Based in the outskirts of Montevideo, Penarol are one of the most succesful clubs in South America, having never been relegated from the top flight of Urguayan football in over 100 years. The club holds the record for the most Uruguayan Primera Division championships, with 37 titles. In recognition of the clubs achievements, Penarol were selected as the South American Club of the Century in 1999. 

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Penarols golden era began in 1960, when they competed in the recently created Copa Libertadores, which was known at the time as Copa de Campiones de America. They won the first ever tournament by defeating Paraguays Olimpia in the final. Penarol repeated the feat the following year with victory over Palmeiras. 1961 also saw them play Portuguese club Benfica in the Intercontinental Cup. The first game in Lisbon went Benficas way, but on the return leg Penarol thouroughly dispatched Europeans, who at the time were one of the worlds strongest clubs, 5-0.

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In the early 60’s, Penarol also won three Uruguayan league titles in a row, thus completing a run of five championships in three years. The club had a quiet year in 1963, but things soon picked up again with back to back Uruguayan championships in 1964 and 1965. 1966 was a brilliantly successful year for Penarol, beggining with the domination of that years Copa Libertadores. Despite no Colombian or Brazilian clubs participating due to a disagreement with CONMEBOL, a record 95 matches were played out to decide who the champion would be. Penarol were drawn in group 3 with fellow Uruguayans Nacional, two Bolivian clubs and two clubs from Ecuador.

 

4-0 and 1-0 defeats to Nacional and Jorge Wilstermann meant Penarol didn’t get off to a good start, but things soon picked up with wins over 9 de Octubre, Emelec and Deportivo Munincipal. Penarol went on to win all of their home games with ease, earning themselves a spot in the next stage. They were drawn with Chilean club Universidad Catolica and, again, Nacional in the semi-final round. And again, Penarol suffered with a slow start losing 1-0 twice in a row to Universidad in Santiago. At home, Penarol performed much better, solidly defeating Nacional and Universidad to secure a spot in the final, which was a best of three series against River Plate. Goals from Abbadie and Joya saw Penarol take out the first game in Montevideo before heading across the bay into Argentina for the next match, which they lost 3-2. The third and final match took place on neutral ground in Chile, and was a tough battle with Onega scoring the opener for River Plate and Solari putting the Argentines 2-0 up at half time. Spencer hit back for the Uruguayans just after the hour mark, and so began a remarkable comeback, with Abbadie equalising a few minutes later, forcing the game into extra time. Alberto Spencer gave Penarol the lead in 102nd minute, before Rocha sealed the deal. Penarol had fought hard and won their third Copa Libertadores, and topped this off by also claiming the Intercontinental Cup with a 2-0 win over the brilliant Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernebeu. 

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During the following couple of years, Penarol won a further two league titles, and established the longest undefeated run in Uruguayan football league history: 56 games from September 3rd 1966 to September 14th 1968. Penarol had become a true South American football powerhouse.

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Acheivements:
Primera Division- Champions x7
Intercontinental Cup-Winners x2
Copa Libertadores-Winners x3

Intercontinental Champions Supercup- Winners x1

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Star player: Alberto Spencer, dob 6 December 1937, pob Ancon, Ecuador, nickname: Cabeza Magica (Magic Head)

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Alberto Spencer was born in Ecuador, and is considered to be the best Ecuadorian football player of all time. He is best known for his still-standing record of scoring the most goals in the Copa Libertadores, the most important football tournament in South America.  Spencers unusual (for a South American) surname comes from his father, who was British of Jamaican decent. His nickname was Cabeza Magica (Magic Head), an account of his magnificent heading skills. Spencer was an ambidextrous striker with lethal pace, with brilliant balance and exceptional finishing to boot, tearing defences to shreds for over a decade. While on the books at Penarol, Spencer amassed three Copa Libertadores and two Intercontinental Cups in addition to several Uruguayan league titles. Inter Milan tried to buy Spencer twice, but the Penarol board refused to sell him. He holds a unique distinction on the international front, having been capped by two countries at the same time, Ecuador and Uruguay. In a friendly match against England, he became the first Ecuadorian player to score at Wembley Stadium. Pele stirred up controversy when he omitted Spencers name from his list of 100 Greatest Living Players. Many South American journalists were outraged by this, and thought that many greats, like Spencer, were ruled out in favour of commercialism. In 1982, Spencer was appointed as the Ecuadorian consul to Uruguay. He suffered a heart attack and passed away in Cleveland, United States in 2006. Sadly, despite being one of the greatest South American players of all time, he remains largely unknown elsewhere, possibly due to never playing in Europe or in a World Cup.