Millonarios

Millonarios

Millonarios Fútbol Club, also known as Millonarios, is a Colombian professional football club based in Bogotá that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A, the top flight of football in Colombia. It is one of the most successful and iconic clubs in Colombia, making it one of the largest sports entities in the country and one of the most important in South America. The team's origins date back to the 1920s, but it began to be called Los Millonarios in 1939 when its name was Club Deportivo Municipal. It was officially founded on 18 June 1946, as Club Deportivo Los Millonarios, and later as Millonarios Fútbol Club on 20 April 2011, when it was reconstituted as a public limited company. Since 1938, the team has played their home games at Estadio El Campín which currently holds a 36,343-capacity. Millonarios has participated in the Categoría Primera A since its inception in 1948, being one of only three teams to have participated in all of its tournaments, along with Independiente Santa Fe and Atlético Nacional. Millonarios competes in the Clásico Capitalino against home-town rivals Independiente Santa Fe, Clásico Colombiano with Atlético Nacional and the Clásico Añejo against Deportivo Cali and also has a strong rivalry with América de Cali.Millonarios won their first local title in 1949 and shortly after, formed a team known as the "Ballet Azul", which was a reference of great importance worldwide during the first part of the 1950s, being considered by various South American and European specialists as the best team in the world when it achieved a large number of triumphs and international achievements of great importance for the time. Alfredo Di Stefano, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, joined Millonarios in 1949 and played for the team until 1953. During this period, Millonarios won the Copa Colombia in 1951 and the Colombian league championship in 1949, 1951, and 1952. Among its accomplishments, the team won the first edition of the Small World Cup of Clubs in 1953, the Golden Wedding Championship against Real Madrid in 1952, which the team won at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, and the Duelo de Campeones Trophies in 1950 and 1951. Their participations at these tournaments gave rise team's nickname of "Ambassador" as the club was representing Colombia at these tournaments. It is the second most successful team in Colombian football with 22 official titles, including national and international championships. The team has won 16 championships in the local Colombian League, 3 Colombian Cup titles, and 1 Colombian Super Cup title. It also won the won the Small Club World Cup in 1953, the Copa Simón Bolívar continental championship in 1972 and the last edition of the Copa Merconorte in 2001.According to the IFFHS, Millonarios is the fourth-best Colombian club of the 20th century and the ninth-best Colombian club of the 21st century. It has been included in lists of the best football clubs of all time made by major international sports media, being the only Colombian team present on them. By CONMEBOL's standards, Millonarios 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 named by the organization as the First Ambassador of Colombian Football.

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