The club was founded on September 27, 1902. Agenor Albornoz who was named first president, José Fierro, Tomás Barber, Manuel Pérez, Federico Rossi, J.A. Beaumont and three English brothers: Cecil. Claude and Percy Hill were some of the illustrious names that signed the founding charter, which makes Atlético the oldest football club from the province of Tucumán. Atlético has played nine seasons in the
Primera Division: eight seasons between 1973 and 1981, and a single season in 1984. The team's best-ever performance in Primera División was in 1979, when they reached the semi-finals of the
Torneo Nacional. In 2008, Atlético Tucumán was promoted to the
Primera Nacional, the second division, after defeating
Racing de Córdoba in the final game of
Torneo Argentino A, and one year later the squad achieved its 2nd consecutive promotion by winning the B Nacional tournament and reaching the
Primera División. Thanks to a 5th-place finish in the
2016 Primera División, the club was able to play the
2017 Copa Libertadores, their first ever continental participation. Atlético began the competition in the second stage, where they beat Ecuadorian club
El Nacional 3–2. This match was strange, as the club used the Argentina national team kit to play. In the next stage, they beat Colombian club
Junior by the same score, qualifying to the group stage. In the group stage, the club finished 3rd, with 2 wins, one draw, and three losses, and was transferred to the
Copa Sudamericana. They entered the Copa Sudamericana in the second stage, where they beat Bolivian club
Oriente Petrolero 6–2. In the next round, they were eliminated by Argentine club
Independiente, who eventually was the tournament champion. The club won the first leg at home 1–0, but lost the second leg 2–0. The club reached the final of the
2016–17 Copa Argentina for the first time in its history, after beating
All Boys, Independiente (who had beat them in the Copa Sudamericana),
Sarmiento,
Vélez Sarsfield, and
Rosario Central. In the
final on 9 December 2017 at
Estadio Malvinas Argentinas,
River Plate won 2–1, but the club still qualified to the
2018 Copa Libertadores group stage because they reached the final. The club has its best international performance in the 2018 Copa Libertadores. They finished second with 10 points in a group containing
Club Libertad,
The Strongest, and
Peñarol. In the round of 16, they beat Atlético Nacional, and got into the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by defending champions
Gremio. ==Rivals==