The last modification that was made to the stadium was in 2017 to the names of each of the stands.
Photo: Nikolaiky – Wikimedia
Spirit has grown in Santander due to Atlético Bucaramanga’s qualification to the final of the BetPlay League, and with this two proposals have emerged to change the name of the state Alfonso López. On the one hand, Governor Juvenal Díaz Mateus proposed three alternatives, while a draft ordinance with a specific name was filed in the assembly.
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The first to refer to the issue was Juvenal Díaz, who on June 3 made a publication on social networks in which he indicated: “many Santander residents have asked me to analyze the possibility of changing the name of the stadium. “We are going to carry out a survey to find out what the majority of fans think.”
Along with this, the president gave three options, among which is to maintain the current name of the stadium and name it Professor Américo Montanini or Germán Aceros. These last two have been prominent football figures in the department.
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At the same time, a draft ordinance was filed in the Assembly, this Wednesday, June 5, to change the name of the stadium to Américo Montanini, in response to the efforts made by the former soccer player’s family to have it pay this tribute and to which both Bucaramanga fans and journalists from the region have supported.
“The project has been born from people for many years. Fans and groups had proposed that it be Américo Montanini, so we built this project with Don Américo’s daughters, and with the support and letters from the southern Leoparda Fortress, the eastern bar, different groups and groups that feel that this should be the name. Now what continues is that the debate will be opened in the Assembly, where all points of view will be heard and we hope that this will be the winning proposal,” deputy Danovis Lozano, who filed the project, told Blu Radio.
Who is José Américo Montanini?
The Argentine striker, nicknamed La Bordadora, is the historic scorer for Atlético Bucaramanga, where he arrived when he was 23 years old. He was born in 1933 in Buenos Aires, where he played for five years in the minor divisions of River Plate. In 1956 he arrived at Atlético Bucaramanga, where he was in two different periods (1956-1961 and 1964-1968), and in which he scored 134 goals, as well as reaching third place with the team in the local tournament. .
Montanini, nationalized as Colombian, scored a total of 178 goals in Colombia’s first professional soccer division, from which he retired in 1968. He continued to live in Bucaramanga, where he died on November 20, 2023.
His legacy has been remembered in recent days, precisely because the technical director of Bucaramanga, the Venezuelan Rafael Dudamel, referred to the legendary footballer. “I want to share something and I want it to be well taken, because I have days with it here in my throat, and I say it because it comes from my heart. I felt it in the last game when we played against Millonarios. I felt like something came inside me and made me excited in the middle of the game. I feel that the spirit of that great scorer Montanini is here with us.”
The last changes that have been made to the stadium were in 2017, when the then governor Didier Tavera ordered to name the western stand Roberto Pablo Janiot, the low western stand Hermán ‘Cuca’ Aceros, the eastern Misael ‘el papo’ Flórez, the high south José Américo Montanini, the south bass Miguel Oswaldo González, the north bass Jesús ‘El Kiko’ Barrios and the north Jorge Ernesto Ramoa.
