Millonarios F.C.

The Ballet Azul

Millonarios greatly benefited from a major players' strike in the Argentinian league in 1948, which caused a great diaspora of players towards Colombia. The most successful period for the club was during the early 1950s due the notable Argentinean presence. During this period with the squad that was known as The Blue Ballet, that featured great players such as Alfredo di Stefano, Adolfo Pedernera, Néstor Rossi, Julio Cozzi, Antonio "Maestrico" Báez, Hugo Reyes, Reinaldo Mourin and other figures in Argentina, mainly from River Plate. Thanks to the great football that showed these players on the field, Millonarios was named by several media outlets in South America and Europe, as the best team in the world in the early 1950s.

In 1951, Colombia was suspended by FIFA due to the recruitment of international players without a pass; the teams were forced to return all expatriate players that had participated in the tournament through irregular means. This edict marked the departure of di Stefano in February 1953, receiving bids from Barcelona and Real Madrid, who came to win the bid for the player.^[4] The Colombian national team was also banned from the 1954 FIFA World Cup for the same reason.

Small Club World Cup

In 1952, a group of Venezuelan sports entrepreneurs created the Small Club World Cup, a friendly competition that brought together leading European and South American teams. Millonarios was invited to participate in the 1952 and 1953 editions. In its first appearance, the team finished with seven points, behind Real Madrid (double tie 1–1) and Brazilian Botafogo (4–4 tie and defeat 0–2); the tournament was played in a two-round scheme, and involved host La Salle of Venezuela (double win 4–1 and 5–1).

In its participation in 1953, the team was crowned undefeated champion with 11 points, above River Plate of Argentina (5–1 win and 1–1 tie), Rapid Wien of Austria (double win 2–1 and 4–0) and Spanish Espanyol of Barcelona (double win 6–0 and 4–0). This friendly tournament is considered by some to be a predecessor of the Intercontinental Cup, now known as FIFA Club World Cup, though not its equivalent.

2000s

Millonarios had further improvement when former Manchester City assistant manager Juan Carlos Osorio was appointed as the new Millonarios' Manager, which led the club to 3rd position in the League Stage of the Mustang Cup, and 5th in the addition of all the year's performance, taking the club once again into the Copa Sudamericana, while the financial situation of the team also had a notable recovery. In July 2007, Osorio left Millonarios to manage Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire, and he was replaced with Martín Lasarte; after a brief, but very unsuccessful period with Lasarte, Millonarios then hired Argentinian Mario Vanemerak as their new manager. Under Vanemerak, Millonarios began to shine again, most notably in the Copa Sudamericana 2007, where they eliminated several powerful teams, most notably Brazilian champions São Paulo in the quarter-finals, thanks to two goals from Ricardo Ciciliano; although they had a less impressive performance in the local tournament.

2010s

Plagued by financial problems, and with no major titles in the last decade, the club finally initiated a bankruptcy process that led to its being bought by a society composed of about 4,000 fans, Azul & Blanco, SA This movement also meant a change in playing style which started with the hiring of Venezuelan coach Richard Páez. The change has proved successful, both financially and as related to championships. With Páez as coach, the team was able to win the Copa Colombia 2011 tournament, after winning both games against Boyacá Chicó, thus classifying to 2012 Copa Sudamericana. In June 24, 2012, it was confirmed that Hernán Torres would be the new coach.

In Copa Sudamericana, the team was highly successful, reaching semi-finals after eliminating Inti Gas, Guaraní, and the Brazilians Palmeiras, and Gremio, being eliminated by runner-up, Tigre. This came as a relief after an embarrassing defeat to Real Madrid in a friendly match to honor Alfredo Di Stéfano.

Despite the defeat, the team played a great first phase in the Colombian tournament, classifying to the play-offs as the best team of the semester. After a very difficult series of matches, the team reached the Finals which were to be played against Independiente Medellín. The first match was played in Medellín, and ended in a 0–0 tie. The final game was played December 16, 2012 in Bogotá, and ended up 1–1, thus the result had to be determined by a penalty shootout. Goalkeeper Delgado managed to stop a final shoot, and Millonarios won its 14th championship, the first Fútbol Profesional Colombiano title in about 24 years.

As the 2012 Finalización champion, Millonarios qualified to 2013 Copa Libertadores, where it played the second stage against Bolivian San José, Mexican Tijuana, and Brazilian Corinthians.

Under coach Ricardo Lunari, Millonarios started 2015 with three home victories against Patriotas, Cúcuta Deportivo and Cortuluá. Meanwhile, their debut in the Copa Colombia came with defeat against La Equidad.

In the 2017 Finalización League, Millonarios achieved their 15th division title after defeating Santa Fe in a final that saw 2 goals at the ending of the second half. Said final ended with a tie, that concluded an aggregate 3-2 win over their home rival.

Domestic honours

• Categoría Primera A:

Winners (15): 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1972, 1978, 1987, 1988, 2012–II, 2017–II

Runners-up (9): 1950, 1956, 1958, 1967, 1973, 1975, 1984, 1994, 1995–96

• Copa Colombia:

Winners (3): 1952–53, 1963, 2011

Runners-up (2): 1951–52, 2013

• Superliga Colombiana:

Winners (1): 2018

Runners-up (1): 2013

International honours

• Copa Merconorte:

Winners (1): 2001

Runners-up (1): 2000

• Copa Simón Bolívar:

Winners (1): 1972

• Small Club World Cup:

Winners (1): 1953

First-team squad

As of 18 July 2018

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Wuilker Faríñez 2 DF Anier Figueroa 5 DF Andrés Cadavid 6 DF Andrés Román 7 FW Ayron del Valle 8 MF César Carrillo 9 FW Gabriel Hauche 10 MF Santiago Montoya 11 FW Carlos López 12 GK Ramiro Sánchez 13 MF Christian Marrugo 14 MF David Silva 15 MF Sebastián Ayala (on loan from La Equidad) 17 MF Henry Rojas 18 DF Jair Palacios

No. Position Player 19 FW Roberto Ovelar 20 MF Juan Guillermo Domínguez (on loan from Junior) 21 MF Óscar Barreto 22 MF Jhon Duque 23 DF Felipe Banguero (on loan from Deportivo Cali) 24 DF Matías de los Santos (on loan from Danubio) 25 GK Juan Moreno 26 DF Janeiler Rivas 27 FW Orles Aragón 28 MF Nicolás Murcia 29 FW Elíser Quiñones 30 FW Jader Valencia 31 DF Omar Bertel 32 FW Christian Huérfano 33 FW Juan Camilo Salazar

On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — DF Andrés Llinás (at Valledupar) — DF Stiven Vega (at Valledupar) — DF Damir Zamora (at Valledupar) — MF Juan Camilo García (at Valledupar)

No. Position Player — MF Kevin Salazar (at Valledupar) — FW Brayan Blandón (at Valledupar) — FW Jorge Rengifo (at Valledupar)

Records

Most capped players

Source: BDFA

R	Player	P	Career	App.
1	Bonner Mosquera	MF	1990–01, 2002–06	550
2	Alejandro Brand	FW	1969–78, 1981–82	385
3	Julio Edgar Gaviria	DF	1968–77	382
4	Euclides "Tizon" González	DF	1971–81	371
5	Rafael Robayo	MF	2005–11, 2012–16	360
6	Arnoldo Iguarán	FW	1983–91, 1993–95	336
7	Alonso "Pocillo" Lopez	DF	1974–80, 1982–85	335
8	Willington Ortiz	FW	1972–79	328
9	Miguel "El Nano" Prince	DF	1989–98	321
10	Arturo Segovia	DF	1972–79	316

Last updated on: 3 October 2018

Top scorers

Source: BDFA

R	Player	P	Career	Goals
1	Alfredo Castillo	FW	1948–57	131
2	Arnoldo Iguarán	FW	1983–91, 1993–95	120
3	Marino Klinger	FW	1957–66	99
4	Willington Ortiz	FW	1972–79	96
5	Alejandro Brand	FW	1969–78, 1981–82	91
6	Alfredo Di Stéfano	FW	1948–53	88
7	Miguel Ángel Converti	FW	1975–77	85
8	José María Ferrero	FW	1967–69	85
9	Juan José Irigoyen	FW	1977–79	81
10	Jaime Morón	FW	1971–74, 1977–82	80

Last updated on: 3 October 2018