C.D. Árabe Unido

Club Deportivo Árabe Unido is a professional football club located in Colón, Panama that plays in Liga Panameña de Fútbol, the top tier of the Panamanian football pyramid. The club plays its games in Estadio Armando Dely Valdés.

Árabe Unido
Full nameClub Deportivo Árabe Unido
Nickname(s)El Expreso Azul (The Blue Express)
Los Árabes (The Arabs)
DAU
La Furia colonense (The Fury from Colón)
El Más Laureado
FoundedApril 28, 1994 (1994-04-28)
GroundEstadio Armando Dely Valdés
Colón, Panama
Capacity4,000
ChairmanPedro Gordon
ManagerSergio Guzmán
LeagueLiga Panameña de Fútbol
2015 (C)1st

History

The club has been one of the most successful in Panama in recent years, winning 15 titles (more than any other team since 1998) and finishing second five times.

It was founded in 1990 by Arab immigrants to Panama, under the name of Club Atlético Argentina, and experienced immediate success. After climbing the Panamanian league system, in 1994 they took advantage of a split in Panama's governing body to move into the top division. What happened was that a rival league (LINFUNA) formed in opposition to the older, existing top flight (ANAPROF). Árabe Unido was almost immediately successful in LINFUNA, winning both championships that the splinter league held in 1994 and 1995.[1]

Their success continued once they re-entered ANAPROF; at that time, Tauro FC was the dominant team in the league and would win three championships in four years between 1996-2000. The only club to break that string was Árabe Unido, which won the 1998-99 title by beating Tauro 3-0 in the playoff final.

After the league switched to the Aprtura/Clausura format in the 2001 season, Los Arabes really began winning titles. The original plan was for the winners of the Apertura to meet the Clausura in a "Grand Final" that would determine the year's champion. Árabe rendered this unnecessary by winning both tournaments. They claimed a third straight championship in Apertura 2002, although they did lose that year's grand final to Plaza Amador.

El Expreso Azul (as fans also called Árabe Unido) would go on to add further honors by sweeping the 2003 season, then winning back to back titles in Clausura 2008 and Apertura 2009. They have also won titles in Clausura 2010, Apertura 2012, Clausura 2015, Apertura 2015, and most recently Apertura 2016.l[2]

Honours

National titles
1998–99, 2001 Apertura, 2001 Clausura, 2002 Apertura, 2004 Apertura, 2004 Clausura, 2008 Clausura, 2009 Apertura, 2010 Clausura, 2012 Apertura, 2015 Clausura, 2015 Apertura, 2016 Apertura
  • LINFUNA: 2 (Record)
1994–95, 1995–96

International titles
Runners-up (1): 2002

Performance in CONCACAF competitions
1996 – Qualifying stage (Central Zone)
  • CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 1 appearance
2003 – First Round
2017 – Semifinal
2018 – Semifinal
2009–10 – Quarterfinal
2010–11 – Group Stage
2013–14 – Quarterfinal
2015–16 – Group Stage
2016–17 – Quarterfinal

Players

Current squad
As of Clausura 2016[3]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  DOM Miguel Lloyd
2 DF  PAN Rigoberto Niño
3 DF  PAN Fidel Caesar
6 DF  PAN Shaquille Coronado
8 MF  PAN Ángel Patrick
10 MF  PAN José González
11 FW  PAN Enrico Small
13 FW  PAN Gabriel Pino
16 MF  PAN Leslie Heraldez
17 MF  PAN Luis Cañate
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF  PAN Daniel López
20 MF  PAN Gabriel Chiari
25 MF  PAN Abdiel Macea
28 MF  PAN Édgar Bárcenas
29 DF  PAN Daniel Ortíz
30 MF  PAN Josimar Gómez
40 DF  PAN Chin Hormechea
70 GK  PAN Eddie Roberts
92 DF  PAN Azmahar Ariano

Retired numbers

21 — Amílcar Henríquez, midfielder (2003–08) — posthumous honour.

Historical list of coaches

References
  1. Árabe Unido Archived 2015-09-05 at the Wayback Machine – CONCACAF
  2. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesp/panamachamp.html
  3. "Jugadores" (in Spanish). arabeunido.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-30. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
  4. Wilman Conde, nuevo DT del Árabe – La Estrella (in Spanish)
  5. Carlos Pérez Porras y sus retos con el Árabe Unido – Crítica (in Spanish)
  6. Jair Palacios nuevo técnico del Árabe Unido Archived 2017-12-01 at the Wayback Machine – PanamaFutbol (in Spanish)
  7. Julio Dely Valdés, nuevo técnico del Árabe Unido de Colón – La Prensa (in Spanish)
  8. Alfonzo De Moya es el nuevo Director Técnico del Árabe Unido Archived 2017-10-30 at the Wayback Machine – Árabe Unido (in Spanish)
  9. Colombiano Juan Guzmán nuevo DT del Árabe Unido de Colón – RPC (in Spanish)
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