Club Atlético Bella Vista, usually known simply as Bella Vista is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club plays its home games at Estadio José Nasazzi, which can hold 10,000 spectators.
History
Club Atlético Bella Vista was founded on 4 October 1920.
In 1930, the club went on an international tour across Chile, Peru, Mexico, USA, Brazil and Cuba, with their biggest victory being a 6–0 win against Atlante.[2]
In 1981, the club competed in the Copa Libertadores. The club played in the same group as Peñarol, of Uruguay, and Estudiantes de Mérida and Portuguesa FC, of Venezuela. The club was eliminated in the first stage of the competition. In 1985, the club competed in the Copa Libertadores again. Bella Vista was in the same group of Peñarol, and two Chilean clubs, Colo-Colo and Magallanes, but were again eliminated at the first stage.
In 1990, Bella Vista won the Uruguayan league, and gained the right to enter the following year's Copa Libertadores. In the following year, in 1991, the club competed in the Copa Libertadores, and was in the same group as Nacional, of Uruguay, and Flamengo and Corinthians, of Brazil. The club finished in the last place of the group. In the 1993 Copa Libertadores, Bella Vista was in the same group as Nacional, of Uruguay, and El Nacional and Barcelona, of Ecuador. After a poor campaign, the club was again eliminated in the first stage.
In 1999, the club, after an absence of six years, returned to Copa Libertadores. Bella Vista was in a group containing Nacional, of Uruguay, Estudiantes de Mérida, of Venezuela, and Monterrey, of Mexico. The club finished in third in the first stage, and qualified to the second stage, where they defeated Universidad Católica, of Chile. However, in the quarterfinals, Bella Vista was eliminated by Deportivo Cali, who were the eventual finalists of the competition. It was the club's best campaign ever in the Copa Libertadores.
In 2000, Bella Vista competed again in the Copa Libertadores, and was grouped alongside Bolivians Bolívar, Atlético Mineiro, of Brazil, and Cobreloa, of Chile. The club was eliminated in the first stage of the competition.
The Bella Vista jersey represents the Vatican flag, half yellow and half white. This is why the club is nicknamed the "papales", the ones who follow the papal, el papado, the Vatican authority.
Some versions say the origin can be different. Due to the divided fanaticism between Peñarol and Nacional of the club's former authorities, they decided the jersey to have the predominant colors of the two Uruguayan big clubs. Note that this is exactly what Arsenal of Sarandí from Argentina did when designing its jersey, light blue and red, due to the authorities of the club being Independiente and Racing of Avellaneda supporters.
