Independiente grew out of a group of employees at a luxury fashion store in Buenos Aires, A la Ciudad de Londres, who wanted a team of their own. The club debuted in the Primera División on 14 July 1912 with a 3–0 win over Kimberley, took its first league title in 1922 ahead of River Plate, San Lorenzo and Racing, and picked up the nickname Diablos Rojos when Manuel Seoane led it to a second in 1926. Seoane retired in 1933 with 241 goals, and Arsenio Erico retired in 1946 as the leading scorer in Primera División history with 295, a record he still holds. In 1940 Independiente hammered Racing 7–0 in the Clásico de Avellaneda, and in 1953 it won 6-0 away to Real Madrid at the Bernabéu. The real glory began in 1964, when Independiente became the first Argentine side to win the Copa Libertadores, and by 1973 a fourth one had broken the record, with Ricardo Bochini the idol of the era. In 1983 the club won the league on the last date against Racing. The golden era ended after 1995, and the 2010 Copa Sudamericana, won on penalties against Goiás, stands out among the isolated highs since.
