During the night of Saturday, June 15, the final of the Betplay 2024-I League was played in Bogotá, in the sports festival Independiente Santa Fe and Atlético Bucaramanga measured forces. While the Cardenal team wanted to win the tenth star in front of its fans, the Leopards sought the historic feat of being the champions of Colombian professional soccer for the first time.
Now you can follow us on our WhatsApp Channel and in Facebook.
In a disputed match that was decided by penalties, the team led by Rafael Dudamel achieved its first star in 75 years of history. Despite the efforts of the Santa Fe players, who scored two goals in the last 10 minutes to tie the game and take it to penalties, Atlético Bucaramanga was crowned champion at the Nemesio Camacho El Campín Stadium in the city of Bogotá.
In the recent history of Colombian football, the Colossus of 57 It has not only been a stage for a visiting team to celebrate a title in front of the Cardinal fans. In the last 12 years, Santa Fe’s three biggest rivals have also left bitter memories by defeating them at homeepisodes that revive with the recent feat of Bucaramanga.
In it opening tournament of the 2013 Independiente Santa Fe faced Atlético Nacionalthe Cardinals had just been crowned champions the previous year after a 37-year drought and faced a Purslane team led by Juan Carlos Osorio.
In the city of Medellín Santa Fe managed to get a 0-0 result, something quite promising for the second leg in Bogotá, but the capital’s residents received a cold shower since on that occasion Atlético Nacional won 0-2 and was crowned as 2013-I League champion.
Perhaps one of the most remembered finals in Colombian professional soccer was the one between Santa Fe and Millonarios in 2017. The closing tournament managed to have two strong opponents and backyard rivals to fight for the star at the end of the year.
In the first leg, with Millonarios home, the Ambassadors managed to win by the minimum. In the second leg, with a Campín full of Cardenales fans, a disputed final was played that apparently was going to end from the penalty spot, but In the 85th minute, Henry Rojas unleashed a violent shot with his left foot that silenced the Colossus of 57 and provided one of the most memorable moments of soccer in the country.
In 2020, the Covid 19 pandemic impacted the world, producing several changes, including the postponement of soccer tournaments for several months. Precisely in the Colombian league, only one edition of the tournament was played without the presence of the public.
In that edition, Independiente Santa Fe managed to qualify for the final along with América de Cali, in a duel that would dress the football festival in red. The first leg, played at the Pascual Guerrero Stadium, ended 3-0 in favor of the Scarlets. In the return match, in Bogotá, despite the efforts of the Santa Fe players and reducing the difference to one goal, América held on to the 2-0 result and was crowned champion of the 2020 tournament. The people of Cali celebrated behind closed doors.
Atlético Bucaramanga was crowned champion of the BetPlay 2024 League, securing a prize of 500,000 dollars awarded by Conmebol, approximately 1.9 billion pesos. Added to this are the 1,000 million pesos awarded by Dimayor, which brings the total prize to 2,900 million pesos. The Leopardos not only achieved a historic star, but also the opportunity to invest in the club for next year and perform well in the Copa Libertadores.
