Deportivo Cali, a story full of titles, joys and sadness in the FPC

Deportivo Cali was one of the pioneering clubs in Colombian Professional Soccer, in 1912 the Lalinde brothers decided to found the first team of Santiago from cali and what to date is the oldest sports squad in Colombia.

(Read here: Requisition of fans in search of ‘infiltrators’ ends in riot and robbery)

The fans of Deportivo Cali In their 110-year history, they have experienced a series of crises, joys, and sorrows, both nationally and internationally. From the first years of its history, the team from Cali dominated the regional and departmental tournaments from start to finish, in the country’s amateur stage.

shadow stage

Deportivo Cali was one of the founding teams ofl Professional Soccer in Colombia, Thanks to the efforts of 10 teams, they managed to play the first league tournament in 1948, a season in which they failed to play a good role.

The financial crisis that was generated after the time of ‘El Dorado’ led the club to bankruptcy, losing the Dimayor tab in 1955; but 3 years later, in the 1958 Assembly, the sugar team managed to recover their credentials to play for the FPC.

Deportivo Cali from 1970, standing: Luis Largacha. Mario Agudelo, German Gonzalez, Oscar Munoz, Joaquin Sanchez, Juan Martinez, Hernando Garcia and Francisco Pacho Villegas (DT).

Golden years of the club

Its history began to change in 1964, when with the help of Francisco ‘Pancho’ Villegas managed to conquer their first star in the Colombian Professional Soccer. The Olympic lap took place on December 19 in a stadium Paschal Guerrero to ‘burst’, the title unleashed jubilation in the streets of Cali for several days.

Between 1967 and 1970, ‘SuperDepor’ dominated a large part of the Colombian League, raising 3 FPC titles. In 1970, when he got his fourth star, he managed to set the record of 20 consecutive dates without losing, thanks to the strategies of Robert Reskin.

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The history of Deportivo Cali began to enrich itself from 1978, when became the first Colombian team to reach a Copa Libertadores de América final; title that has eluded him for years. In that final game, the sugar bowls fell into the hands of Boca Juniors from Argentina.

Renaissance by the hand of ‘Freckled’

The golden years of Deportivo Cali began to be left behind, the fifth star conquered in 1974 seemed more and more distant; 22 years had to pass before the club from Cali managed to shout champion in the FPC again.

Thanks to the leadership of Fernando ‘el Pecoso’ Castro, the team celebrated one of the most coveted stars after drawing 0-0 against their eternal rival and finishing first in the 1996 season, taking the title from Millonarios.

It seeks to preserve the integrity between baristas from Deportivo Cali and América

The seventh star was not long in coming, the fans they only waited 2 years to be at the top of the FPC again and paint the seventh star on his shield.

But the international arena once again embittered the fans of Deportivo Cali who in 1999 were excited about winning the Libertadores Cup, but the title got out of hand in the penalty shootout against Palmeiras at the Sao Paulo stadium.

In the 21st century, the Santiago de Cali club has managed to embroider three more stars on its shield, the most remembered by sugar fans was that of 2015, when with a generation of young players like Rafael Santos Borré and Harold Preciado they turned olympic.

Deportivo Cali data

The ‘SuperSport’ It is the only team in Colombia with its own stadium, the stadium located in Palmaseca. In addition, it is one of the few clubs in the country to hold elections to renew directors every 4 years.

Till the date, Jorge Ramírez Gallego continues to be the top all-time gunner Deportivo Cali with 198 goals; while Miguel Escobar is the player with the most games played for the club with 537 games.