Once Caldas - History

History

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.

In 2002, Once Caldas played in the Copa Libertadores again. Olimpia Asunción, of Paraguay, Universidad Católica, of Chile, and Flamengo, of Brazil were in Once Calda's group. After finishing in the third position, only ahead of Flamengo, the club was eliminated.

In 2003, the side won the first division's Apertura, after beating Atlético Junior in the final. In Barranquilla, the match ended in a 0-0 draw. In the second leg, Once Caldas won 1-0 in Manizales.

In 2004, the club again played in the Copa Libertadores. After beating Boca Juniors in the penalty shootout, the side, managed by Luis Fernando Montoya, won the competition for the first time. As the Copa Libertadores champions, the club played the Intercontinental Cup against UEFA Champions League champions Porto, of Portugal, in Yokohama, Japan. After a 0-0 draw, the club was defeated 8-7 in the penalty shootout.

In 2005, as the previous year's champion, Once Caldas tried to defend its title in the Copa Libertadores. Chivas de Guadalajara (Mexico), Cobreloa (Chile), and San Lorenzo (Argentina) were in Once Calda's group. The club finished in the second place, two points behind Chivas. In the second stage, the side was eliminated by UANL Tigres of Mexico. In that year, the club also participated in the Recopa Sudamericana, having played against Boca Juniors. In the first leg, in Buenos Aires, Boca Juniors won 3-1. In the second leg, in Manizales, Once Caldas won 2-1 but Boca won 4-3 in the aggregate score.