- Platense are competing in their first-ever CONMEBOL Libertadores after winning the most eagerly awaited title in the club’s history, and they reached the Round of 16 as runners-up in Group E.
- They will face Coquimbo Unido, with the first leg set for August 12 in Vicente López and the return leg scheduled for August 19 in Chile.
For 120 years, Platense built a powerful identity shaped by the dream of crowning its history and tradition with a title. The ‘Calamar’ from Vicente López, founded on May 25, 1905, boasted a rich history but had never celebrated a championship in the top flight of Argentine football. That changed on June 1, 2025, when Platense ended the long wait by defeating Huracán 1-0 in the Torneo Apertura final, thanks to a stunning left-footed strike into the top corner from Guido Mainero, to be crowned champions for the first time in their history. It was the fitting conclusion to a fairytale campaign for a team that had previously battled near the bottom of the standings and made sacrifice its defining trait.
That title also opened a door the club had never walked through before: the CONMEBOL Libertadores. And the ‘Marrón’ were not content simply to make their debut. In their first appearance in continental competition, they reached the last 16. Platense finished the Group Stage second in Group E with 10 points, behind Corinthians, and sealed qualification in emphatic fashion by defeating the ‘Timão’ 2-0 at the Neo Química Arena in São Paulo, with Franco Zapiola scoring both goals. The midfielder, who had also struck a crucial goal in the Apertura semi-final, became the on-field face of this historic achievement.
The nickname says everything about the club’s character. Platense were dubbed the ‘Calamar’ by journalist Antonio Palacio Zino, who described a team capable of moving “like a squid in its ink”: elusive, awkward to face and difficult to pin down. That identity was reflected on the pitch in 2025, when Platense built their epic run while playing much of the decisive stage away from home. The brown of their shirt, adopted at the beginning of the last century, remains a rarity in Argentine football, while the Estadio Ciudad de Vicente López, a traditional neighborhood ground, now plays host to CONMEBOL Libertadores nights.
The story behind the coaching staff is equally significant. Favio Orsi and Sergio Gómez, the duo behind the title-winning campaign, stepped down after the triumph, leaving the project in the hands of Walter Zunino, who had been part of their coaching staff for six seasons before taking over as head coach in late November 2025. Under his guidance, the ‘Calamar’ have preserved the identity that made them champions and carried it onto the international stage, where every point earned has written a new page in the history of a club that had never before featured in this competition.
On the other side will be another protagonist in an equally fresh story. Coquimbo Unido, the ‘Piratas’ from northern Chile, were also crowned champions of their country in 2025 for the first time in their history, after a dominant campaign, and they too have reached the Libertadores Round of 16 for the first time. The ‘Aurinegro’, coached by Hernán Caputto, share with Platense the spirit of newcomers determined to keep the dream alive: two first-timers, two recent historic titles, facing each other for a place among the top eight teams on the continent.
The tie promises excitement from the opening whistle to the final ball. The first leg will be played on Wednesday, August 12 at the Estadio Ciudad de Vicente López, with Platense at home, while the return leg will take place on Wednesday, August 19 at the Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso in Coquimbo. For the ‘Calamar’, who waited more than a century to celebrate their first championship, every match in the quest for La Gloria Eterna is both a reward and a challenge: the chance to prove that the story of 2025 was not an ending, but merely the beginning.
