Banfield History

Early History

The first football championship of the Second Division in Argentina won by Banfield was in 1989. They were ahead by one point to the team from the English High School in Alexander Watson Hutton, the only club of those currently serving in the Argentine Football Association (AFA)

There was a decline in the beginning of the 20th century resulted in liquidation and a hopeless bankruptcy. It was George Burton, a true lover of football, who regained the assets of the club and brought back the spirit of success. He presided over the club almost continuously until his death in 1928 and under his able leadership the team was promoted to the Primera Division in 1910. During the First World War, many of the players with British origin were enrolled in the Armed Forces and that resulted in team loosing its class.
In 1919, the team earned the right to play in the Primera Division and to take the title of second beating Del Plata club in the final. Banfield was runner-up in 1920 behind First Division of Boca Juniors. In 1921, Banfield won the tournament Cup Honor to win the final to Boca Juniors by 2 to 1. This is the only title that Banfield won in the Primera Division throughout its history.
The death of George Burton in 1928 created a huge power vacuum which plunged into an institutional crisis and sport for a decade. The club remained in amateur football leagues and as a result there was a huge degradation and loss in quality players, public and partners. In 1935, when the current Argentine Football Association (AFA) was set up, Banfield was destined to be in the Second Division and in 1938 finished last in the table of positions lost category.

In late 1938, Florencio Sola, a young entrepreneur, took over the chairmanship of Banfield. He regained the name and credibility of the club with in a short span of period. Florencio Solo brought in the professional vigor and attitude to Banfield. He attracted many first division players to the club and the team was actively involved in the professional league competitions. With players such as Rafael Sanz, Eduardo Silvera, John Baptist Busuzzo, Alfredo De Teran, Armando Farro and others, Banfield made a surprising and unusual campaign in the professional league and that gave the club a nick name "The Drill" by the news paper "El Pampero". Florencio Sola is one of the most important presidents in the history of the institution. The stadium of the club is named after him and was inaugurated in October 1946 by Paraguayan Arsenio Erico, the highest scorer in the history of Argentine soccer.

The 1950s had no major highlights or contributions to offer. In 1960, led by Benicio Acosta and  also with the contribution of the great football knowledge of Valentine Suarez, there began a process that led to the rise of The Drill.  The quality players like of Ediberto Righi, Norberto Raffo, Oscar Lopez, Luis and Roberto Zarate Maidana trained in first division clubs such as Adolfo Vazquez, Oscar Calics and Ezekiel Llanos shaped a remarkable team that was third in 1960, second in 1961 and first in 1962. From 1963, Banfield remained in the Primera Division for a period of 16 seasons with the exception of the year 1973.The highest performance in this period was 1976 National Championship.