Independiente Medellín
| Logo | |||
| Full name | Corporación Deportiva Independiente Medellín | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | El Poderoso de la Montaña,DIM | ||
| Founded | 15 April, 1913 | ||
| Ground | Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín, Colombia | ||
| Capacity | 52,872 | ||
| Chairman |  Juan Guillermo Montoya | ||
| Manager | Juan José Pelaez | ||
| League | Fútbol Profesional Colombiano | ||
| 2006 Clausura | 4 | ||
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Corporación Deportiva Independiente Medellín is a professional Colombian football (soccer) team competing in Fútbol Profesional Colombiano, the Colombian first division. The club is based in the city of Medellín and founded in 1913. It has won the league's national tournament known as Copa Mustang four times: in 1955, 1957, 2002-II and 2004-I. Its best performance at international level was in 2003, when the team achieved the third place in the Copa Libertadores de América.
Rivalries
Medellín's greatest rival is with the city's other major club Atlético Nacional, with whom they share the home stadium El Atanasio Girardot. The team is dubbed "El Poderoso de la Montaña" or the powerful of the mountain due to Medellín's geographical location high in the Andean mountains. The rivalry is especially strong due to each team's main support club, Rexixtenxia Norte for Medellín and Los Del Sur for Atlético Nacional. These two groups are the most loyal, loud, and passionate support clubs in the country. The two clubs are named with the location that they occupy in the stadium where Rexixtenxia occupies the section behind the northern goal and Los Del Sur occupy the section behind the southern goal.
In 2004 Medellín and Nacional clasified to the final of the Mustang Cup; in Antioquia everybody was very excited because this was the first "Paisa" final of the history of the short tournaments. This system requires 2 games to be the champion, in the first game, Medellín won 2-1 with a goal of Rafael Castillo in the 87 minute after the goals of Jorge Serna (DIM) and Carlos "Chumi" Alvarez in the first half. The final game was in the 27 of June, and it ended 0-0 and Medellín became the champion of the Colombian National League.
Controversies
Medellín won its third league title after 45 years of agony. However, there were two seasons where Medellín had the title within its reach only to lose it amid great controversy. From its foundation until 2002, the Colombian First Division League had adopted a league format commonly used in European leagues. The format was a year long tournament where the team at then end of the year in best standing was declared the winner. This format was changed in 2002 to a Apertura-Clausura format where two separate seasons are played during the year to determine two winners. In 1993 during the last game of the year, Medellín and Atlético Junior were fighting for a tight first place. Junior was playing América de Cali at home in Baranquilla while simultaneously Medellín played hometown rivals Atlético Nacional. The games where to start and end at the same time. A Medellín win with a Junior loss or draw would have given Medellín the title. Medellín beat Nacional 1-0 while awaiting the goalless game in Baranquilla to end. Medellín players were celebrating with a victory lap and given interviews with reporters waiting for the final whistle in Baranquilla. However, the referee allowing for an unprecedented amount of injury time would allow for an extremely late Oswaldo Mackenzie goal giving Junior the win and the title. This was not the first time Medellín had a heartbreaking season, in 1989 a year where Medellín had the best team in the league and was expected to win the title, a tragic event occurred in Colombian soccer. During the final games of the season, Medellín tied América de Cali 0-0 at home. During the game, the linesman Álvaro Ortega made a mistake and annulled a Medellín goal. Afterwards, a Medellín sympathizer hunted down the linesman and assassinated him. In response, the Colombian Soccer Federation decided to cancel the rest of the season leaving the 1989 league without a winner.
Honours
National Honours
- Fútbol Profesional Colombiano
- Winners (4): 1955, 1957, 2002-II, 2004-I
- Runners-Up (5): 1959, 1961, 1966, 1993, 2001
International Honours
- Copa Libertadores
- 3rd Place (1): 2003
Copa Libertadores Participations
- 1967 1st Round
- 1994 Quarterfinals
- 2003 Semifinals
- 2005 Round of 16
Current Roster
As of March 1, 2007
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Squad Changes
(2007 Transfer Window)
Players In
Juan Fernando Leal MF From Millonarios- Felipe AlzateDF From Reserves
- Joan GonzálezGK From Reserves
- Javier LopezDF From Reserves
- Richard MorenoMF From Reserves
- Elkin MosqueraDF From Reserves
- Juan Esteban OrtizMF From Reserves
- Cesar QuinteroDF From Reserves
- Miguel Ángel JulioMF From Reserves
Players out
- Mauricio Molina MF to Olimpia Asunción
- José Mera DF to Deportivo Pasto
- Jaime Bran Gomez GK to Deportivo Pereira
- Jhan Carlos Lopez DF No Team
- Juan Pablo Pino FW to AS Monaco FC
- Nicolás Torres MF to Atlético Junior
Notable Former Players
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1950's
1960's |
1970's
1980's |
1990's
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