Full name | Corporación Club Deportivo Tuluá |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | El Equipo Corazón (The Heart Team; from the city of Tuluá's own nickname El Corazón del Valle - or The Valley's Heart) |
Founded | 16 October 1967 |
Ground |
Estadio Doce de Octubre Tuluá, Colombia |
Capacity | 16,000 |
Chairman | Oscar Ignacio Martán |
Manager | Jaime de la Pava |
League | Categoría Primera A |
2016 | 11th |
Website | Club home page |
Corporación Club Deportivo Tuluá, commonly known as Cortuluá, is a professional Colombian football team based in Tuluá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. The club was founded on October 16, 1967 and play their home games at the Doce de Octubre stadium.
Cortuluá was founded in 1967 by a group of people headed by Paraguayan former player and coach Hernando Acosta. In 1993, Cortuluá wins his first title in the Categoría Primera B, ascending to the next year to the Primera A. Its first game was in February 26, 1994 at the Estadio Hernando Martinez Azcárate of nearby Buga against Envigado.
In the Copa Mustang 2001 Cortuluá is proclaimed champion of the Torneo Apertura (at that time this didn't give title) and classifies for 2002 Copa Libertadores. However, in 2004 the team descends to the Categoría Primera B.
In 2006, the United States Treasury identified the football club as one of ten businesses allegedly operating on behalf of one of the most wanted Colombian drug barons, Carlos Alberto Renteria Mantilla. The move by the United States authorities placed a freeze on any assets owned by the club within the United States, and prevented United States residents from having dealings with the club.
After five years in the Categoría Primera B, the club was promoted back to the Categoría Primera A in 2009. Cortuluá qualified for the final of the "Torneo Apertura", surpassing in Group A of the semi-finals at Deportes Palmira, Deportivo Rionegro, and Atlético Bucaramanga. In the final instance vs. Itagüí Ditaires, the first leg ended 3–1 with a win for Cortuluá, but it lost 2–0 in the second leg. In the penalty shootout Cortuluá won 6–5, thus winning the "Torneo Apertura" and classifying to the Final of the year, where Cortuluá defeated Atlético Bucaramanga and returned to the top tier for the following season.