capital. 25 July 2017. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023.
6. ^ Defensa y Justicia se quedó con la Recopa tras ganarle por penales a Palmeiras Archived 2021-11-27 at the Wayback Machine on DirecTV Sports, 15 Apr 2021
7. ^ a b c El Nacimiento de una Pasión, Alejandro Fabbri, CI editores, Buenos Aires (2006)
8. ^ "Se cumplen 5 años del ascenso de Defensa y Justicia". Tycsports.com. 2019-05-14. Archived from the original on 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
9. ^ "Histórico: Defensa y Justicia ascendió a Primera División". www.diariopopular.com.ar (in Spanish). 2014-05-14. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
10. ^ Argentina 2014 Archived 2023-03-28 at the Wayback Machine on the RSSSF by Osvaldo Gorgazzi
11. ^ "Argentina 2013/14". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2023-02-25.
12. ^ Defensa y Justicia vs Junior: resumen, resultado y goles de la vuelta de cuartos Archived 2020-01-17 at the Wayback Machine on As.com
13. ^ "Plantel". ligaprofesional.ar. Retrieved 1 May 2025.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia.

* Official website (in Spanish)

* v
* t
* e

Defensa y Justicia - current squad

* 1 Masuero
* 3 Soto
* 4 Sienra
* 5 Gutiérrez
* 6 Ferreira
* 7 Osorio
* 8 C. Pérez
* 9 Miritello
* 10 Molinas
* 11 Togni
* 12 Quintana
* 13 Lucero
* 14 Cannavo
* 15 D. Pérez
* 16 Larralde
* 17 Hausch
* 18 Galván
* 19 Barbona
* 20 L. González
* 21 Miranda
* 22 Sosa
* 24 M. González
* 25 Bologna
* 26 F. González
* 28 Aguilera
* 29 G. González
* 30 Balanta
* 31 La Roza
* 32 Sosa
* 33 Palavecino
* 34 Delgado
* 35 Schamine
* 37 Ramírez
* 38 Rubio
* Berizovsky
* Franco
* Manager: De Muner

* v
* t
* e

Defensa y Justicia – managers

* Villa (1998–99)
* Agüero (2001)
* Zielinski (2002–03)
* Agüero (2005–06)
* Rezza (2006–08)
* Kuzemka (2008)
* Saporiti (2009)
* Almada (2009)
* Almirón (2009)
* Ramacciotti (2009–10)
* Acuñac (2010)
* Bermúdez (2010)
* Martínez (2010–11)
* Rodríguez (2011–12)
* Villa (2012)
* Almirón (2012–13)
* Cocca (2013–14)
* Franco (2014–15)
* Flores (2015)
* Holan (2015–16)
* Beccacece (2016–17)
* Vivas (2017)
* Fernándezc (2017)
* Vojvoda (2017–18)
* Beccacece (2018–19)
* Soso (2019–20)
* De Munerc (2020)
* Crespo (2020–21)
* De Munerc (2021)
* Beccacece (2021–22)
* Diezc (2022)
* Vaccari (2022–24)
* Quatrocchic (2024)
* Meneghini (2024)
* De Muner (2024–)

(c) = caretaker manager

* v
* t
* e

Defensa y Justicia matches

National|

| Copa Argentina|

* 2023

|

International|

| Copa Sudamericana|

* 2020

|

Recopa Sudamericana|

* 2021

* v
* t
* e

Primera División

Argentine Football Association

2025 clubs|

* Aldosivi
* Argentinos Juniors
* Atlético Tucumán
* Banfield
* Barracas Central
* Belgrano
* Boca Juniors
* Central Córdoba (SdE)
* Defensa y Justicia
* Deportivo Riestra
* Estudiantes (LP)
* Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP)
* Godoy Cruz
* Huracán
* Independiente
* Independiente Rivadavia
* Instituto
* Lanús
* Newell's Old Boys
* Platense
* Racing
* River Plate
* Rosario Central
* San Lorenzo
* San Martín (SJ)
* Sarmiento (J)
* Talleres (C)
* Tigre
* Unión
* Vélez Sarsfield

Seasons|

* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1985–86
* 1986–87
* 1987–88
* 1988–89
* 1989–90
* 1990–91
* 1991–92
* 1992–93
* 1993–94
* 1994–95
* 1995–96
* 1996–97
* 1997–98
* 1998–99
* 1999–2000
* 2000–01
* 2001–02
* 2002–03
* 2003–04
* 2004–05
* 2005–06
* 2006–07
* 2007–08
* 2008–09
* 2009–10
* 2010–11
* 2011–12
* 2012–13
* 2013–14
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2016–17
* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Formats|

* Metropolitano
* Nacional
* Apertura and Clausura

Former bodies|

* Argentine Association Football League
* Federación Amateurs
* Asociación Amateurs
* Liga Argentina
* Superliga Argentina

Related topics|

* All-time table
* Champions (list)
* Goalkeeper award
* Qualifying for Copa Libertadores
* Records
* Top scorers

Categories|

* Disaffiliated teams
* Managers
* Players
* Seasons
* Transfers

* Category
* Commons

*[No.]: Number
*[Pos.]: Position
*[GK]: Goalkeeper
*[DF]: Defender
*[MF]: Midfielder
*[FW]: Forward
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Masuero]: Facundo Masuero
*[Ferreira]: Lucas Ferreira
*[Quintana]: Facundo Quintana
*[Lucero]: Samuel Lucero
*[Cannavo]: Ezequiel Cannavo
*[Sosa]: Santiago Sosa
*[La Roza]: Uriel La Roza
*[Palavecino]: Nicolás Palavecino
*[Schamine]: Benjamín Schamine
*[Rubio]: Tobías Rubio
*[Berizovsky]: Andrés Berizovsky
*[Franco]: Luca Franco