Club Deportivo Garcilaso, most commonly known as Deportivo Garcilaso, or El Garci, is a Peruvian professional football club, based in the city of Cusco. Founded in 1957, the club competes in the Peruvian Primera División, after being promoted by winning the 2022 Copa Perú.
Since its appearance it has maintained a strong rivalry with Cienciano, made up of students from the National College of Sciences. This rivalry between both educational institutions transcended football, giving rise to the Cusco Classic. The club was invited to participate in the Copa Presidente de la República in 1970. Since then, the club participated in the Copa Perú until 2023, where they got promoted to the Liga 1 after winning the tournament in 2022.
The club plays their home games at Estadio Garcilaso, which they share with city rivals Cienciano and Cusco FC. With a capacity of 45,056, the Estadio Garcilaso is the largest stadium in Cusco and has hosted numerous sporting events, most notably the 2004 Copa América which was held in Peru.
History
Deportivo Garcilaso was founded on 13 April 1957 as Deportivo Lucre by the Garmendia brothers.[4] It was then sold to a church pastor, Monsignor Publio B. Prada Torres, who promoted football at the Great Inca Garcilaso de la Vega school and was a father in the church of San Blast.
In 1970 Deportivo Garcilaso was invited by the Peruvian Football Association to participate in the Copa Presidente de la República. After overcoming the group stage, they were eliminated by Porvenir Miraflores.
The club has participated on several occasions in the final stages of the Copa Perú, one of its best campaigns being the 1979 Copa Perú where it reached the Hexagonal Final. They were departmental champion after defeating Manco II of Quillabamba in the final and qualified for the Regional Stage where they eliminated América Star de Juliaca and Juventud La Joya de Puerto Maldonado. In the National Stage, they knocked out Pesca Peru de Mollendo in their group and qualified together with Deportivo Centenario de Ayacucho to the final. In that phase they finished in third place, tied with Defensor Lima, behind ADT Tarma and Comercial Aguas Verdes de Zarumilla, and were eliminated from the tournament.
Deportivo Garcilaso celebrating its 2022 Copa Perú win in Cusco
After being crowned champion of the Departmental League of Cusco for the fifth consecutive year, Deportivo Garcilaso arrived at the national phase with the conviction of having a good performance and winning the long-awaited title. In the regular phase of the national stage in the Copa Perú, the team finished in first place in the general table of the 50 teams, which ensured that they closed the knockout rounds at home. He easily beat Leoncio Prado in the round of 16, Paz Soldán FBC in the round of 16 and in the quarterfinals he had an even key against Ecosem Pasco. The first leg in Pasco was lost 2-0, in the second leg in Cuzco they started losing in the first half, but managed to turn it around by obtaining a final 3-1 and because they were better placed than their rival in the general table, they managed to reach the final quadrangular that would be played in Lima.
In the final of the 2022 Copa Perú they started by drawing 0-0 against Comerciantes, then won 3-0 against Defensor La Bocana, and against Atlético Bruces they thrashed 5-1 and by goal difference they obtained first place and were promoted to Liga 1 for the first time in their history.
The club debuted very well in the 2023 season, placing 7th on the aggregate table and qualified for the 2024 Copa Sudamericana, making their first international appearance. Deportivo Garcilaso placed third in their Copa Sudamericana group and was eliminated in the Group Stage with four points.
Deportivo Garcilaso play their home games in Estadio Garcilaso de la Vega in downtown Cusco. It was named after the Peruvian writer, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. When first inaugurated in 1950, it had a spectator capacity of 22,000 and had a running track. It currently has a capacity of 45,036. The stadium is known for having the cleanest and most well maintained grass pitch in South America. Deportivo Garcilaso shares the stadium with Cienciano and Cusco FC.
In 2004, the stadium's capacity was expanded to 42,000, losing its running track. Because of Cienciano's success in international tournaments, it would be a venue in the Copa America 2004, which was hosted by Peru. In 2013, there was another renovation which expanded the stadium to 45,000 and added new luxury boxes, seating and a new exterior. The initial renovation was meant to add a roof and modern wall around the stadium as well, but was not implemented due to a low budget.
Supporters
Deportivo Garcilaso fans
Deportivo Garcilaso is among the big three clubs of Cusco, the others being Cienciano and Cusco FC. Deportivo Garcilaso fans are known for their vibrant sky blue and red colors. The south stand of the Estadio Garcilaso is painted in the club colors. The north stand is painted red to represent Cienciano. In 2023, Deportivo Garcilaso was ranked third in the Peruvian Primera División in terms of most attendance. With a total attendance of 48,187 by the 10th matchday of the 2023 Liga 1, Deportivo Garcilaso ranked higher than notable clubs Sporting Cristal and FBC Melgar. This made the club the largest club in Cusco in 2023.[5]
In the 2024 season, the club ranked 7th in the most attendance of the season, with a total of 101,317 fans. Rivals Cienciano have ranked higher from the previous season, placing 5th with a total of 157,289 fans.[6] Deportivo Garcilaso ranked the second most popular club of Cusco.
Rivalries
Deportivo Garcilaso has had a long-standing rivalry with local club Cienciano and Cusco FC, known as the Clásico Cusqueño. Upstart Real Garcilaso (now known as Cusco FC), founded in 2009, has outperformed Deportivo in recent years and now plays in the Peruvian Primera Division as well. All three clubs share the same home stadium, Estadio Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. The rivalries are among the biggest in Peru.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
