Deportivo Independiente MedellÃÂn, also known as Independiente MedellÃÂn or DIM, is a Colombian professional football club based in MedellÃÂn that currently plays in the CategorÃÂa Primera A. They play their home games at Estadio Atanasio Girardot, which seats 40,943 people, and is also shared with city rivals Atlético Nacional. The team is dubbed "El Poderoso de la Montaña" (Mighty of the Mountain) due to MedellÃÂn's geographical location high in the Andes Mountains, and as a reference to the many amateur titles it won in its early years.
Founded in 1913 as the second oldest club in Colombia, Independiente MedellÃÂn has won the CategorÃÂa Primera A six times: in 1955, 1957, 2002âÂÂII, 2004âÂÂI, 2009âÂÂII, and 2016âÂÂI, and the Copa Colombia three times: in 1981, 2019, and 2020. Its best performance at international level was in 2003, when the team reached the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores.
Independiente MedellÃÂn has a rivalry with Atlético Nacional, and the teams face each other in El Clásico Paisa, which is considered one of the most important derbies in the country.
Independiente MedellÃÂn was founded on 14 November 1913 under the name of MedellÃÂn Foot Ball Club by siblings Alberto, Luis, and Rafael Uribe PiedrahÃÂta. The team played its first match against Sporting MedellÃÂn, who defeated them 11âÂÂ0.
The club won amateur titles in 1918, 1920, 1922, 1923 and 1930; with these titles it became one of the most important teams of Colombia at the time.
In 1948, MedellÃÂn joined professional football and played the first edition of the Colombian professional league. MedellÃÂn placed seventh out of 10 teams, winning seven matches. Their first match was a 4âÂÂ0 defeat against América de Cali. Their first win was 3âÂÂ2 against Junior.
In 1950, Medellin signed many Peruvian footballers in a movement known as El Dorado, when Colombian teams signed many foreign footballers. Some of the players signed include brothers Constantino Perales and Agapito Perales, Segundo Castillo, Roberto Drago and Luis Guzmán Gonzales. This squad was dubbed "La Danza del Sol", and that season the club finished fourth with 34 points.
MedellÃÂn did not play in 1952 and 1953 due to economic problems. In 1953, the club changed its entire administration and was renamed to its current name, Deportivo Independiente MedellÃÂn. In the club's first season back, the 1954 season, they finished third in the league table. 1954 also marked the arrival of Argentine footballer José Manuel "El Charro" Moreno, who had won two South American championships with Argentina and many trophies at River Plate.
Under El Charro's command, who had taken a role as a player-manager, DIM won its first title in the 1955 Campeonato Profesional, finishing first with 31 points and just one defeat. Argentine striker Felipe Marino was the tournament's top goalscorer, with 22 goals. The team won its second title two years later, in 1957, with almost the same players as the previous seasons. José Vicente Grecco was the top scorer of the tournament. Despite having strong squads, in 1959 and 1961 DIM finished runner-up to Millonarios, who had one of the strongest sides in Colombian football history and won four straight titles from 1960 to 1964; in 1964, DIM also came close to winning the title, finishing third but only three points from Millonarios.
In 1966, MedellÃÂn achieved their first ever qualification for the Copa Libertadores, after finishing runner-up in the league. They played against Argentine sides Racing de Avellaneda and River Plate, Bolivian teams 31 de Octubre and BolÃÂvar, and fellow Colombians Independiente Santa Fe. They finished fifth out of six in their group and were eliminated.
In 1971, Medellin did not participate in the league due to economic hardships. The 70s were a low point for the club; the club were consistently finishing in the middle to bottom half of the league table, and were never close to winning the title.
The club won its first Copa Colombia in 1981; although this title is not officially recognized by many experts nor by DIMAYOR, it is recognized by CONMEBOL. Despite the joy of winning their first cup, in the 1981 league season, the club had a lacklustre season and finished last in the aggregate table with 38 points from 47 matches. Things improved for the rest of the 80s, and despite not winning anymore titles for the decade, the club was consistently qualifying for the octogonal finals.
In 1984, with young manager Julio Comesaña at the post, the club finished third in the octogonal, the best participation the club had in the league since 1964.
In 1989, a year where MedellÃÂn had one of the strongest squads in the league and was expected to win the title, a tragic event occurred. In one of the final games of the season, MedellÃÂn tied América de Cali 0âÂÂ0 at home. During the game, linesman ÃÂlvaro Ortega disallowed a MedellÃÂn goal, angering many people. Reports say that a person that had been sent by Pablo Escobar hunted Ortega down and murdered him, with the motive being a lost bet on the match. In response, the Colombian Football Federation decided to cancel the rest of the season, which left the 1989 league season without a winner.
On 19 December 1993, going into the last match of the 1993 season, MedellÃÂn and Junior were fighting for a tight first place, as both clubs had the same number of points. Junior was playing América de Cali at home in Barranquilla while simultaneously MedellÃÂn played hometown rivals Atlético Nacional. A MedellÃÂn win combined with a Junior loss or draw would give MedellÃÂn the title. At halftime América were leading the game in Barranquilla 1âÂÂ0 and in Medellin the game was still 0âÂÂ0; at that moment América were winning the title due to the draw in MedellÃÂn. Junior scored two goals to put the game at 2âÂÂ1 with ten minutes remaining, and MedellÃÂn scored at the same time to put the game at 1âÂÂ0. América tied the game at 2âÂÂ2 with seven minutes remaining. The match at Estadio Anatasio Girardot ended with MedellÃÂn winning 1âÂÂ0 while awaiting the 2âÂÂ2 game in Barranquilla to end, which still had five minutes remaining due to a delay at the start of the second half. MedellÃÂn players were celebrating with a victory lap and giving interviews with reporters white they waited for the final whistle in Barranquilla. However, Oswaldo Mackenzie scored a late goal in the 89th minute and gave Junior the 3âÂÂ2 win and the title, leaving the MedellÃÂn players and fans heartbroken.
As a result of their great campaign, Medellin returned to the Copa Libertadores for the first time in almost three decades. Entering the 1994 edition, they topped their group and then beat Universitario in the round of 16 before being eliminated by Junior in the quarter-finals.
In the 1994 league season, Medellin had a great season and qualified to the Cuadrangular final, a group of four teams with one of them being rivals Nacional. Going into the last match of the season, Medellin did not have any chance at winning the title, but a win or draw would prevent Nacional from achieving the title; however the match ended 1âÂÂ0 in favor of Nacional and Nacional won the title.
El Poderoso had a great 1999 season, finishing in the top eight of both Apertura and Finalización tournaments, and finishing fourth in the aggregate table. This season was different from the standard format; in the Apertura tournament there were no playoffs. The Finalizacion tournament had playoffs, where Medellin topped their group and qualified for the Finalizacion finals against rivals Nacional, with the winner playing the Apertura tournament champion in a championship final to decide the 1999 league champion. Medellin lost the Finalizacion finals to Nacional 1âÂÂ0 on aggregate, and Nacional went on to win the league title against Améric, while Medellin missed out on a spot for the 2000 Copa Libertadores. Medellin came close to winning their third league title in 2001 thanks to Jorge Serna's prolific goalscoring, who finished as top scorer tied with Carlos Castro on 29 goals. The club ended up losing the final to América de Cali 3âÂÂ0 on aggregate, although they reached the final in an unexpected manner; in the regular season they finished in 10th place and occupied the last seed for the eight teams that qualified for the playoffs through the aggregate table.
After 45 long years of agony, MedellÃÂn won its third league title in the 2002 Finalización tournament under manager VÃÂctor Luna, who replaced Reinaldo Rueda halfway through the season after he was sacked due to poor results. MedellÃÂn played against Deportivo Pasto in the two-legged final. El Rojo Paisa beat Pasto 2âÂÂ0 at home in the first leg with goals from Robinson Muñoz and an own goal from Julio César Valencia. In the second leg on 23 December 2002, MedellÃÂn drew 1âÂÂ1 away from home, with Mauricio Molina scoring MedellÃÂn's goal from a free-kick, helping the team lift the trophy after a 3âÂÂ1 aggregate score.
The 2002 league title gave the club a spot in the 2003 Copa Libertadores, where they qualified for the knockout stages by topping their group with twelve points, which consisted of Boca Juniors, Barcelona, and Colo-Colo. During the group stage, the club famously beat Bianchi's Boca Juniors, 1âÂÂ0. "Medallo" beat Cerro Porteño on penalties in the round of 16 and Grêmio in the quarter-finals to reach the semi-finals for the first time in its history, with their opponent being Santos. In the first leg played at Estádio Urbano Caldeira, DIM lost 1âÂÂ0. In the second leg at home, Tressor Moreno scored first to level the aggregate score at 1âÂÂ1, but the club eventually lost the game 3âÂÂ2 (4âÂÂ2 on aggregate) and was eliminated, narrowly missing out for the final, which would have been played against their group stage opponent, Boca Juniors.
In the 2004 Apertura, MedellÃÂn and Nacional qualified for the finals, setting up the first "Paisa" finals in the league's history. The final was played over two legs, both at Atanasio Girardot: in the first leg, MedellÃÂn won 2âÂÂ1 with goals scored by Rafael Castillo and Jorge Serna. The second leg was played on 27 June; it ended 0âÂÂ0 and MedellÃÂn became the champion of the 2004 Apertura, its fourth league title, won under manager Pedro Sarmiento. In the 2004 Finalizacion, the club also made the playoffs, but finished third in its group and were eliminated.
In the 2005 Copa Libertadores, the club topped their group, which was made up of Atletico Paranaense, América de Cali, and Libertad. They also unexpectedly beat Paranaense 4âÂÂ0 away in Curitiba on their way to the round of 16, where they faced Banfield and lost 5âÂÂ0 on aggregate.
In the 2008 Finalización, the club almost won its fifth title, but lost the final to América de Cali with Santiago Escobar as head coach. The next season, the 2009 Apertura, was very poor; the team finished in last place. However, in the 2009 Torneo Finalización, with the departure of Santiago Escobar as head coach, his assistant, Leonel ÃÂlvarez, replaced him, and the team got its fifth title, beating Atlético Huila 3âÂÂ2 on aggregate. In that season, Jackson Martinez broke the league's top scoring record with 18 goals (the previous record was Léider Preciado's 17 goals), a record that was broken again later by Cortuluá forward Miguel Borja in 2016, with 19 goals.
During the 2010s, DIM was close to winning league titles several times. In the 2012 Finalizacion, they qualified to the finals with a last minute goal from against Itagui Ditaires. Their rival in the finals was Millonarios, and after a 1âÂÂ1 draw on aggregate, DIM lost on penalties. In 2014, they finished as runners-up to Independiente Santa Fe in that year's Finalización tournament. Six months later they made the final again, this time losing to Deportivo Cali. These losses were finally overcome in the 2016 season, where the club won its sixth league title. In the Apertura tournament, they finished first in the regular season table with 40 points. Then they eliminated Deportivo Cali and Cortuluá in the playoffs to set up a final with Junior; the first leg in Barranquilla ended 1âÂÂ1 and the second leg was won by MedellÃÂn 2âÂÂ0, with Christian Marrugo scoring a brace and securing a 3âÂÂ1 aggregate victory.
With the 2016 league title, El Poderoso gained a spot in the 2017 Copa Libertadores, returning to the tournament for the first time since 2010. They were placed in Group 3 along with River Plate, Emelec, and Melgar. The club placed third in the group and was transferred to the Copa Sudamericana, where they eventually lost to Racing Club in the second round. One of the highlights of their Copa Libertadores run was beating powerhouse River Plate 2âÂÂ1 at Estadio Monumental.
MedellÃÂn's greatest rivalry is with the city's other major club, Atlético Nacional, in a match known as Clásico Paisa (Paisa derby). Both clubs share the same stadium; Atanasio Girardot. Atlético Nacional has a clear advantage over Independiente MedellÃÂn in titles won, with 35 titles (most in Colombia) to MedellÃÂn's 9 titles. However, MedellÃÂn defeated Nacional in the first final series played between both, in the 2004 Apertura. This was considered as an upset, since Nacional's squad had a much higher value that MedellÃÂn's.
The rivalry is especially strong due to each team's main fanbases; Rexixtenxia Norte for Independiente MedellÃÂn and Los Del Sur for Atlético Nacional. There are often fights between these two fanbases, which is why sometimes only the fanbase of one team is allowed entry. The two clubs are named with the location that they occupy in the stadium; Rexixtenxia Norte occupy the northern section and Los Del Sur occupy the southern section.
The first Clásico Paisa was played on 12 September 1948, where MedellÃÂn beat Nacional 3âÂÂ0. Over 300 matches have been played between the two clubs, with Nacional dominating the historical record by 40 wins.
The club also has minor rivalries with other clubs in the MedellÃÂn Metropolitan Area, such as Envigado, ÃÂguilas Doradas, and Leones. Although none of these teams have won Primera Division titles, matches between them still draw large crowds due to their close geographical location
The following players were chosen to represent their country at the FIFA World Cup while contracted with Independiente MedellÃÂn.
This is the list of presidents of Independiente MedellÃÂn since its foundation: