Deportivo Cali
Club Profesional Deportivo Cali S.A., best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A.
In the start of the 21st century, the club saw a major downfall in quality of players, quality of team and general managers, and overall results in both the domestic league and international competition. On 24 October 2002, players Herman Gaviria and Giovanni Córdoba were hit by lightning during a training session with the team. Gaviria was killed instantly, though he was not pronounced dead until arriving at Valle del Lilí Hospital, while Córdoba died three days later. At the time, the team was leading the 2002 Finalización and was heavily favored to win the title but was unable to recover from this event and ended in second place of its semifinal group, behind eventual champions Independiente Medellín. During this timeframe, Cali won its eighth domestic championship in the 2005 Finalización tournament after beating Real Cartagena in the finals, with Hugo Rodallega as joint top scorer of the tournament, and other outstanding players such as Panamanian striker Blas Pérez and midfielder Ricardo Ciciliano, but also lost finals to underdog teams such as Deportes Tolima and Deportivo Pasto in the 2003 Finalización and 2006 Apertura tournaments, respectively.
Amateur era
Cali Football Club was formed in 1908 by students under the leadership of Nazario Lalinde, Juan Pablo Lalinde and Fidel Lalinde, who came back from Europe bringing football to the city of Cali, but in 1912 the students under the leadership of the three Lalinde brothers organized the team and renamed it as Deportivo Cali beginning practice under their first coach, Catalan born Francisco Villa Bisa. Their first match was between CFC "A" and CFC "B" in the Versailles pitch, with 300 spectators in attendance. By 1928 the name was changed to "Deportivo Cali A" and the club represented the Valle del Cauca Department in the National Games, earning the titles between 1928 and 1930.
Early professional era
Deportivo Cali's first game in the Colombian professional league was a defeat against Junior in Barranquilla by a 2–0 score, and their first match at home was a 2–2 draw against Deportes Caldas. After losing 3–2 against Millonarios in Bogotá, their first victory came in the fourth match against Atlético Nacional (then Atlético Municipal) by a 4–1 score. They would end the season in eighth place with a record of 6 victories, 4 draws and 8 defeats. In 1949 the businessman and sugar tycoon of the Valle del Cauca region Carlos Sarmiento Lora became club chairman, and driven by his personal affinity with Peruvian football he recruited several footballers from that country such as Máximo "Vides" Mosquera, Guillermo Barbadillo, Valeriano López, Víctor Pasalaqua, Eliseo Morales, Luis "Tigrillo" Salazar, Manuel Drago and Manuel García, who were complemented by the Argentines Luis Ferreyra, Manuel Giúdice, and Ricardo "Tanque" Ruiz (who was with the team since the previous year), along with Peruvian coach Adelfo Magallanes. Forwards Mosquera, Barbadillo and López went on to form and lead what became known as the Rodillo Negro (Black Roller). With them, Deportivo Cali went on to establish a 18-match unbeaten streak in the 1949 league championship which allowed them to end up tied in points with Millonarios, forcing a tiebreaker final series to decide the champion. Deportivo Cali ended as league runners-up for the first time after losing both matches of the series (3–2 in Bogotá and 1–0 in Cali). For the following season, manager Magallanes left for crosstown rivals América and was replaced by Carlos Peucelle. Deportivo Cali finished third in the league that year and repeated that placement in the following season. In the remaining years of the El Dorado period the club began a decline, placing fourth in 1952, sixth in 1953, and ninth in 1954.
1955–1959: Withdrawal and hiatus
Deportivo Cali ended the 1955 championship in last place and with huge debts which convinced its board of directors that continue playing in the league was not feasible, which led to the club's withdrawal from the league in 1956. Since this withdrawal was made without prior notice to Dimayor and with the club still owing money to the governing body, Deportivo Cali's affiliation (ficha) was revoked and its players were released. By that time Colombian football had entered a period of crisis, and other clubs were also feeling the aftermath of the end of the El Dorado era. One of those was Boca Juniors de Cali, who had requested permission from Dimayor to sit out of the 1958 league championship but had paid its debts, which enabled it to keep their affiliation rights for the duration of its hiatus, leaving América as the sole Cali representative in the competition, but as they also announced their intention not to participate in the 1959 championship, a move was started to revive Deportivo Cali, which was led by Alex Gorayeb. Gorayeb, who was financially backed by the Colombian Lebanese colony, convinced several football executives of the time to participate, and requested permission from Deportivo Cali's last board of directors to represent them at Dimayor in order to claim back the club's revoked affiliation rights. Although they granted Gorayeb permission to meet with Dimayor as their representative, they did not wish to involve themselves with the club again.
Golden years
In 1962, Deportivo Cali was granted legal status by the Valle del Cauca government. For that year's league championship, the club signed the Argentine footballers Miguel Ángel Baiocco, Roberto Miravelli, Hugo Sgrimaglia, and the Colombian Hermán "Cuca" Aceros, with which Deportivo Cali scored over 100 goals in a league campaign for the first time. However, they once again ended the season as runners-up to Millonarios. In this season, they also recorded their biggest win, as well as one of the biggest wins in league history, thrashing Deportivo Pereira 9–0. Deportivo Cali won their first league title in 1965. For that campaign, the Argentine Francisco "Pancho" Villegas arrived as manager after coaching Cúcuta Deportivo in the previous season, along with players such as Iroldo Rodríguez, Jorge Ramírez Gallego, Óscar López, Joaquín Sánchez, Bernardo "Cunda" Valencia, among others. The team was not off to a good start, having collected two wins, one draw, and three losses in the first six matches of the campaign. However, they were able to stage a comeback during the second half of the season which allowed them to take the lead ahead of the final stretch, moving three points clear of Deportivo Pereira. One of the most remembered matches of the campaign was a 3–2 derby win against América in which they were able to bounce back from a 2–0 deficit with only five minutes left in the match. Deportivo Cali were able to clinch the title with one match to go after defeating Cúcuta Deportivo 3–1 away on 12 December, and were presented the trophy on the final day of the season despite a 2–0 loss to América.
The 1980s: Title drought and back-to-back runners-up to the crosstown rival
Whilst Deportivo Cali achieved yet another runner-up finish in 1980, and claimed an iconic win against River Plate at Estadio Monumental in the 1981 Copa Libertadores which knocked the Argentine side out of the competition, the decade of the 1980s saw the accentuation of the club's relative decline in the Colombian football panorama, as well as the emergence and consolidation of América de Cali and Atlético Nacional as Colombian football powers. Although América dominated the first half of the decade by winning five straight league championships and Deportivo Cali began to fall behind in championship titles, both crosstown rivals decided the league title in 1985 and 1986.
1996–1999: Return to positions of privilege
In 1996, the club broke a 22-year domestic title drought under the guidance of coach Fernando "El Pecoso" Castro, and with goalkeeper Miguel "El Show" Calero, midfielder Edison "Guigo" Mafla and strikers Víctor Bonilla, Walter Escobar, and Hamilton Ricard as outstanding players in the campaign. In the 1995–96 season, the team topped both the Apertura and Finalización tournaments as well as the season's aggregate table, earning the highest possible bonus (4 points) for the final stages. The team's lowest point of the campaign came at the semi-finals, in which they only won two matches, drew one, and lost the remaining three, advancing to the final round of the competition thanks to the bonus points awarded in the previous stages. In the championship round, they faced América de Cali, Atlético Nacional, and Millonarios, collecting seven points from their first three matches after drawing with Nacional and defeating the other two group rivals. Although they later lost to Millonarios in Bogotá, the title was clinched after a scoreless draw with crosstown rivals América on the last matchday of the championship round, which ensured the team would end ahead of Millonarios on bonus points. Two months prior to that final game, former club chairman Alex Gorayeb died aboard a flight between Cali and Miami.
Clásico Vallecaucano
Deportivo Cali's longtime rival is América de Cali. The derby is known either as the "Clásico Vallecaucano" (Valle del Cauca Derby) or the "Clásico de San Fernando" because of the location of the Pascual Guerrero stadium. The first derby was played in 1931 when the final of the Valle del Cauca league was disputed by the two teams. The result was a 1–0 victory for Deportivo Cali. The first derby in the professional era was played in 1948. The first leg was a victory for América 1–0 while in the second leg of the tournament it was a 4–3 victory for Deportivo Cali. On 10 October 2010 Deportivo Cali and América de Cali played the first derby at the former's new stadium, which was won by Deportivo Cali 6–3 including a hat trick from Argentine player Martin Morel, and three of the most highlighted goals of the tournament. The Derby was not played in the top flight between 2012 and 2016 because of América de Cali's relegation at the end of the 2011 season, however, it kept being played in the Copa Colombia as both teams were drawn together in that competition.
Clásico Añejo
Deportivo Cali also has a rivalry with Millonarios, which is known as the Clásico añejo (Vintage classic) since it was the first rivalry other than the regional derbies to be recognized as such in Colombian football. The two sides played a tiebreaker series to decide the 1949 Campeonato Profesional champion, which ended up being Millonarios, and the rivalry was intensified in the 1960s and 1970s as Deportivo Cali began winning league titles and challenging Millonarios. Both sides have ended in the top two places of the league 10 times, and have also placed in the top two places of the all-time table of the Categoría Primera A, which as of 2022 was still led by Millonarios, with Deportivo Cali having been surpassed for second place by Atlético Nacional. Although the rise and consolidation of Atlético Nacional and América de Cali starting from the 1980s has caused interest in this rivalry to decline somewhat, it is still considered an important match in Colombian football.
As one of Colombia's most traditional and successful clubs, Deportivo Cali has one of the largest fanbases in the country. Their main supporters group is known as Frente Radical Verdiblanco, an ultras group founded in 1992 which is divided into factions, most of them from Cali but also from other neighboring towns and cities, and usually stand in the southern stand of Estadio Deportivo Cali. They are known for their undying support of the club, as well as practicing hooliganism and frequently engage in fighting with fanbases of other clubs, particularly with the fans of América de Cali and Independiente Medellín, with whom they have been involved in several violent incidents. The group is known as one of the most dangerous in South America.[failed verification] Other recognized supporter groups are Avalancha Verde Norte and Horda Combativa, both of which stand at the northern stand of the stadium.
Until 2014, Deportivo Cali played their home matches at Estadio Pascual Guerrero in Cali, which had a capacity of 43,000 and was shared with crosstown rivals América. Although Estadio Deportivo Cali was opened in 2008 with a friendly match against Ecuadorian team LDU Quito and the club played some games there on a temporary basis due to renovations made to Estadio Pascual Guerrero for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, they moved into their stadium on a permanent basis starting from the 2015 season. Estadio Deportivo Cali, also known as Estadio de Palmaseca, is located in Palmira, in the outskirts of Cali. When it opened, it had a capacity of 52,000, but renovations brought it down to 44,000. The stadium makes Deportivo Cali the only club in Colombia that owns its stadium.
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
World Cup players
The following players were chosen to represent their country at the FIFA World Cup while contracted to Deportivo Cali.
Deportivo Cali Femenino is the women's football section of Deportivo Cali and they currently play in the Colombian Women's Football League, the top level women's football league in Colombia. Founded in 2019, the club is one of four to have won the Colombian women's football league, winning the title in 2021 and 2024, as well as having one runner-up finish in 2022, and placing fourth at the 2022 Copa Libertadores Femenina.
