Deportes Tolima

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Deportes Tolima
Full name	Corporacion Club Deportes Tolima
Nickname(s)	El Vinotinto y Oro, Los Pijaos
Founded	1954
Ground	Estadio Manuel Murillo Toro
Capacity	31,000
Chairman	Gabriel Camargo Salamanca
Manager	Jorge Luis Bernal
League	Copa Mustang
2006 Apertura	3rd
Home colours 　 Away colours

Deportes Tolima, is a Colombian football club based in the city of Ibagué. The club was founded December 18, 1954 and play their home games at the Manuel Murillo Toro stadium, which has a capacity of approximately 31,000.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Foundation 1.2 Beginning of the 80s 1.3 2003 Title 2 Current roster 3 National Honors 4 International Honors 5 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Foundation

Deportes Tolima was founded by Manuel Rubio Chávez in the year 1954 when he gave Juan Barbieri (an Argentinian living in Ibagué, Colombia) a sum of $5.000.oo Colombian pesos for him to hire soccer players in his native Argentina. Barbieri went back to Colombia with players Jorge Ariel Gandulfo, Oscar Enrique Ferrari, José Oscar Jamardo, Enrique Laino and Carlos Robelle. With those players and some colombians, Deportes Tolima competed for the first time in the Colombian league in 1955 using a uniform similar to the one currently used by the Argentina National Team. Deportes Tolima finished 7th in the league competing with 9 other teams.

[edit] Beginning of the 80s

In the late 1970s and beginning of 1980s Deportes Tolima had, according to many people, their best team. Senator Gabriel Camargo Salamanca was offered some shares in the team and he accepted making him the biggest stock holder of the team. He brought important players to the team like Victor Hugo del Rio, Francisco Maturana, Cristiano Centurion, Oscar Hector Quintabani, Gustavo Mendoza, Hugo Gallego, Osvaldo Redondo, Heberto Carrillo, Aparezido Dozinette de Oliveira aka "Sapuka", Arnoldo Iguaran, Oscar Lopez, Tito Ramon Correa, and Janio Cabezas. With this team Deportes Tolima finished second in the years 1981 and 1982. Participating for the first time in the Copa Libertadores in 1982 getting to the semifinals, and in 1983.

[edit] 2003 Title

Deportes Tolima had a very interesting group of players for the second half of 2003. These players included Ricardo Ciciliano, Henry Zambrano, Rogerio Pereira, Yulian Anchico, Oscar Briceno, John Charria, Jorge Artigas, and Diego Gomez among others. Deportes Tolima played in the semifinals against Atlético Nacional, Atlético Junior, and Independiente Medellín. When everyone predicted Atlético Junior would finish first in the mini league and would go to the final, Deportes Tolima beat Atlético Nacional 2-0 in Ibagué and Atlético Junior lost 1-0 to Independiente Medellín in Medellín. Deportes Tolima played against Deportivo Cali in the finals winning the first game 2-0 in Ibagué with an exceptional performance by Rogerio Pereira, scoring both goals. In the second game of the final Deportes Tolima lost 3-1 forcing penalty shots, with an aggregate score of 3-3. In the penalty shots Deportes Tolima won after only missing one shot and the golie Diego Gomez blocking two from Deportivo Cali, this way Deportes Tolima was crowned champion of Colombia for the first time in 49 years.