 | ||||
| Full name | Deportivo Independiente Medellín | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | El Rojo Paisa (ThePaisa Red)[1] El Poderoso de la Montaña (The Mighty of the Mountain)[2] El Decano (The Dean) El Equipo del Pueblo (The People's Team) Medallo | |||
| Short name | DIM | |||
| Founded | 14 November 1913; 112 years ago (1913-11-14) asMedellín Foot Ball Club | |||
| Ground | Estadio Atanasio Girardot | |||
| Capacity | 40,943[3] | |||
| Chairman | Juan Camilo Restrepo | |||
| Manager | Alejandro Restrepo | |||
| League | Categoría Primera A | |||
| 2024 | Primera A, 10th of 20 | |||
| Website | dimoficial | |||
Deportivo Independiente Medellín, also known asIndependiente Medellín orDIM, is a Colombian professionalfootball club based inMedellín that currently plays in theCategoría Primera A.[4][5] They play their home games atEstadio Atanasio Girardot, which seats 40,943 people, and is also shared with city rivalsAtlético Nacional. The team is dubbed "El Poderoso de la Montaña" (Mighty of the Mountain) due to Medellín's geographical location high in theAndes Mountains, and as a reference to the many amateur titles it won in its early years.[5][6]
Founded in 1913 as the second oldest club in Colombia, Independiente Medellín has won theCategoría Primera A six times: in1955,1957,2002–II,2004–I,2009–II, and2016–I, and theCopa Colombia three times: in1981,2019, and2020. Its best performance at international level was in2003, when the team reached the semifinals of theCopa Libertadores.
Independiente Medellín has a rivalry with Atlético Nacional, and the teams face each other inEl Clásico Paisa, which is considered one of the most important derbies in the country.
Independiente Medellín was founded on 14 November 1913 under the name ofMedellín Foot Ball Club by siblings Alberto, Luis, and Rafael Uribe Piedrahíta.[7] The team played its first match against Sporting Medellín, who defeated them 11–0.
The club won amateur titles in 1918, 1920, 1922, 1923 and 1930; with these titles it became one of the most important teams of Colombia at the time.[8]
In 1948, Medellín joined professional football and played thefirst edition of the Colombian professional league. Medellín placed seventh out of 10 teams, winning seven matches. Their first match was a 4–0 defeat againstAmérica de Cali. Their first win was 3–2 againstJunior.[9]
In 1950, Medellin signed many Peruvian footballers in a movement known asEl Dorado, when Colombian teams signed many foreign footballers. Some of the players signed include brothersConstantino Perales [es] andAgapito Perales,Segundo Castillo,Roberto Drago [es] andLuis Guzmán Gonzales [es]. This squad was dubbed "La Danza del Sol", andthat season the club finished fourth with 34 points.[5]
Medellín did not play in 1952 and 1953 due to economic problems. In 1953, the club changed its entire administration and was renamed to its current name,Deportivo Independiente Medellín.[5] In the club's first season back, the1954 season, they finished third in the league table. 1954 also marked the arrival of Argentine footballerJosé Manuel "El Charro" Moreno, who had won two South American championships with Argentina and many trophies at River Plate.[10][5]
Under El Charro's command, who had taken a role as a player-manager, DIM won its first title in the1955 Campeonato Profesional, finishing first with 31 points and just one defeat. Argentine strikerFelipe Marino was the tournament's top goalscorer, with 22 goals.[5] The team won its second title two years later, in1957, with almost the same players as the previous seasons.José Vicente Grecco was the top scorer of the tournament. Despite having strong squads, in1959 and1961 DIM finished runner-up toMillonarios, who had one of the strongest sides in Colombian football history and won four straight titles from 1960 to 1964; in 1964, DIM also came close to winning the title, finishing third but only three points from Millonarios.[5]
In 1966, Medellín achieved their first ever qualification for theCopa Libertadores, after finishing runner-up in the league. They played against Argentine sidesRacing de Avellaneda andRiver Plate, Bolivian teams31 de Octubre andBolívar, and fellow ColombiansIndependiente Santa Fe. They finished fifth out of six in their group and were eliminated.
In 1971, Medellin did not participate in the league due to economic hardships. The 70s were a low point for the club; the club were consistently finishing in the middle to bottom half of the league table, and were never close to winning the title.[11][5]
The club won its first Copa Colombia in 1981; although this title is not officially recognized by many experts nor byDIMAYOR, it is recognized byCONMEBOL.[12] Despite the joy of winning their first cup, in the1981 league season, the club had a lacklustre season and finished last in the aggregate table with 38 points from 47 matches.[5] Things improved for the rest of the 80s, and despite not winning anymore titles for the decade, the club was consistently qualifying for the octogonal finals.
In1984, with young managerJulio Comesaña at the post, the club finished third in the octogonal, the best participation the club had in the league since 1964.[5]
In 1989, a year where Medellín had one of the strongest squads in the league and was expected to win the title, a tragic event occurred. In one of the final games of the season, Medellín tiedAmérica de Cali 0–0 at home. During the game, linesmanÁlvaro Ortega disallowed a Medellín goal, angering many people.[13] Reports say that a person that had been sent byPablo Escobar hunted Ortega down and murdered him, with the motive being a lost bet on the match. In response, theColombian Football Federation decided to cancel the rest of the season, which left the1989 league season without a winner.[14]
On 19 December 1993, going into the last match of the1993 season, Medellín andJunior were fighting for a tight first place, as both clubs had the same number of points. Junior was playingAmérica de Cali at home inBarranquilla while simultaneously Medellín played hometown rivalsAtlético Nacional. A Medellín win combined with a Junior loss or draw would give Medellín the title. At halftime América were leading the game in Barranquilla 1–0 and in Medellin the game was still 0–0; at that moment América were winning the title due to the draw in Medellín. Junior scored two goals to put the game at 2–1 with ten minutes remaining, and Medellín scored at the same time to put the game at 1–0. América tied the game at 2–2 with seven minutes remaining. The match at Estadio Anatasio Girardot ended with Medellín winning 1–0 while awaiting the 2–2 game in Barranquilla to end, which still had five minutes remaining due to a delay at the start of the second half. Medellín players were celebrating with a victory lap and giving interviews with reporters white they waited for the final whistle in Barranquilla. However,Oswaldo Mackenzie scored a late goal in the 89th minute and gave Junior the 3–2 win and the title, leaving the Medellín players and fans heartbroken.[15][16]
As a result of their great campaign, Medellin returned to the Copa Libertadores for the first time in almost three decades. Entering the1994 edition, they topped their group and then beatUniversitario in the round of 16 before being eliminated by Junior in the quarter-finals.[17]
In the 1994 league season, Medellin had a great season and qualified to the Cuadrangular final, a group of four teams with one of them being rivals Nacional. Going into the last match of the season, Medellin did not have any chance at winning the title, but a win or draw would prevent Nacional from achieving the title; however the match ended 1–0 in favor ofNacional and Nacional won the title.[18]
El Poderoso had a great1999 season, finishing in the top eight of both Apertura and Finalización tournaments, and finishing fourth in the aggregate table. This season was different from the standard format; in the Apertura tournament there were no playoffs. The Finalizacion tournament had playoffs, where Medellin topped their group and qualified for the Finalizacion finals against rivals Nacional, with the winner playing the Apertura tournament champion in a championship final to decide the 1999 league champion. Medellin lost the Finalizacion finals to Nacional 1–0 on aggregate, and Nacional went on to win the league title against Améric, while Medellin missed out on a spot for the2000 Copa Libertadores.[18]
Medellin came close to winning their third league title in2001 thanks toJorge Serna's prolific goalscoring, who finished as top scorer tied with Carlos Castro on 29 goals. The club ended up losing the final toAmérica de Cali 3–0 on aggregate, although they reached the final in an unexpected manner; in the regular season they finished in 10th place and occupied the last seed for the eight teams that qualified for the playoffs through the aggregate table.[19]
After 45 long years of agony, Medellín won its third league title in the2002 Finalización tournament under managerVíctor Luna, who replacedReinaldo Rueda halfway through the season after he was sacked due to poor results. Medellín played againstDeportivo Pasto in the two-legged final.El Rojo Paisa beat Pasto 2–0 at home in the first leg with goals from Robinson Muñoz and an own goal from Julio César Valencia. In the second leg on 23 December 2002, Medellín drew 1–1 away from home, withMauricio Molina scoring Medellín's goal from a free-kick, helping the team lift the trophy after a 3–1 aggregate score.[20][21]
The 2002 league title gave the club a spot in the2003 Copa Libertadores, where they qualified for the knockout stages by topping their group with twelve points, which consisted ofBoca Juniors,Barcelona, andColo-Colo. During the group stage, the club famously beatBianchi's Boca Juniors, 1–0. "Medallo" beatCerro Porteño on penalties in the round of 16 andGrêmio in the quarter-finals to reach the semi-finals for the first time in its history, with their opponent beingSantos. In the first leg played atEstádio Urbano Caldeira, DIM lost 1–0. In the second leg at home,Tressor Moreno scored first to level the aggregate score at 1–1, but the club eventually lost the game 3–2 (4–2 on aggregate) and was eliminated, narrowly missing out for the final, which would have been played against their group stage opponent, Boca Juniors.[17][22][23]
In the 2004 Apertura, Medellín and Nacional qualified for the finals, setting up the first "Paisa" finals in the league's history. The final was played over two legs, both at Atanasio Girardot: in the first leg, Medellín won 2–1 with goals scored byRafael Castillo and Jorge Serna. The second leg was played on 27 June; it ended 0–0 and Medellín became the champion of the2004 Apertura, its fourth league title, won under managerPedro Sarmiento.[24][25][26][18] In the 2004 Finalizacion, the club also made the playoffs, but finished third in its group and were eliminated.
In the2005 Copa Libertadores, the club topped their group, which was made up ofAtletico Paranaense, América de Cali, andLibertad. They also unexpectedly beat Paranaense 4–0 away inCuritiba[27][28] on their way to the round of 16, where they facedBanfield and lost 5–0 on aggregate.[17]
In the2008 Finalización, the club almost won its fifth title, but lost the final to América de Cali withSantiago Escobar as head coach. The next season, the 2009 Apertura, was very poor; the team finished in last place. However, in the2009 Torneo Finalización, with the departure of Santiago Escobar as head coach, his assistant,Leonel Álvarez, replaced him, and the team got its fifth title, beatingAtlético Huila 3–2 on aggregate. In that season,Jackson Martinez broke the league's top scoring record with 18 goals (the previous record wasLéider Preciado's 17 goals),[29] a record that was broken again later byCortuluá forwardMiguel Borja in 2016, with 19 goals.
During the 2010s, DIM was close to winning league titles several times. In the2012 Finalizacion, they qualified to the finals with a last minute goal fromRay Vanegas [es] againstItagui Ditaires. Their rival in the finals wasMillonarios, and after a 1–1 draw on aggregate, DIM lost on penalties.[30] In 2014, they finished as runners-up toIndependiente Santa Fe in that year's Finalización tournament. Six months later they made the final again, this time losing toDeportivo Cali. These losses were finally overcome in the2016 season, where the club won its sixth league title. In the Apertura tournament, they finished first in the regular season table with 40 points. Then they eliminated Deportivo Cali andCortuluá in the playoffs to set up a final with Junior; the first leg inBarranquilla ended 1–1 and the second leg was won by Medellín 2–0, withChristian Marrugo scoring a brace and securing a 3–1 aggregate victory.[31]
With the 2016 league title,El Poderoso gained a spot in the2017 Copa Libertadores, returning to the tournament for the first time since 2010. They were placed in Group 3 along withRiver Plate,Emelec, andMelgar. The club placed third in the group and was transferred to theCopa Sudamericana, where they eventually lost toRacing Club in the second round. One of the highlights of their Copa Libertadores run was beating powerhouse River Plate 2–1 atEstadio Monumental.[17][32]
Medellín's greatest rivalry is with the city's other major club,Atlético Nacional, in a match known asClásico Paisa (Paisa derby). Both clubs share the same stadium; Atanasio Girardot. Atlético Nacional has a clear advantage over Independiente Medellín in titles won, with 35 titles (most in Colombia) to Medellín's 9 titles. However, Medellín defeated Nacional in the first final series played between both, in the2004 Apertura. This was considered as an upset, since Nacional's squad had a much higher value that Medellín's.
The rivalry is especially strong due to each team's main fanbases; Rexixtenxia Norte for Independiente Medellín and Los Del Sur for Atlético Nacional. There are often fights between these two fanbases, which is why sometimes only the fanbase of one team is allowed entry.[33][34][35] The two clubs are named with the location that they occupy in the stadium; Rexixtenxia Norte occupy the northern section and Los Del Sur occupy the southern section.
The firstClásico Paisa was played on 12 September 1948, where Medellín beat Nacional 3–0. Over 300 matches have been played between the two clubs, with Nacional dominating the historical record by 40 wins.[36]
The club also has minor rivalries with other clubs in theMedellín Metropolitan Area, such asEnvigado,Águilas Doradas, andLeones. Although none of these teams have won Primera Division titles, matches between them still draw large crowds due to their close geographical location
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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The following players were chosen to represent their country at the FIFA World Cup while contracted with Independiente Medellín.
Héctor Echeverri (1962)Efraín "Caimán" Sánchez (1962)
Alfredo Mendoza (1986)Gabriel Jaime Gómez (1990)Adolfo Valencia (1998)Aldo Bobadilla (2010)| No. | Name | Goals | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German Cano | 129 |  |
| 2 | José Vicente Grecco | 92 | |
| 3 | Carlos Castro | 91 | |
| 4 | Felipe Marino | 77 | |
| 5 | Jorge Serna | 75 | |
| 6 | Diego Álvarez | 69 | |
| 7 | Uriel Cadavid | 65 | |
| 8 | Perfecto Rodríguez | 64 | |
| 9 | Jackson Martinez | 56 | |
| 10 | Jaime Castrillón | 55 | |
| No. | Name | Games | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Héctor Echeverri | 457 | |
| 2 | Ricardo Calle | 418 | |
| 3 | Roberto Carlos Cortés | 351 | |
| 4 | Ponciano Castro | 342 | |
| 5 | David González | 337 | |
| 6 | John Restrepo | 335 | |
| 7 | José Zárate | 318 | |
| 8 | Álvaro Escobar | 315 | |
| 9 | Carlos Castro | 292 | |
| 10 | Rodolfo Avila | 283 | |
Delfín Benítez Cáceres (1954–57)José Manuel Moreno (1957)René Seghini (1957–58)Pedro Roque Retamozo(interim) (1958)René Seghini (1958–59)Fernando Paternoster (1960)Efraín Sánchez (1960)José Manuel Moreno (1960–62) Carlos Alberto Díaz (1962)Efraín Sánchez (1962–63)José Vicente Grecco (1963)Luis López García (1963–64)José Vicente Grecco (1964–66)
Francisco Hormazábal (1966–67)Leonel Vargas(interim) (1967)Rodrigo Fonnegra (1968–70)Héctor Molina(interim) (1969)Humberto Álvarez(interim) (1969)Ricardo Ramaciotti (1972)Francisco Hormazábal (1972–74)Humberto Ortiz (1974–75)José Vicente Grecco (1975)Juan José Pizzuti (1975–76)Justo Lopera (1976)Edilberto Righi &Pedro Soma (1976–77)Darío Velez(interim) (1977)Efraín Sánchez (1977–78)Bernardo Valencia(interim) (1978–79)Néstor Togneri (1978–79)Bernando Valencia (1979)Víctor Rodríguez (1980)Ricardo Ramaciotti (1980)Leonel Montoya (1981)Jorge Olmedo (1982)
Julio Comesaña (1982–86)Carlos Miguel Diaz(interim) (1983)Bernando Valencia (1986)Ricardo Ramaciotti (1986–87)German Aceros (1987–88)Gonzalo Montoya(interim) (1988)Hugo Gallego (1988)Jaime Rodríguez (1989–91)Julio Comesaña (1992)Hugo Gallego (1992)Nelson Gallego (1992)Luis Augusto García (1993–95)Juan Mujica (1994)Nolberto Molina (1995)Jairo Rios (1995–96)Carlos Restrepo (1996–97)Víctor Luna (1997)
Zlatko Petričević (1997)Fernando Castro (1998–98)Óscar Aristizábal (1998–99)Julio Comesaña (2000)Víctor Luna (2000)Juan José Peláez (2000–02)Álvaro Escobar(interim) (2000–01)Reynaldo Rueda (2002)Víctor Luna (2002–03)Jaime Rodríguez (2003–04)Pedro Sarmiento (1 July 2004 – 30 June 2005)Javier Álvarez (2005–06)Édgar Carvajal(interim) (2006)Víctor Luna (2006–07)Juan José Peláez (2007–08)Santiago Escobar (1 December 2008 – 19 May 2009)Leonel Álvarez (19 May 2009 – 25 May 2010)Édgar Carvajal (1 May 2010 – 31 March 2011)Víctor Luna (1 April 2011 – 22 May 2011)Guillermo Berrío (30 April 2011 – 13 February 2012)Hernán Darío Gómez (13 February 2012 – 19 April 2013)Pedro Sarmiento (3 September 2013 – 21 February 2014)Hernán Torres (21 February 2014 – May 2015)Leonel Álvarez (May 2015 – December 2016)Luis Zubeldía (December 2016 – June 2017)Juan José Peláez (June 2017 – October 2017)
Ismael Rescalvo (December 2017 – June 2018)
Octavio Zambrano (June 2018 – April 2019)Alexis Mendoza (May 2019 – September 2019)Aldo Bobadilla (September 2019 – September 2020)Hernán Darío Gómez (December 2020 – September 2021)Julio Comesaña (September 2021 – June 2022)David González (June 2022 – May 2023)Sebastián Botero (interim) (May 2023 – July 2023)Alfredo Arias (July 2023 – August 2024)Alejandro Restrepo (August 2024 – present)This is the list of presidents of Independiente Medellín since its foundation:[37]
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