CD Once Caldas
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| Full name | Once Caldas S.A. |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
El Blanco (The White); El Blanco Blanco de Manizales (The White White of Manizales); Los Albos (the Albos); El Equipo Albo (The Albo Team) |
| Founded | 16 April 1947 (Foundation of Deportes Caldas) 15 January 1961 (Fusion with Once Deportivo) |
| Ground |
Estadio Palogrande, Manizales, Colombia |
| Capacity | 32,000 |
| Chairman | Tulio Mario Castrillón |
| Coach | Vacant |
| League | Categoría Primera A |
| 2016 | 12th |
| Website | Club home page |
Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Palogrande stadium.
They were the surprise winners of the Copa Libertadores in 2004, mainly due to the performances of Juan Carlos Henao and Jhon Viáfara. The club was founded in 1961 after the fusion of Deportes Caldas and Deportivo Manizales (also known as Once Deportivo).
In 1950, Deportes Caldas won the Mustang Cup (which was until 2009 the name of the Colombian first division).
Once Caldas was founded in 1959, after the fusion of Once Deportivo and Deportes Caldas. Once Deportivo was founded in 1930 while Deportes Caldas was founded at the end of the 1940s, however both teams, for various reasons, went defunct. Carlos Gómez Escobar was in favor of reviving Deportes Caldas, however the idea of Eduardo Gómez Arrubla was to bring back Once Deportivo. Thanks to the mediation of Dr. Hermán Bueno Ramirez, the three co-founders arrived at the compromise to fuse the existing teams into an entirely new entity, Once Caldas.
In 1961, the club debuted in the Mustang Cup. The club finished in the 7th position of the competition.
In 1998, Once Caldas was the first division's runner-up. Deportivo Cali defeated the club in the final. In the first leg, in Cali, the home team won 4–0. The second leg, in Manizales, ended in a 0–0 draw. In that year, the club also disputed its first international competition, the Copa CONMEBOL. Once Caldas was eliminated in the first round, by Santos, of Brazil. In the first leg, in Santos, Santos won 2–1. In the second leg, in Manizales, Once Caldas won 2–1, but was defeated 3–2 in the penalty shootout.
In 1999, the club participated in the Copa Libertadores de América for the first time. Once Caldas was in the same group of Deportivo Cali, and two Argentine clubs, Vélez Sársfield and River Plate. The side finished in the last position, but only two points behind Vélez Sársfield, which was the group's leader.
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