Patriotitic or nationalist, Colombian Soccer is as important here as the game is elsewhere...

The Colombian soccer team is currently among the Top 50 of the world and has participated more than once in the world’s more prestigious soccer tournament, FIFA’s World Cup. “La Seleccion” is a team to keep an eye on as it has won the “Copa America” tournament and has stood its ground against the soccer giant Brazio on different occasions.

Just like in many countries, domestic soccer is huge in Colombia. Entire families have grown together while cheering and being fans of their favorite teams for countless seasons. Almost all year long there are games being played each week in two different tournaments.

“Liga Postobon” is Colombia’s premier soccer league which consists of 18 professional teams playing a total of 34 games throughout the season. Once completed, the top standing teams have the chance of participating in an international tournament called “Copa Libertadores” which is one of the most important tournaments in South America and the entire world. At the end of the year, the team with the worst final standing in the tournament’s charts is relegated to a smaller domestic tournament called “Torneo Postobon”.

Colombian soccer is competitive, that’s why smaller clubs have the “Torneo Postobon” tournament to fight their way up its standigs to have a chance of being promoted to the Premier League. A total of 18 teams compete in two 6-month long seasons for that top spot in order to be able to play against Colombia’s best one year after.

There are big names in both leagues that are considered part of their soccer history. Teams like Millonarios and America de Cali have been around for years and are fighting for the “most titles earned” title in the premier league. Big teams can be seen as rivals similar to the Real Madrid rivalry against Barcelona from Spain.

In Colombia, most of these rivalries are between two teams from the same region. Games between Millonarios and Santa Fe are often referred to as “Clasico Capitalino” since both teams are from Bogota, the capital city of Colombia. Matches between America de Cali and Deportivo de Cali are referred to as “Clasico vallecaucano”.

These kinds of matches in Colombian soccer get their hype from the fans who devotedly attend stadiums wearing their team colors while cheering songs at the stadium. Every soccer fan in Colombia proudly supports their local teams and, when the time comes to support the National Team they all sing the national anthem passionately at the stadium, at home or wherever they may be at the time.

During the 1994 FIFA World cup, Colombia played and lost against USA 2-1 because of a Colombian player deflecting a shot into his own goal. He was murdered in Medellin, Colombia on the night of July 22nd and many believe it was because of so many lost bets as Colombia was a favorite to many for that year’s World Cup. Many fans remember his death each year and, in 2002 a statue was placed in the city of Medellin to honor his memory.

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