América de Cali

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América de Cali
Full name	Corporación Deportiva América de Cali
Nickname(s)	Los diablos rojos (The red devils) , Los Escarlatas (The scarlets), La Mechita (The fuse)
Founded	December 21, 1918 - February 13, 1927
Ground	Estadio Pascual Guerrero Santiago de Cali, Colombia (Capacity 45,625)
Chairman	Carlos Alberto Puente González
Manager	Diego Umaña
League	Fútbol Profesional Colombiano
2007 Clausura	3rd
Home colours 　 Away colours

Corporación Deportiva América, commonly known as América de Cali, is a Colombian football team, based in Cali. The club was founded in 1927. América is widely recognized as one of the most notable and traditional clubs in Colombian soccer history, being the club to have won the second largest number of Fútbol Profesional Colombiano titles (The Colombian First Division). It is considered to be one of the South American soccer powerhouses, because of its international appearances and its worldwide famous players. America is also known as "La Mechita," literally meaning in English "The Fuse" like that of bottle-rocket firework; when the team plays well the fans say "se prendio la mechita", which means "the fuse has ignited". America is recognized as having produced Colombia's top players and they are constantly being exported to leagues across the world. Most of the famous Colombian players that now triumph across the world of soccer and the Colombian national team, were made famous while playing for this institution. However, the past few years have shown a deterioration of the talent that once ranked it among the world's best.

Contents 1 History 1.1 The beginning 1.2 The curse of "Garabato" 1.3 The first championships 1.4 1990s 1.5 The new millennium and the "Clinton List" 2 Rivalries 2.1 América de Cali vs Deportivo Cali 2.2 América de Cali vs Atlético Nacional " The Colombian Superderby" 2.3 América de Cali vs Millonarios: the "clasico" with the most stars 2.4 América de Cali vs Santa Fe: the dispute over the color red 3 Fans 4 Copa Mustang 2008 4.1 Copa Mustang I 5 International Appearances 6 Presidents 7 Records and curiosities 8 Uniform 9 Crest 10 Stadium 11 Current squad 11.1 Reserve & Youth Squad 11.2 Top scorers 11.3 Most games played 11.4 Notable Players 12 Coaches 13 Honors 13.1 National tournaments 13.2 International tournaments 13.3 Reserve teams tournaments 14 References 15 External links

[edit] History

[edit] The beginning

The team's roots trace all the way back to 1918, when some students from Colegio Santa Librada formed their own team, called "America F.C.", to compete with other schools. The team won the Copa Centenario Batalla de Boyacá in 1919. The team's uniform was light blue with white vertical stripes, light blue shorts, and socks with horizontal stripes in white and light blue.^[1][2][3]

América de Cali was founded on February 13, 1927 in some of the poorest neighborhoods of Cali, then an economically emerging city in Colombia. After being expelled inexplicably from the regional tournament, América decides to tour the country in order to continue playing the sport, thus becoming the first Colombian team to play around the country. On February 16, 1948, América officially becomes the first professional Colombian soccer team, and had a large part in creating the first Colombian professional soccer tournament that took place that year.

[edit] The curse of "Garabato"

Benjamin Urrea, better known as "Garabato", was a dentist and one of the most faithful fans of "la mechita".^[4] However, he was very strongly opposed to the professionalization of the club and when he learned of this process being carried out by Humberto Salcedo Fernández, he placed a curse on the institution. He is quoted as saying "que lo vuelvan professional, que hagan con el equipo lo que quieran... que, por mi Dios, America nunca sera campeón", which means that if the team is profesionalized, I swear to God that it will never be champion. Although it is said that this curse was broken in 1979 when the team obtained its first national title, there are many people who believe the curse still holds true in the Copa Libertadores since America has reached 4 finals and never been able to win the cup.^[5] The popular "Garabato" passed away on January 5, 2008 in Cali.^[6]

[edit] The first championships

América got off to a slow start in the Colombian tournament, not achieving even the runner-up position until 1960 and not playing its first Copa Libertadores until 1969. However, the team went through a radical change in 1979, hiring Gabriel Ochoa Uribe as its Coach. During the 12 years Gabriel Ochoa Uribe worked as coach of the team, América obtained its first seven National Cup's and rapidly created an immense diversity of fans that cheered it around the country. During these years, América finished second place in the Copa Libertadores consecutively from 1985-1987.

1979 "Aquel 19" The First Star
Every achievement America de Cali had made throughout its history would be surpassed on December 19, 1979, better known as "Aquel 19" like the popular song by Alberto Beltran. Among these achievements were the 5-0 victory over Deportivo Cali, the undefeated season of 1967, the Second Place finish in 1960 and 1969, and their impressive journey in the 1970 Copa Libertadores. On "Aquel 19" ("That 19"), the entire city of Cali celebrated the team's first national title. Gabriel Ochoa Uribe said, "We are going to be champions. We deserve it. The popular neighborhoods of Cali deserve it. This night we will write history." That night, America de Cali overcame a difficult adversary Union Magdalena, in order to be recognized as the 1979 Colombian Soccer Champion. This unforgettable night, the entire city was painted red with the fans who celebrated until the next day.

1982 A Title in the Cold
After just three years of winning their first title, America de Cali was heading towards their second one. It was a cold and grey morning that day in Bogotá, where the team faced Millonarios. With noise and an old bus, America de Cali arrived to the stadium Nemesio Camacho (El Campín). Caleños that lived in the city came to support the team as well as many fans arriving from Cali. Millonarios came out with their full attack, but America de Cali played with tranquility and soon enough the first goal came As they kept a close watch on the other games being played that day, America de Cali withstood the constant attack of Millonarios. Time took an important role and as it ran down, it only benefited America de Cali. Deportes Tolima had won their match, Pereira were tying their match, and Nacional had scored their second goal. Everything was going their way and the only thing left to do was win the game against Millonarios. The final minutes were very tense, but once the referee blew the whistle, the fans were able to chant once more, "America Campeon".

1983 Third Star
America de Cali began the season with some changes to create a stronger team for the Copa Libertadores. It included the arrivals of Daniel Teglia, Claudio Casares, Willington Ortiz, Rafael "Vallenato" Agudelo, Henry Alape, Jorge Porras, and Luis Antonio Marcollata. They also brought reinforcement with Brazilians Ademir Praticio and Coccota. With a good participation in the Copa Libertadores America de Cali were eliminated in the semifinal round. Gabriel Ochoa Uribe used his experience to prevent the players from losing their head, in order to accomplish one of the two titles. Willington Ortiz and Juan Manuel Battaglia shone for the team and the dynamic duo combined, scored 40 goals that season. Once the second round began only one team was considered favorite, America de Cali. With the spirit and hard work, America de Cali were back to back champions.

1984 "Champions for a While"
With the same tactics and strength, America de Cali went for their fourth star. With minor changes in the team, it looked to head for their third consecutive title. Under the management of Gabriel Ochoa Uribe, it seemed that the next star would once again be red. Ochoa, showing the country that he was one of the best coaches at the time, proved it by leading the team to various accomplishments. With the fourth star in his pocket, Ochoa showed that America de Cali was here to stay for good.

1985 Fifth Star; Champions once Again
With a great team and head coach, the "Red Devil" fans felt the star at hand. Everyone remembering their first star just 6 years before. These last few years had been great for the team and its history. With a quick season, America de Cali was awaiting once again the last match to become champions once again. They faced an Junior team, who did not want to get humiliated in their last game. America de Cali came out with everything, putting in two creative midfielders, Roberto Cabañas and Alex Escobar. With a quick goal it seemed to be an easy game for the Devils, but Junior pulled together and played it safe, to at least leave with a decent result. America de Cali continued to attack, but the opponent's defense stood well and did not let anything else happen. With a few plays dangerous plays from both sides, in the end, America won with a minimum difference 1-0, obtaining the fifth star for the "Red Devils".

1986 Five consecutive titles
The "Red Devils" made history this year by obtaining five national titles in a row; the highest number of consecutive titles previously was four, by Millonarios. The star was won against their rivals Deportivo Cali, which made the achievement even more special for both the fans and the players.

The Libertadores finals

• 1985 America reached its first Copa Libertadores final against Argentinos Juniors. In a tie breaker match in Asuncion, America was defeated in penalty kicks. The final shot was originally assigned to the goalie Julio Cesar Falcioni, but he backed out last minute and the responsibility was given to Antony de Avila, who failed to score and as a result America lost the final.

• 1986 This year, America reached the final of Copa Libertadores for the second time in a row. This time the opponent was River Plate, but once again America would fall short of their objective. River Plate was superior to America that year and won both matches with goals by "El Bufalo" Funes.

• 1987 For the third time in a row, America was able to reach the final and again without success. The rival this year was Peñarol; the first match in Cali was won by America 2-0 and the second match in Montevideo was won by Peñarol 2-1, which brought on a third match to break the tie. During the third match in Santiago de Chile, America played a defensive game and were the champions until the final 10 seconds of the match, but then Diego Aguirre scored a goal for Peñarol and took the title literally in the final moment. This was devastating for America because it was the third Libertadores final lost back to back.
  • It is also important to note that seconds before the goal, the referee Hernan Silva, omitted a clear foul committed against Victor Luna. Another curios fact is that had the present tournament rules been applied, America would be the winner and with more reason if the "visitor's goal" rule is used. The next year in 1988, the rules were changed and a third "tie breaker match" was no longer played.

[edit] 1990s

The 1989 tournament was suspended due to the assassination of the referee, Álvaro Ortega. The following year in 1990, America de Cali was once again champion and the following year marked the departure of Gabriel Ochoa Uribe. With his departure, many feared that the winning streak for the "Red Devils" was over. Despite this belief, in 1992, with Francisco Maturana as head coach and Diego Edison Umaña as assistant, América obtained its eighth star and appeared to continue its winning streak from the prior decade. Five years later, America de Cali was able to taste another championship; this was the longest tournament in the history of Colombian Professional Soccer, lasting a year and a half. During this year, America held the first position during the entire tournament and they were crowned champions of the 1996-1997 season after the final match against Atletico Bucaramanga.

Also in 1996, America was recognized by the IFFHS official world club ranking as the second best team in the world, preceded by Juventus of Italy. In 1999, America disputed the national title with Atletico Nacional, in the end losing by way of penalty kicks. After playing two finals in less than three days, America finished the year off with excellent achievements: runner-up of Copa Mustang and winner of the 1999 edition of Copa Merconorte, the team's first international title, against Santa Fe.

The fourth Libertadores final "Garabato strikes again"

• 1996 America de Cali once again reached the final of the Copa Libertadores, again with River Plate. America won the first game in Cali 1-0 with an excellent goal by Antony de Avila from a very closed angle. This was America's chance for revenge after the loss in the 1986 final against the same rival, but in the end America lost famously on an Oscar Córdoba error. The first goal was scored by Hernan Crespo and in an incredible play by Oscar Córdoba, where he left the box and did not clear the ball correctly, Hernan Crespo scored the second goal.

[edit] The new millennium and the "Clinton List"

Despite having won the Colombian League three more times from 2000-2002, América has entered the millennium in economic hardship and unable to prove the team that astonished the world in the 1980s. In 1995, Corporación Deportiva América was placed under watch by Executive Order 12978, commonly known in Colombia as the Clinton List. Because of its past connections with drug cartels, the United States froze the team's assets in the U.S. (valued around $1 Million), and ordered other companies not to conduct direct business with América. Also, according to the club's president,

Carlos Puente, the club never received the prize money of $200,000 from the Copa Merconorte championship. Since then, América's economic crisis has been severe. Currently immersed in nearly $2 million dollars worth of debt, América has survived four years without a direct sponsor and only receiving money through minimum attendance at the Pascual Guerrero and the selling of soccer jerseys. The monthly salaries of its players do not exceed $3000 dollars, and América has seen itself forced to make money by selling its most recognized players.

However, despite its troubling economic situation, América has maintained a very respectable level of play and still holds a strong tradition as a historical team, although this is slowly fading too. In 2003, America again faced River Plate in the quarterfinal round of the Copa Libertadores, and got their revenge by winning 4-1 (see video).

After three tournaments without reaching the final round, in 2007 America was finally able to do so with Diego Edinson Umaña as head coach and the assistance of Alex Escobar. The team made an excellent season and was a firm candidate to win the tournament, in the end falling short by only one goal. Despite this, the team was not left empty-handed since they obtained a berth to Copa Sudamericana 2008, after 3 years of not participating in an international event. For the 2008 season, Diego Umaña extended his contract and is currently in the process of preparing the team for both Copa Mustang and Copa Sudamericana.

[edit] Rivalries

[edit] América de Cali vs Deportivo Cali

This game is called "el clasico vallecaucano", which translated into English means "the cauca valley derby" and by many it is considered to be the "superclasico" of Colombia, very similar to a Boca Juniors vs River Plate match. There is a long standing rivalry between these two teams and they have 20 titles combined (one more than Millonarios vs Santa Fe combined), making Cali one of the most important cities in this sport. The first trace of this derby match was in the final of a local tournament in 1931, where América was defeated by The Cali Football Club 0-1; the referee did not count two of América's goals because of supposed offsides plays. Due to the referee's poor performance, América published a series of articles as a protest, leading to the team's suspension from local tournaments for a period of one year.^[7] Cali and America have played 262 "clasicos": with 95 wins for Cali, 82 wins for América and 85 draws. In 1969, Deportivo Cali defeated America and won the championship. In 1986, América obtained its fifth consecutive title in the final match against Deportivo Cali and also another title in 1992. This match currently brings 30 to 35 thousand spectators to the stadium.

[edit] América de Cali vs Atlético Nacional " The Colombian Superderby"

This is one of the most followed games in Fútbol Profesional Colombiano. Since 1979, América and Nacional have seen each other in 15 finals (previously, finals were between more than 2 teams). The most recent final between the two was in 2002, where América was able to defeat Nacional in both matches and as a result obtained the 12th title in its history. Statistics from matches between these two teams show that this is the most even "clasico", with 79 wins for América, 74 for Nacional, and 75 draws. The first time they faced each other in Copa Libertadores was in 1991, and up to this date América has 6 victories, Nacional has 4, and there was one draw.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] América de Cali vs Millonarios: the "clasico" with the most stars

These two teams combined have 25 titles and also count with numerous supporter groups known as barras bravas. The rivalry began in the late 70s when América obtained its first title and it grew throughout the 80s, a decade dominated by these two teams. Out of the 10 titles from this decade América won 5 of them and Millonarios won 2. In the 1982 final, América de Cali defeated Millonarios in El Campin, reaching the second title in the club's history. This game was known to paralize the entire country and they fought the 1989 title shoulder to shoulder, until it was cancelled.

[edit] América de Cali vs Santa Fe: the dispute over the color red

This is a much more recent rivalry which does not have an exact date of origin, but it is said that it originated in the late 80s and early 90s when many of Santa Fe's best players were transferred to América de Cali, with little economic compensation and in the end favored América in obtaining various titles. In the 1999 edition of Copa Merconorte, these two teams faced each other in the final, where América won 2-1 in Cali and Santa Fe won 1-0 in Bogotá. Finally, the game was decided in penalty shootouts, where América obtained its first international title.

On May 11th, 2005, in a game between the two in El Campin, a fight broke out between the teams' barras bravas leaving one dead person. The game was suspended, declaring América the winner by 5-2. This unfortunate event made the rivalry grow even more, although this only occurs in the city of Bogotá; in Cali it is just another game.

[edit] Fans

The first traditional supporter groups originated during the 1970s, such as "Estrella Roja", "El Reloj", "Sentimiento Rojo" and "Aquel 19" among others. Most of these groups still exist today and locate themselves in the east section of the stadium. In 1991, "La Furia Roja" was born, which was mainly conformed by adults from poor neighborhoods in Cali and characterized themselves with travelling long distances across the country with the team. In 1997, a group of adolescents formed America's first barra brava and named it "Baron Rojo Sur". From its creation, the supporter group is known for having

large numbers of fans throughout the country and in cities around the world such as New York and Miami. A great variety of chants have been composed by "Baron Rojo Sur" members, taking the instrumentals of popular songs, of various genres, as models. The latest musical work is called "La Cumbia del Rojo", which was launched in mid 2007 and has gained a great deal of popularity among America fans throughout the country. The name of the supporter group was inspired by a Spanish rock band called Baron Rojo and "Sur", meaning "South", comes from where they situate themselves in the stadium. Another group with a large number of fans is "Disturbio Rojo" from Bogotá.

During the Copa Mustang II 2007, the average assistance in home games was 20,440 spectators per match.

[edit] Copa Mustang 2008

[edit] Copa Mustang I

The new season began on July 22 and América did very well, and was a firm candidate to win the championship, but in the end fell one goal short. Nonetheless, the team made an excellent season and obtained a berth to Copa Sudamericana 2008

Fixtures & Results

2008-02-03	América	1–1	Atlético Huila	Pascual Guerrero
	Luis Tejada		Carlos Rentería

2008-02-09	Independiente Santa Fe	2-1	América	Nemesio Camacho
	Luis Seijas, César Valoyes		Luis Tejada

2008-02-16	América	3–1	Once Caldas	Pascual Guerrero
	Victor Cortés(2 goles), Luis Tejada		Édison Chará

2008-02-20	Atlético Bucaramanga	3-0	América	Alfonso Lopez
	Alex Sinisterra(2 goles), José Herrera

2008-02-23	América	3-0	Envigado FC	Pascual Guerrero
	Carlos Valdés, Oscar Restrepo, Paulo Cesar Arango

2008-02-29	Medellin	1-3	América	Atanasio Girardot
	Mauricio Mendoza		Luis Tejada, Victor Cortés, Paulo Cesar Arango

2008-03-09	América	0-1	Deportivo Cali	Pascual Guerrero
			Freddy Hurtado

2008-03-16	La Equidad	4-0	América	Metropolitano de Techo
	Roberto Polo, Román Torres, Wilson Carpintero, Gabriel Torres

2008-03-22	Deportivo Cali	0-4	América	Pascual Guerrero
			Luis Tejada(2 goles), Adrian Ramos(2 goles)

2008-03-30	América	3-1	Deportes Tolima	Pascual Guerrero
	Jersson Gonzalez, Victor Cortés, Luis Tejada		Cristian Marrugo

2008-04-02	Millonarios	3-1	América	Nemesio Camacho
	Ricardo Ciciliano (3 goles)		Adrian Ramos

2008-04-06	América	4-1	Deportivo Pereira	Pascual Guerrero
	Cesar Henriquez, Jersson Gonzalez, Oscar Restrepo, Victor Cortés		Carlos Darwin Quintero

2008-04-12	Cucuta Deportivo	1-1	América	General Santander
	Matías Urbano		Paulo Cesar Arango

2008-04-19	América	1-2	Atletico Junior	Pascual Guerrero
	Adrian Ramos		Haider Palacios, Andres Casañas

2008-04-27	Atletico Nacional	3-2	América	Atanasio Girardot
	Leon Dario Muñoz, Carlos Vilagra, Fernando Martel		Adrian Ramos, Luis Tejada

2008-05-03	América	3-1	Deportes Quindio	Pascual Guerrero
	Luis Tejada (2), Adrian Ramos		Ivan Velásquez

2008-05-10	América	2-0	Deportivo Pasto	Pascual Guerrero
	Paulo Cesar Arango, Luis Tejada

2008-04-18	Chicó F.C	3- 2	América	La Independencia
	Miguel Caneo(3 goals)		Pedro Tavima, Duvan Zapata

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[edit] International Appearances

• Copa Libertadores
  • Runners-up: 1985, 1986, 1987 y 1996
  • Semi-final: 1980, 1983, 1988, 1992, 1993 y 2003
  • Quarter-final: 1991 y 2001
  • First Stage: 1970, 1984, 2005
• Copa Merconorte
  • Champion: 1999
  • First Stage: 1998, 2000 y 2001
• Copa Sudamericana:
  • First Stage: 2002
  • Will participate in Copa Sudamericana 2008
• Copa Conmebol:
  • Semi-final: 1995

[edit] Presidents

• 1948 Humberto Salcedo Fernández
• 1949 Manuel Correa Valencia
• 1950 Luís Carlos Cárdenas
• 1951/1955Manuel Correa Valencia
• 1956/1964 Pedro Sellares
• 1961 Gustavo Valdés
• 1965 Jorge Rengifo
• 1966 Gonzalo Zambrano
• 1966/1973 Alberto Anzola
• 1974/1975 Juan De Dios Guerrero
• 1976/1978 Ricardo León Ocampo
• 1979/1986 José Sanguiovanni
• 1987/1991 Juan José Bellini
• 1993/1994 Pedro Chang
• 1994/1996 Álvaro Muñoz Castro
• 1996/Present Carlos Puente

[edit] Records and curiosities

• America is the only team to have won five consecutive titles in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1986.
• It is the Colombian team to have played the most Copa Libertadores finals, three of the consecutively in the years 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1996.
• It was the last team to win the long version of the tournament (2001) and the first to win the short version (2002-I).
• America won the first three cups of the millennium.
• It's the second of three clubs to achieve ten national championships, behind Club Deportivo Los Millonarios and ahead of Atletico Nacional.
• It's also the second most successful team in national tournaments, having 12 titles, behind Los Millonarios, who has 13.
• It's the second Colombian team to win an international title, the first team being Atletico Nacional.
• In the last 30 years, it is the team to have won the most championships in Colombia.
• To this date America is the only Colombian team to reach the 2nd place in the official world club ranking.
• In 1967, America went undefeated for 22 games and in 1984 beat its own record with 23 games undefeated. Currently, America holds the third place in this record, preceded by Millonarios on two occasions(24 and 26 games undefeated).
• The biggest shut-out in the history was against Cúcuta Deportivo, where America won 9-0.
• The player that won the most championships with a single team is Antony de Avila, with 8 titles.
• The coach that won the most championships with a single team is Gabriel Ochoa Uribe, with 7 titles.
• America de Cali beat Maradona's Argentinos Juniors 3-2 in a friendly tournament played in Cali.
• America was extremely close to signing Diego Armando Maradona for 3 million dollars for a period of 6 months. Unfortunately, this deal fell through due to the numerous offers from European clubs.
• In the 1980s, the head coach Gabriel Ochoa Uribe was offered a goalie who was beginning to show off his abilities. Ochoa refused the offer due to the brilliant performances by [[Julio Cesar Falcioni. The goalkeeper who was close to signing with America was none other than Jose Luis Chilavert, one of the best in the world.
• In the 80s decade, America possessed the most expensive roster in the continent.
• Gabriel Ochoa Uribe played America's first professional team in 1948, and as a coach gave the team its first title in 1979.

[edit] Uniform

• Home uniform: Red shirt, shorts, and socks.
• Away uniform: White shirt, shorts, and socks.
• Third unidorm: Black shirt, shorts, and socks.

According to historic versions, America first started out using the colors blue and white, which belonged to Racing Club from Avellaneda; then America switched to red and blue. From 1927 to 1931, it alternated between a red shirt and white shorts to a white shirt and red shorts. An article written in El Gráfico, where the America players were referred to as "red devils", caused a special impression and from that moment the uniform was completely red.^[8][9]

[edit] Crest

The devil first appeared on the crest in 1940 because of the popular belief that the players "played like devils" on the field. During Gabriel Ochoa Uribe's twelve years with the institution, the devil was always an inconvenience for him so it was removed due to religious reasons. For this reason, the crest only carried the number of stars or titles obtained by the club.

In 1992, the devil was completely removed and was only used for the administrative aspects of the institution. As a celebration of the club's 70 years, the devil was put back on the uniforms. From this date forward, any malignant beliefs regarding the devil have been completely removed. In 2007, in order to conmemorate the club's 80 years of existence, the devil was temporarily replaced with a logo that reads "80 años" (80 years) and underneath "1927-2007"; above the crest are the 12 stars obtained by the club.

[edit] Stadium

Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero

[edit] Current squad

As of January 23, 2008

No. Position Player 1 GK Adrián Berbia 3 DF Emmanuel Acosta 4 MF Jaime Córdoba 5 DF Carlos Valdez 6 MF Mauricio Arquez 7 DF Pablo Stifer Armero 8 FW Mario Alejandro Costas 9 FW Luis Tejada 10 MF Javier Reina 11 MF Harrison Otálvaro Arce 12 GK Álvaro Anzola 13 DF Ivan Velez

No. Position Player 14 MF Jhon Valencia 16 MF Jersson González 17 FW Paulo Cesar Arango 18 FW Carlos Preciado 19 MF Oscar Restrepo 20 FW Gustavo Adrian Ramos 21 MF César Henríquez 24 DF Jhon Harlod Viafara 25 FW Víctor Cortés 26 DF Pedro Tavima 28 MF Gian Carlos Dueñas 30 FW Duvan Zapata

[edit] Reserve & Youth Squad

No. Position Player -- GK José Huber Escobar -- MF Jorge Enrique Vargas -- DF Heriberto Velandia -- DF Luis Felipe Cardoza -- MF Luis Orozco

No. Position Player -- FW Giovanny Arrechea -- DF Luis Fernando Angulo -- DF Juan Camilo Angulo -- MF Francisco Lopez -- GK Rafael Dudamel -- FW Oswaldo José Rodríguez

Transfers 2008

In

--		MF	Jersson González (from Boyacá Chicó F.C.)
--		GK	Adrián Berbia (from Juventud de Las Piedras)
--		MF	Cesar Henríquez (from Melipilla)
--		FW	Mario Alejandro Costas (from L.A. Firpo)
--		MF	Oscar Restrepo (from Deportivo Pereira)
--		DF	Heriberto Velandia (from Monagas Sport Club)
--		GK	Álvaro Anzola (from)
--		FW	Víctor Cortés (from Cucuta Deportivo)
--		DF	Luis Felipe Cardoza (from Aragua)
--		DF	Harlod Viafara (from Atletico Huila)
--		MF	Francisco Lopez (from Atletico Huila)

Out

--		MF	Hugo Pablo Centurión (released)
--		GK	Diego Gómez (released)
--		FW	Leonardo Mina Polo (released)
--		MF	Jorge Banguero (to Atlético Junior)
--		FW	Mauricio Mendoza (to Deportivo Independiente Medellín)
--		DF	Brayan Angulo (transfer to Boavista F.C.)
--			Carlos Chávez (released)
--			Andrés Felipe Arboleda (released)
--			Anier Figueroa (released)
--		MF	Humberto Osorio (released)
--			Duvier Riascos (released)
--		MF	Jorge Rojas (transfer to Unión Atlético Maracaibo)
--		DF	Andrés Gonzalez (transferred to Independiente Santa Fe)
--		FW	Cristian Nazarith (transferred to Independiente Santa Fe)
--		DF	Fernando Monroy (transferred to Millonarios)

Eligible to transfer

[edit] Top scorers

Name	Goals	Country
Antony de Ávila	201
Jorge Ramón Cáceres	135
Juan Manuel Battaglia	93
Armando Torres	90
Orlando Maturana	74
Alex Escobar	73
Jairo Castillo	73
Camilo Cervino	65
Jorge Da Silva	65
Leonardo Fabio Moreno	64
Julio Aragon	60
Victor Lugo	59
Ricardo Gareca	57
Julio Sanlorenzo	53
Gilberto Cuero	52
Willington Ortiz	50

[edit] Most games played

Name	Games Played	Country
Alex Escobar	505
Antony de Ávila	483
Luis Eduardo Reyes	396
Gilberto Cuero	389
Julio César Falcioni	376
Hugo Valencia	357
Juan Manuel Battaglia	353
Gabriel Chaparro	340
Víctor Lugo	325
Gerardo González Aquino	312
Foad Maziri	312
Wilmer Cabrera	301
Carlos Arturo Riascos	284
James Cardona	278
Jorge Ramón Cáceres	270
Víctor Espinoza	261

[edit] Notable Players

		MF	Juan Manuel Battaglia (1979–1989)
		MF	Gerardo Gonzalez Aquino (1979–1985)
		GK	Julio César Falcioni (1981–1989)
		FW	César Cueto (1982–1983)
		FW	Willington José Ortiz (1982–1988)
		FW	Roberto Cabañas (1984–1989)
		FW	Ricardo Gareca (1985–1988)
		FW	Antony de Ávila (1985–1997)
		FW	Jorge da Silva (1990–1993)
		GK	Ángel Comizzo (1993)
		GK	Óscar Córdoba (1993–1997)
		MF	Giovanny Hernández (1994–1996)
		MF	Marco Etcheverry (1995)
		FW	Adolfo Valencia (1997)
		MF	Fabián Vargas (1998–2002)
		MF	David Ferreira (2000–2005)
		FW	Luis Tejada (2007–present)
		DF	Jorge Bermúdez

[edit] Coaches

Position	Name	Country
Head Coach	Diego Edison Umaña
Assistant Coach	Alexander Escobar Ganan
Assistant Coach	Otoniel Quintana
Trainer	Ramón Alejandro Vásquez
Medic	Carlos Muñoz Galarza
Medic	Juan Carlos Tafurth

[edit] Honors

[edit] National tournaments

• Copa Centenario Batalla de Boyaca
  • Winners (1): 1919
• Mustang Cup:
  • Winners (12): 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002-I
  • Runners-up (6): 1960, 1969, 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999

[edit] International tournaments

• Copa Simon Bolivar:
  • Winners (1): 1976
• Copa Merconorte:
  • Winners (1): 1999
• Copa Libertadores:
  • Runners-up (4): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1996

Named second best team in the world in 1996.

[edit] Reserve teams tournaments

• National Reserves Tournament
  • Winners: (5) 1966, 1967, 1981, 2003, 2004
• Primera C
  • Winners: (2) 1996, 1998
• El Pais Cup (Liga Vallecaucana de Futbol) (2):
  • Winners: (2) 2006, 2007

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Corporación Deportiva América de Cali
• Official DIMAYOR Page
• Official Myspace Fan Page
• Official Baron Rojo Sur Fan Page

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