Millonarios

Azul y Blanco Millonarios Fútbol Club S.A., colloquially known as “Millonarios Fútbol Club” or simply “Millonarios”, is a Colombian football club based in the city of Bogotá, the capital of the country. It is one of the most decorated and emblematic clubs in Colombia, which is why it is considered one of the largest sporting institutions in the country and one of the most important in South America. It plays in the Colombian Primera División, having taken part in all of its editions and being the club with the most points in its all-time table. It plays its matches at the Estadio El Campín and has been identified since its beginnings with the colors blue and white.

Millonarios has its roots in 1937, when a group of students from the Colegio San Bartolomé de Bogotá created the Club Deportivo Municipal. On 18 June 1946, under the direction of the businessman Alfonso Senior, it was founded and legally constituted under the name “Club Deportivo Los Millonarios”. In 2011, the entity underwent a restructuring as a public limited company through the Sociedad Azul y Blanco, adopting its current name.

It has played in the Categoría Primera A since its founding in 1948, being one of only three teams that have taken part in all of its tournaments, together with Independiente Santa Fe and Atlético Nacional.

It is the second most decorated team in Colombian football, with twenty-three official titles. Its honours list includes sixteen championships of the local Colombian league tournament, three Copa Colombia titles and two Superliga Colombiana titles. It also was crowned continental champion in the Copa Simón Bolívar in 1972 and in the last edition of the Copa Merconorte in 2001.

It plays the capital derby against Independiente Santa Fe and the clásico añejo against Deportivo Cali, in addition to having strong rivalries with América de Cali and Atlético Nacional.

From the start of the Colombian championship in 1948, it won the largest number of the local titles that were contested and formed a team nicknamed the Ballet Azul (“Blue Ballet”), which was a reference of great importance worldwide during the first part of the 1950s, coming to be considered by various South American and European specialists as the best team in the world, thanks to its numerous triumphs and international achievements of great historical relevance for the time. Among those that stand out are the Small Club World Cup of 1953, the Golden Jubilee Championship of Real Madrid of 1952, which it won at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, and the Duelo de Campeones (Duel of Champions) Trophies of 1950 and 1951, which earned it the epithet of the ambassador team.

According to the IFFHS, it is the fourth best Colombian club of the 20th century and the ninth best Colombian club so far in the 21st century. It has been recognized internationally by being included in prestigious lists highlighting the best teams in the world, standing as the only Colombian team to appear in them. According to Conmebol, it is the third best Colombian club in international tournaments with 396.85 points and ranks 51st in the official ranking of Copa Libertadores clubs. It is recognized by FIFA as one of the classic clubs of the world and was described by that body as the first ambassador of Colombian football.