Millonarios F.C.

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.[3] The Colombian national team was also banned from the 1954 FIFA World Cup for the same reason.

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.

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.

The team that won the 2017 Torneo Finalización.

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.

• 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

• Copa Merconorte:

Winners (1): 2001

Runners-up (1): 2000

• Copa Simón Bolívar:

Winners (1): 1972

• Small Club World Cup:

Winners (1): 1953

As of 25 May 2020[4]

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 José Luis Moreno (on loan from Once Caldas) 3 DF Luciano Ospina (on loan from Alianza Petrolera) 4 DF Breiner Paz 5 DF Juan Pablo Vargas (on loan from Herediano) 6 DF Andrés Román 7 FW Hansel Zapata 8 MF César Carrillo 10 FW Cristian Arango (on loan from Benfica) 11 FW Juan Camilo Salazar 12 GK Juan Moreno 13 DF Elvis Perlaza 14 MF David Silva 16 DF Deivy Balanta 17 FW Ayron del Valle 18 FW Diego Godoy (on loan from General Díaz) 19 MF Juan Camilo García

No. Position Player 20 MF Óscar Barreto 21 MF Juan Carlos Pereira 22 MF Jhon Duque (captain) 23 DF Felipe Banguero 24 MF Santiago Montoya 25 FW Diego Abadía 26 DF Andrés Llinás 27 FW José Guillermo Ortiz (on loan from Herediano) 28 DF Stiven Vega 29 FW Elíser Quiñones 30 GK Jefersson Martínez (on loan from Envigado) 31 DF Omar Bertel 32 MF Klíver Moreno 33 FW Jorge Rengifo 34 MF Sebastian Navarro — MF Nicolás Murcia — FW Orles Aragón

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

No. Position Player — DF Matías de los Santos (at Vélez Sarsfield) — FW Jader Valencia (at Lens)

Source: BDFA

R	Player	P	Career	App.
1	Bonner Mosquera	MF	1990–2001, 2002–2006	550
2	Alejandro Brand	FW	1969–1978, 1981–1982	385
3	Julio Edgar Gaviria	DF	1968–1977	382
4	Euclides "Tizon" González	DF	1971–1981	371
5	Rafael Robayo	MF	2005–2011, 2012–2016	360
6	Arnoldo Iguarán	FW	1983–1991, 1993–1995	336
7	Alonso "Pocillo" Lopez	DF	1974–1980, 1982–1985	335
8	Willington Ortiz	FW	1972–1979	328
9	Miguel "El Nano" Prince	DF	1989–1998	321
10	Arturo Segovia	DF	1972–1979	316

Last updated on: 3 October 2018

Source: BDFA

R	Player	P	Career	Goals
1	Alfredo Castillo	FW	1948–1957	131
2	Arnoldo Iguarán	FW	1983–1991, 1993–1995	120
3	Marino Klinger	FW	1957–1966	99
4	Willington Ortiz	FW	1972–1979	96
5	Alejandro Brand	FW	1969–1978, 1981–1982	91
6	Alfredo Di Stéfano	FW	1948–1953	88
7	Miguel Ángel Converti	FW	1975–1977	85
8	José María Ferrero	FW	1967–1969	85
9	Juan José Irigoyen	FW	1977–1979	81
10	Jaime Morón	FW	1971–1974, 1977–1982	80

Last updated on: 3 October 2018