Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito

Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito —often referred to as LDU Quito, Liga de Quito, or simply la Liga— is an Ecuadorian professional football club based in Quito. They play in the Serie A, the highest level of the Ecuadorian professional football league. They play their home games at the Estadio de Liga Deportiva Universitaria, more commonly referred to as La Casa Blanca. Rival clubs include Quito-based clubs Aucas, Deportivo Quito, El Nacional, and Universidad Católica, as well as Guayaquil-based clubs Barcelona and Emelec.

LDU Quito has its roots in the semi-pro sports teams at the Central University of Ecuador, and was officially founded in 1930. They began making an impact in the provincial leagues, winning nine Pichincha titles (six in the professional era). Their provincial success continued into the national league, where they have won ten national title (3rd overall) and are the current league champion having won the 2010 season; they also have two Serie B titles They are the most successful Ecuadorian club in the internnational scene, where they were the first club to win Copa Libertadores (2008), Copa Sudamericana (2009), and the Recopa Sudamericana (2009 and 2010). They are the most successful team on the Pacific coast in international competition and one of only four teams —Boca Juniors, Independiente, and Internacional being the other three— to have achieved the CONMEBOL treble, winning all three continental club tournaments. LDU is the only team to win all three mentioned cups one after another between the years 2008 to 2010 causing them to be rated as the best South American team of 2008 and 2009. LDU Quito was additionally the runner-up at the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup.

History

Creation and early years (1930–1953)

LDU Quito's roots lie in a semi-pro sports team based out of the Universidad Central del Ecuador in 1918, headed by Dr. César Jácome Moscoso. Under the leadership of Dr. Bolívar León, the club was officially founded on January 11, 1930.^[2] In the early days, Liga participated in a variety of disciplines, including soccer, basketball, athletics, boxing, baseball, swimming, ping-pong, and chess. The club's initial budget was about 500 sucres. The first team's players were students from the university, and had to pay for their own uniforms, medicines, and expenses. Dr. León designed the first uniform, placing its crest, a white "U" on an inverted red and blue triangle, on a white shirt, honoring the team's beginnings at the university. Amongst Liga's first players were Carlos Andrade Marín, Oswaldo Mosquera, Alfonso Cevallos, Alfonso Troya and "El Mono" Icaza.

In 1932, LDU Quito won their first football title at an amateur Pichincha tournament; there was no national amateur league at the time. Five teams participated: Liga, Gladiador, Gimnástico, Atlético, and Cleveland. Liga won all their games, and in the final match, played at the Estadio El Ejido, defeated Gladiador by a score of 4–0. Playing for Liga were Jorge Zapater, Eduardo Flores, Alfonso Cevallos, César González, Jorge Vallarino, Jorge Naranjo, Bolívar "Ñato" León, Alejandro Dávalos, Humberto Yáñez, Humberto Freire, and Ernesto Guevara, with Bolívar León as coach. LDU would also win amateur titles in 1952 and 1953, before the league turned professional the following year.

Beginning of professional era (1954–1966)

By 1954, the amateur football association in Pichincha had evolved into the Asociación de Fútbol No Amateur de Pichincha (English: Pichincha Non-Amateur Football Association), which subsequently organized a professional league for their member clubs from Quito and Ambato. The inaugural Campeonato Professional Interandino (English: Inter-Andean Professional Championship) was held in 1954. Liga won the league's first title, under the management of Lucho Vásquez. The club finished as the runner-up in 1955 and 1956, before winning again in 1958 under Argentine Roberto Ortega. The club won four titles during the 1960s, in 1960, 1961, 1966, and 1967, and finished as runner-up in 1962, 1963, and 1964. LDU Quito had the most successful run of any professional Interandino-era club, accumulating a total of 6 regional titles.

In 1957 and from 1960 onwards, winning the Interandino title qualified a team to participate in a tournament which crowned a national champion of Ecuadorian professional football. Liga first participated in 1960, after winning the Interandino cup that year. The team's three subsequent Interandino victories did not lead to a national title; the club's best performance was a third place finish in 1964.

Foreign players became integral to the squad during the 1960s. International players included Paulista José Gomes Nogueira in 1960, Chilean Román Soto in 1961, and Paraguayan José María Ocampo in 1966.

National success, relegation, and comeback (1967–1989)

In 1967, all regional tournaments were discontinued in favor of a single national tournament. Liga won its first national championship in 1969, one year after joining the new league, under the leadership of Brazilian José Gomes Nogueira. Liga's ranks at the time included Francisco "El Tano" Bertocchi, Jorge Tapia, Armando "Tito" Larrea, Carlos Ríos, Santiago Alé, Enrique Portilla, and Ramiro Tobar. Liga's victory granted the club its first Copa Libertadores participation in 1970, where it reached the second phase of the tournament, with '"El Tano" Bertocchi tying for the title of top goalscorer of the tournament.

LDU Quito's success was short-lived; in 1972, the club finished seventh of the eight teams participating in the Serie A. At the time, only four teams from the province of Pichincha could play in the top flight. As the worst-performing Pichincha team, Liga took part in a playoff match against the best-performing Pichincha team in Serie B, Universidad Católica, for a berth in the next season's Serie A tournament. Liga lost the match, relegating it to Serie B for the 1973 season, at the end of which the club faced a second relegation, down to the Segunda Categoria of Ecuadorian football. The club was able to gain promotion back to the Serie B in time for the 1974 season. After winning the first stage of the 1974 Serie B, Liga returned to the Serie A after two years in the lower flights. Liga's rise continued as the team won their second national title after defeating El Nacional. The success was followed by another title win in 1975, marking Liga's first back-to-back national championships. Liga's 1975 and 1976 Copa Libertadores participations saw the squad twice reach the semifinals of the continental tournament. Key to Liga's success were players Polo Carrera, Oscar Zubia, Jorge Tapia, Gustavo Tapia, Walter Maesso, Juan Carlos Gómez, Ramiro Tobar, Juan José Pérez, and Roberto Sussman, along with Colombian coach Leonel Montoya. Liga would round out the decade with a runners-up finish in 1977, allowing for another Copa Libertadores participation in 1978.

In contrast to the team's good performances after coming back from relegation, the 1980s were a dismal decade for the club. Liga's best performance during that period was a runners-up finish in 1981, and a subsequent Copa Libertadores participation in 1982. Player Paulo Cesar was the top Serie A goalscorer in 1981.

Rise to powerhouse status (1990–present)

In the two decades since 1990, LDU Quito enjoyed a period of domestic success. They started the 1990s with a national title, edging established powerhouse Barcelona. Before the end of the decade, Liga won two more national titles in 1998 and 1999. The 1998 title was won the year Liga inaugurated their new stadium, La Casa Blanca, and ended with an impressive 7–0 win over Emelec.

In 2000, the club experienced a period of crisis. This crisis resulted in a poor performance in the national league and Liga was relegated to the Serie B that season. The club mananged to bounce back from relegation and won the Serie B in 2001 to gain promotion back to the Serie A. Two years later in 2003, Liga won their 7th national title. Liga added another three more national titles in 2005 Apertura, 2007, and the most recent season in 2010 to bring their current count to ten, placing them third all-time domestically. Their seven titles since 1990 is the most of any team in that period.

International success (2008–present)

Prior to 2008, Liga had participated in sixteen international/continental tournaments. Their best success in South American football at the beginning of 2008 was reaching the semifinals of the 1975 Copa Libertadores, the 1976 Copa Libertadores, and the 2004 Copa Sudamericana.

On July 2, 2008, Liga became the first-ever Ecuadorian team to win the Copa Libertadores, after defeating Fluminense by 3–1 in a penalty shootout, after tying on points after extra time. LDU Quito's Libertadores title gained the club an automatic berth in the semi-finals of the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup, becoming the first non-Argentine or Brazilian CONMEBOL squad to participate in the tournament. Liga defeated Pachuca by 2–0 in their semifinal match, advancing to the final against 2007-08 UEFA Champions League winners Manchester United. Liga lost the final, which was played on December 21 at Yokohama, Japan, by a score of 1–0.

In June 2009, Liga, as the 2008 Copa Libertadores champion, participated in the 2009 Recopa Sudamericana against the 2008 Copa Sudamericana champion Internacional of Porto Alegre, Brazil. LDU Quito won the first leg, played at Beira Rio stadium in Porto Alegre, by a score of 1–0, with a goal from Claudio Bieler. In the second leg, played at La Casa Blanca, Liga won 3–0 with goals from Carlos Espínola, Claudio Bieler, and Enrique Vera. The 2009 Recopa title was Liga's second international title, as well as being the second international title ever achieved by any Ecuadorian club.

Soon after the Recopa victory, Liga earned their third international trophy in their history, the 2009 Copa Sudamericana. In a rematch of the 2008 Copa Libertadores Final, Liga edged Fluminense with a better goal difference over two legs by winning impressively at home 5–1 and losing 3–0 in Rio de Janeiro. On their way to the finals, they disposed of important clubs from all over South America, such as Libertad of Paraguay, Argentine clubs Lanús and Vélez Sársfield, and Uruguayan club River Plate.

With the Copa Sudamericana title, Liga is one of three teams to have won CONMEBOL's treble. Liga achieved this feat in exactly 17 months, less than the other clubs to have done that. Additionally, they qualified to play in the 2010 Recopa Sudamericana against Argentine club Estudiantes de La Plata. They won the first leg 2–1 with both goals coming from Hernán Barcos. The win at home in the first leg was enough to secure the title after both team drew the second leg 0–0. Liga became the third team to win back-to-back Recopa Sudamericanas.

Colors and badge

Historically, Liga's badge consisted of a large red capital-letter "U" in the Courier typeface. This logo was used from 1950 to 1996. In 1997, the team adopted the current badge in use today. The red and blue colors in the inverted triangle are those from the flag of the city of Quito. For a number of years, the badge had blue stars on the top, one for each national championship. This was discontinued in the mid-2000s. After their success in international club football, the club began to add gold starts to the top of the badge for each international trophy won. To date, there are four gold stars.

As indicated by their nickname, los Albos (The Whites), Liga's kit is historically all-white, with the team's crest over the left breast. The current alternate kit is black in color with gold detailing. Previous alternate kits were grey with orange detailing, gold with grey detailing, red with gold detailing (all three domestic alternates), and black with red detailing (for the Copa Libertadores). During 2008, special kits were worn for the Copa Sudamericana (gold kit) and the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup (black kit). Umbro is the team's kit provider, and American credit card company Diners Club International is the team's current shirt sponsor since 2011. Coca-Cola and Chevrolet are also sponsors.

Stadium

Liga has used four stadiums for their home stadium. Their first stadium was Estadio Universitario César Aníbal Espinoza, on the grounds of the Universidad Central del Ecuador. In 1932, Liga moved to Estadio El Ejido, where a number of other teams in Quito used as a home ground. In 1962, Liga moved to Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, along with a number of other teams from the city. They would use that stadium as a home ground until 1996.

In 1997, LDU Quito inaugurated their own stadium, Estadio Casa Blanca, in the northern part of the city. It is the largest stadium in Quito in terms of capacity, and the second largest in Ecuador after the Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha in Guayaquil. The stadium officially opened on March 5, 1997 in a match against Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro. Liga won the match 3–1.

Since its inauguration, the Casa Blanca has been home to Liga's greatest period of success and is often unbeatable at the stadium. They have had five victory laps (vueltas olimpicas) in the stadium since it was inaugurated for four national titles and one international title (two national title and three international titles were sealed elsewhere in the same time period). Interestingly, Barcelona, Ecuador's most popular and successful team nationally, has never defeated Liga in their new stadium.

Supporters

LDU Quito is one of the most supported clubs in Ecuador. According to a recent study, Liga has the largest fanbase of any team in Quito and the Sierra region of Ecuador, commanding 46% and 38% of the fanbase, respectively.^[3] Nationally, Liga is the country's second or third most popular team in the country. Historically, the team has been considered the third most popular team in the country, but recent domestic and international success has increased their fanbase nationwide.

The club's fans and supporters are known as liguistas (singular: liguista). The team's most noted ultras are known as La Muerte Blanca (English: The White Death). During home games, these fans situate themselves in the southern general stands of the Casa Blanca where they fervently cheer for Liga using large banners, flares, and drums.

Nicknames

Over the years, Liga accumulated a number of nicknames. Because of their traditional white uniforms, they are often called Los Merengues (The Meringues), Los Azucenas (The Lilies), or more commonly Los Albos (The Whites). Their roots at the Central University of Ecuador earned them the nicknames Los Centrales and Los Universitarios (The Collegiates). Their rarely used nickname La Bordadora (The Stitching) was given based on their style of play. Due to their recent international success, they are often called Rey de Copas (King of Cups).

Rivalries

LDU Quito has formed a number of footballing rivalries throughout its history. Their longest-standing rivalry is with Aucas, a southern Quito club founded in 1945, making the two clubs the oldest in the city still in existence. Liga-Aucas matches are referred to as El Superclásico de Quito (English: The Quito Super Derby), and the rivalry traces its history back to the first match on February 1, 1945, which ended in a 1–1 tie. A second match, played on February 18, 1945, ended in a 2–2 draw. At the end of the 90 minutes, the game was 2–1; the timekeeper ended the match, but the referee did not notice, allowing the game to continue into extra time, where Aucas equalized the score. The Superclásico has not been played in official competitions since 2006, when Aucas was relegated to the Serie B.

In the absence of intense rivalry with Aucas, Liga and its fans have developed a strong rivalry with Deportivo Quito.^[4] The Clásico Capitalino (English: Capital Derby) is now the most important game in Quito and is considered a "must win" game of the season. In 2008 and 2009, the match had national championship implications that exacerbated the rivalry to a greater degree.

The small number of teams in the Ecuadorian top-flight means that matches between any two teams are played several times during the year, allowing important rivalries to develop between most of the teams. LDU Quito has rivalries with a number of teams in Quito: El Nacional, the Clásico Universitario against Universidad Católica and now-defunct club Politécnico; and also with teams from around the country, including Guayaquilean club Barcelona.

Players

Current squad

Current squad of Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito (edit)
Sources:

Manager: Edgardo Bauza

Out on loan

Notable players

Listed according to debut.

Early players

1960s–1980s

1990s

2000s

Top scorers

LDU Quito has had six players become the season top-scorer in the Serie A, five players become the top-scorer in the Campeaonato Profesional Interandino, three players as the top-scorer in the Copa Libertadores, one player become the top-scorer in the Copa Sudamericana, and one player become the top-scorer in the Copa CONMEBOL. The team's all-time top scorer is José Vicente Moreno, with 68 goals.

World Cup players

The following players were chosen to represent their country at the FIFA World Cup while contracted to LDU Quito.

Managers

Noted managers

The following managers won at least one trophy when in charge of LDU Quito, in addition to the first manager:

• Bolívar León (first manager)
• César Jácome Mosoco (won the 1932 amateur Pichincha)
• Luis Vásquez (won the 1952 & 1953 amateur Pichincha and the 1954 Interandino)
• Roberto Eliseo Ortega (won the 1958 Interandino)
• José Gomes Nogueira (won the 1960 Interandino and the 1969 Serie A)
• Román Soto Vergara (won the 1961 Interandino)
• José María Ocampo (won the 1966 & 1967 Interandino)
• Leonel Montoya (won promotion in 1973 and won the 1974 and 1975 Serie A)
• Polo Carrera (won the 1990 Serie A)
• Paulo Massa (won the 1998 Serie A)
• Manuel Pellegrini (won the 1999 Serie A)
• Julio Asad (won the 2001 Serie B and promotion to the Serie A)
• Jorge Fossati (first tenure, won the 2003 Serie A; second tenure, won the 2009 Recopa Sudamericana and 2009 Copa Sudamericana)
• Juan Carlos Oblitas (won the 2005 Apertura)
• Edgardo Bauza (first tenure, won the 2007 Serie A and 2008 Copa Libertadores; second tenure, won the 2010 Recopa Sudamericana and the 2010 Serie A)

Honors

LDU Quito is one of the most successful clubs in the history of Ecuadorian football, with nine regional titles, ten national titles, and four international titles. Liga won three amateur titles in the Interandino amateur era, tying them for third overall with Gimnástico. In the Interandino's professional era, Liga won six titles, which makes them the most successful team. Nationally, the club has won ten national titles, the last one in 2010. Their national title count places them third overall behind Barcelona, El Nacional (both with thirteen titles), and tied with Emelec. Liga is the only Ecuadorian club have won international titles, of which they have won four.

Regional^[9][10]

• Campeonato Amateur del Fútbol de Pichincha (3): 1932, 1952, 1953
• Campeonato Professional Interandino (6): 1954, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1966, 1967

National^[11][12]

• Serie A (10): 1969, 1974, 1975, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005 Apertura, 2007, 2010
• Serie B (2): 1974 E1, 2001

International^[13]

• Copa Libertadores (1): 2008
• Copa Sudamericana (1): 2009
• Recopa Sudamericana (2): 2009, 2010

Statistics

Note: All statistics are current as of the end of their last participation.

See also

• Central University of Ecuador

References

External links

• Official website (Spanish)
• FIFA profile

Fan websites

• Club LDU (Spanish)
• Cyber Albos (Spanish)
• Liguista (Spanish)
• Liguistas (Spanish)
• Muerte Blanca (Spanish)