To claim its first Argentine Primera Division title in 1913, Racing eliminated River Plate in a playoff match and then proceeded to defeat San Isidrio in the final. This marked the beginning of a golden period of success for the club that became known as “The Academy of Football” as a result, a mark of identity still used by the club and its fans today. In the same year, Racing claimed another domestic cup, the Copa Ibarguren, with a 3-1 victory over Newell’s Old Boys. “The Academy” took out another league title the following year, scoring a whopping 42 goals in 12 games. They followed this up with a second consecutive Copa Ibarguren.

 

It was déjà vu in 1915 when Racing won their third consecutive Primera Division title, again defeating San Isidrio in a repeat of the championship match of two years before. That year, Racing finished unbeaten in the league, with 22 games won and 2 draws, and an incredible record of 95 goals scored and only 5 conceded. Their success continued in 1916 with yet another league championship accompanied by a record of 34 points from 21 games finishing 4 clear of runners up Platense, and again they won the league in 1917, beating runner up River Plate to the post, scoring 58 goals and conceding just 4 for the season. They also took another Copa Ibarguren home to Avellaneda.

 

It was more of the same a year later, with another Primera Division/Copa Ibarguren double. It was in 1919 that Racing moved to a dissident league called the “Asociacion Amateurs de Football”, but their performances remained the same, winning whist remaining unbeaten once again. Their phenomenal run was finally brought to an end by River Plate, who won the 1920 championship by a mere 2 points over Racing. During this period, Racing won 7 Primera Division championships, 9 national cups and 2 international cups.

 

Some of the greatest Argentinean and Uruguayan players of the day represented Racing in these years, such as Zoilo Canavery who played for four of Argentina’s “big five” clubs and became one of the few foreign born players to represent the national team, Alberto Ohaco, considered one of the greatest Argentine players of all time and Racings all time top goal scorer, Alberto Marcovecchio who spent his entire career at Racing and netted over 200 goals, Natalio Perinetti who was offered to play for Real Madrid but refused due to his love for Racing (live TV footage appears to show a ghostly apparition running across the sideline at a modern Racing game – there are those who say it’s the ghost of Perinetti) and Olympian Pedro Ochoa whose style of play inspired a tango song to be written about him by the legendary tango singer Carlos Gardel.

Achievements: Argentine Primera Division – Champions x7
                          Copa Carlos Ibarguren – Winners x5
                          Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires – Winners x4
                         Copa de Honor Cousenier – Winners x 1
                          Campeonato Rioplatense Copa Dr Ricardo C Aldao – Winners x2

Star player: Natalio Perinetti DoB 28 December 1900 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Perinetti spent nearly the entirety of his career with Racing Club. His skills at football were discovered early on, and he was encouraged to register with Racing to try and build a career out of it. There, he met Pedro Ochoa who became Perinetti’s partner on the field and best friend for life. He soon became a key player at Racing due to his speed and control of the ball. He played for the club for 17 years and won 12 titles. Thanks to his stellar performances, Real Madrid President Santiago Bernabeu tried to convince Perinetti to play for his team, but Perinetti refused the offer, such was his love for Racing. He player for Argentina in the 1929 Copa America and the 1930 World Cup. In 1933 he was traded to River Plate, but only played several games there before retiring. He died at 85 and remains a Racing Club icon.