Cienciano

El Club Cienciano, better known as El Papá (“The Father”), is a football club from the city of Cusco. It was founded on 8 July 1901, is the most representative club of the imperial city, and together with its classic rival, Deportivo Garcilaso, divides the Cusco population among its supporters. It currently plays in the Liga 1, the top division of national football.

It is the first and only Peruvian team to have won official international tournaments of FIFA and Conmebol, winning the Copa Sudamericana in 2003 and the Recopa Sudamericana in 2004 against River Plate and Boca Juniors, respectively. It also has 3 local championship tournaments (Clausura 2001, Apertura 2005 and Clausura 2006), the 2019 Liga 2 National Championship, 3 Copa Perú Región VII titles and 2 Copas Regionales Sur; and at the departmental level, 3 Copas Municipales and 28 Copas de la Liga Departamental del Cusco.

Cienciano is one of the oldest clubs in Peru and maintains a historic rivalry with FBC Melgar, against whom it plays the so-called Clásico del Sur, and they are among the clubs from the interior with the most fans throughout Peru.

According to the IFFHS all-time table, Cienciano was the best team in Peru between the last decade of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century, ranking 103rd, ahead of Sporting Cristal (138), Universitario (149) and Alianza Lima (193); and in December 2003 and September 2004 it was announced by the IFFHS as the best team of the month in the world.

In the all-time table of Peruvian Primera División football it ranks 6th owing to the good campaigns it had in the Primera División, obtaining 3 runner-up finishes in 2001, 2005 and 2006, as well as the Torneo Clausura 2001, Torneo Apertura 2005 and Torneo Clausura 2006.

The club has as its official mascot a Burrito (little donkey), with which it has identified throughout its history.