Deportes Tolima
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| Full name | Club Deportes Tolima S.A. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | El Vinotinto y Oro (The Burgundy and Gold), Los Pijaos (The Pijaos) | |||
| Founded | 18 December 1954 | |||
| Ground | Estadio Manuel Murillo Toro Ibagué, Colombia | |||
| Capacity | 28,100 | |||
| Owner | Gabriel Camargo Salamanca | |||
| Chairman | César Camargo | |||
| Manager | Hernán Torres | |||
| League | Categoría Primera A | |||
| 2021 | 1st, Apertura champions | |||
| Website | Club website | |||
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Club Deportes Tolima S.A., commonly known as Deportes Tolima, or simply as Tolima, is a Colombian professional football club based in Ibagué, Tolima Department that currently plays in the Liga Betplay.
Founded in 1954, the club has won the Colombian top tier thrice: in the 2003–II, 2018–I, and 2021–I tournaments. They play their home games at Estadio Manuel Murillo Toro.
History[]
Foundation[]
Club Deportes Tolima was founded by Manuel Rubio Chávez on 18 December 1954, when he gave Juan Barbieri (an Argentinian living in Ibagué, Colombia) a sum of $5.000 Colombian pesos in order to hire soccer players from his native country. Barbieri came back to Colombia with a mix of Argentine and Colombian players like , and . This team competed for the first time in the Colombian football league in 1955, using the uniform of Argentine club Racing Club. In Tolima's league debut, they finished 7th in the league competing with 9 other teams. In 1957, the club finished runner-up in the league.
1980s and 1990s[]
Senator Gabriel Camargo Salamanca was given the opportunity to work for the team in the 1980s. He accepted, becoming the biggest stock holder of the team. He bought important players such as Francisco Maturana, Óscar Héctor Quintabani, , Arnoldo Iguarán, Óscar López, and . With this team Deportes Tolima finished as league runner-ups in and 1982. Tolima participated for the first time in an international tournament with the 1982 Copa Libertadores, where the club reached the semi-finals after topping their group consisting of Atlético Nacional , Estudiantes de Mérida, and Deportivo Táchira. The team also played the Copa Libertadores the following year, in 1983, where the team was eliminated in the first round after placing second in their group.
In 1993, the club was relegated to the Primera B, or the second division, because of poor results.[1] Tolima played for one year in the second division but won the title, which allowed them to make an immediate return to the top tier for the 1995 season.
The first star: 2003[]
Deportes Tolima had a very interesting group of players for the second half of 2003. These players included Ricardo Ciciliano, Henry Zambrano, Yulián Anchico, Oscar Briceño, Jhon Charría, Jorge Artigas, Nelson Rivas, and Diego Gómez among others. Deportes Tolima finished in sixth place in the league and qualified to the playoffs. The club was placed in a group with against Atlético Nacional, Atlético Junior, and Independiente Medellín. When everyone predicted Atlético Junior would finish first in the mini league and would go to the final, Deportes Tolima beat Atlético Nacional 2–0 in Ibagué and Atlético Junior lost 1–0 to Independiente Medellín in Medellín. WIth these results, Deportes Tolima qualified to the final against Deportivo Cali on head-to-head results after tying Junior on points. Tolima won the first game 2–0 in Ibagué with an exceptional performance of , who scored both goals. In the second leg Tolima lost 3–1 in Cali, which forced penalty kicks as the aggregate score was 3–3. In the penalty shootout, Deportes Tolima only missed one penalty and goalkeeper Diego Gómez saved two penalties, which helped the club win the league title for the first time in history.[2]
2006 runners-up[]
2006 was a great year for Tolima. The team was second on the overall table (points added up over the Apertura and Clausura tournaments), scored the most goals in the year (over 80), and were runners up in the league for 2006-II. At the beginning of 2006, Deportes Tolima did not seem like a very strong team for the season as it did not sign any new players. The coach was Jorge Luis Bernal, who had been the reserve team coach for many years. Deportes Tolima scored well in both home and away games, with victories against Envigado 7–3, Atlético Nacional 5–1, and Millonarios 3–0. They reached the semi-finals of the 2006-I tournament and were placed in a group with Deportivo Pereira, Deportivo Cali, and Once Caldas, but did not make it into the finals.
The 2006-II campaign was even better than the first one. Tolima ended first in the league, and played the semi-finals against Atlético Nacional, Deportivo Pasto, and Boyacá Chicó. Atlético Nacional were leaders of the group most of the time, while Deportes Tolima remained a point behind. A dramatic 2–1 away win over Atlético Nacional made them leaders, and they advanced to the final against Cúcuta Deportivo after a 2–0 win over Boyacá Chicó. The first game was away in Cúcuta and Tolima lost 1–0; later in Ibagué the game ended tied 1–1, with Yulián Anchico scoring Tolima's goal, but it wasn't enough to win the league title.
Since Tolima finished fifth in the 2005 overall table, they were able to play the 2006 Copa Sudamericana. The team began the competition in the first stage, where they beat Independiente Medellín 4–2 on aggregate. In the next stage, Tolima tied against Mineros de Guayana on aggregate, but passed to the next round on the away goals rule. In the third round, the club was matched up with Pachuca. Tolima won the first leg 2–1 at home, but in the second leg in Mexico they lost 5–1, and Tolima was eliminated from the competition, while Pachuca went on to become champion of the cup.[3]
2007 season[]
For the 2007 season Deportes Tolima signed important players like Nicolás Ayr, Diego Cochas, Gustavo Savoia, Gustavo Bolívar, Jorge Perlaza, Roller Cambindo, Javier Arizala, and Jésus Sinisterra. Tolima also got a new coach, Jaime de la Pava. Since Tolima finished second in the 2006 overall table, they qualified for the 2007 Copa Libertadores. They began their campaign in the tournament by defeating Deportivo Táchira on aggregate in the first stage, which qualified the club to the group stage with clubs Grêmio, Cerro Porteño and the team that beat Tolima in the 2006-II finals, Cúcuta Deportivo. Tolima finished third in the group stage and was eliminated after losing to Cucuta Deportivo at home. They had a record of 2 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses, with the two wins being against group winners Gremio and Cerro Porteno.
2010s[]
With a first-place finish in the 2010 annual table, the team qualified for the first stage of the 2011 Copa Libertadores, where Tolima produced a massive upset by beating Ronaldo's Corinthians 2–0.[4][5] In the next few days after the match, Ronaldo announced his retirement, with the match against Tolima being the last match of his professional career.[6] The Colombian club progressed to the group stage, finishing third and being eliminated, including a humiliating 6–1 defeat to Cruzeiro.[7]
In 2014, Tolima won the Copa Colombia for the first time in the club's history, beating Independiente Santa Fe in the finals 3–2 on aggregate.[8]
Stadium[]
Honours[]
- Winners (1): 2022
- Runners-up (1): 2019
- Winners (1): 1994
Performance in CONMEBOL competitions[]
- Copa Libertadores: 6 appearances
- Copa Sudamericana: 4 appearances
- Copa CONMEBOL: 2 appearances
- 1996: First Round
- 1997: Quarter-finals
Players[]
Current squad[]
- As of 24 February 2022[9]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan[]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable players[]
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Managers[]
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References[]
- ^ "TOLIMA SE FUE AL DESCENSO EN LA MÁS COMPLETA INDIGENCIA". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 9 November 1993. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "Tolima se corona por primera vez campeón de Colombia". Caracol Radio (in Spanish). 21 December 2003. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "Se hizo un festín en casa". ESPN Colombia (in Spanish). 9 October 2006. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "Match Report: Deportes Tolima vs. Corinthians". Goal.com. 3 February 2011. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021.
- ^ "Corinthians perde do Tolima e tem queda histórica na Pré-Libertadores". Terra Esportes. 2 February 2011. Archived from the original on 6 February 2011.
- ^ "Ronaldo's troubled farewell". BBC Sport. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
- ^ "El Cruzeiro aplasta al Tolima y roza la clasificación". AS.com (in Spanish). 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021.
- ^ "Así fue el camino de Deportes Tolima, campeón de la Copa Colombia". Futbolred.com (in Spanish). 13 November 2014. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021.
- ^ "Deportes Tolima". Dimayor. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Deportes Tolima. |
- Football clubs in Colombia
- Association football clubs established in 1954
- 1954 establishments in Colombia
- Categoría Primera A clubs
- Categoría Primera B clubs