Once Caldas


Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Palogrande stadium.
They were the surprise winners of the Copa Libertadores in 2004, mainly due to the performances of Juan Carlos Henao and Jhon Viáfara. The club was founded in 1961 after the merger of Deportes Caldas and Deportivo Manizales.

History

In 1950, Deportes Caldas won the Campeonato Profesional, as the Colombian professional football league was named at the time.
Once Caldas was founded in 1959 after the fusion of Once Deportivo and Deportes Caldas. Once Deportivo was founded in 1930 while Deportes Caldas was founded at the end of the 1940s. However, both teams, for various reasons, went defunct. Carlos Gómez Escobar was in favor of reviving Deportes Caldas, but Eduardo Gómez Arrubla's idea was to bring back Once Deportivo. Thanks to the mediation of Dr. Hermán Bueno Ramirez, the three co-founders arrived at the compromise to fuse the existing teams into an entirely new entity, Once Caldas.
In 1961, the merged club debuted in the Campeonato Profesional. The club finished in the 7th position of the competition.
In 1998, Once Caldas was the first division's runner-up. Deportivo Cali defeated the club in the final. In the first leg, in Cali, the home team won 4–0. The second leg, in Manizales, ended in a 0–0 draw. That year the club also disputed its first international competition, the Copa CONMEBOL. Once Caldas was eliminated in the first round by Santos, of Brazil. In the first leg, in Santos, Santos won 2–1. In the second leg, in Manizales, Once Caldas won 2–1, but was defeated 3–2 in the penalty shootout.
In 1999, the club participated in the Copa Libertadores de América for the first time. Once Caldas was in the same group as Deportivo Cali and two Argentine clubs, Vélez Sársfield and River Plate. The side finished in the last position, but only two points behind Vélez Sársfield, which was the group's leader.
In 2002, Once Caldas played in the Copa Libertadores again. Olimpia, of Paraguay, Universidad Católica, of Chile, and Flamengo, of Brazil were in Once Caldas' group. After finishing in the third position, only ahead of Flamengo, the club was eliminated.
In 2003, the side won the first division's Apertura championship, after beating Junior in the final. In Barranquilla, the match ended in a 0–0 draw. In the second leg, Once Caldas won 1–0 in Manizales.
In 2004, the club again played in the Copa Libertadores. After beating Boca Juniors in the penalty shootout, the side, managed by Luis Fernando Montoya, won the competition for the first time. As the Copa Libertadores champions, the club played the Intercontinental Cup against UEFA Champions League champions Porto, of Portugal, in Yokohama, Japan. After a 0–0 draw, the club was defeated 8–7 in the penalty shootout.
In 2005, as the previous year's champion, Once Caldas tried to defend its title in the Copa Libertadores. Chivas de Guadalajara, Cobreloa, and San Lorenzo were in Once Caldas' group. The club finished in second place, two points behind Chivas. In the second stage, the side was eliminated by Tigres UANL of Mexico. In that year, the club also participated in the Recopa Sudamericana, having played against Boca Juniors. In the first leg, in Buenos Aires, Boca Juniors won 3–1. In the second leg, in Manizales, Once Caldas won 2–1 but Boca won 4–3 on aggregate score.

2004 Copa Libertadores campaign

In 2004, Once Caldas won the Copa Libertadores. The matches played by the club are listed below:
Coach
Players
PositionPlayerNotes
GK Juan Carlos Henao
GK Juan Carlos González
DF Miguel Rojas
DF Samuel Vanegas
DF Édgar Cataño
DF Edwin García
DF Jefrey Díaz
MF Jonathan Fabbro
MF Jhon Viáfara
MF Rubén Darío Velázquez
MF Diego Arango
MF Elkin Soto
MF Arnulfo Valentierra
MF Herly Alcázar
MF Raúl Marín
FW Jorge Agudelo
FW Javier Araujo
FW Wilmer Ortegón

Uniform

In early 2005, Once Caldas decided to leave behind the brand Bogota FSS and go to the German brand Adidas. After concluding its contract with Adidas, Once Caldas wears the clothes of the Peruvian company Walon Sport, since the 2008 season.
Once Caldas plays its home matches at Estadio Palogrande, located in Manizales. The stadium was inaugurated in 1936, and had its maximum capacity expanded to its current 43,553 spectators in 2010.

Honours

Domestic

Current squad

Out on loan

Records

Most appearances

Top scorers

Managers