Atlético Huila
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| Full name | Club Deportivo Atlético Huila | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Los Opitas (The Opitas, from the Opita Spanish language dialect of Tolima and Huila) Bambuqueros (Bambuco Dancers) El Barcino | ||
| Founded | 29 November 1990 | ||
| Ground | Estadio Guillermo Plazas Alcid Neiva, Colombia | ||
| Capacity | 27,000 | ||
| Chairman | Juan Carlos Patarroyo | ||
| Coach | Néstor Craviotto | ||
| League | Categoría Primera A | ||
| 2018–I | 4th, Semifinals | ||
| Website | http://www.clubatleticohuila.com.co | ||
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Atlético Huila is a professional Colombian football team based in Neiva, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. The club was founded on November 29, 1990, making it one of the youngest professional football clubs in Colombia. The club's best seasons came in the late 2000s; they finished runners-up in 2007 and again in 2009. They play their home games at the Guillermo Plazas Alcid stadium, which has a capacity of 27,000. Huila has a long-standing rivalry with Deportes Tolima, known as the Tolima Grande derby. The club has a futsal team named Ultrahuilca Coomotor.
History
The club was founded in November 1990 and was admitted into the Primera B tournament the following year. In 1992, Alberto Rujana was appointed as manager. That same season, the club purchased midfielder Guillermo Berrío from America de Cali; Rujana named him captain and made him the centerpiece of the squad. Immediate promotion followed. The club managed to last in the top flight until the end of the 1996–97 season, when they finished last in the relegation table and were sent back to Primera B.
Rafael Corrales took over the club in 1996–97, and led them to an immediate promotion back to the top flight. They stayed there for a decade, although relegation was a constant danger. The club escaped only on goal differential in 2002 and had to win a relegation playoff in 2006. This was why the club's performance in 2007 was almost entirely unexpected.
Under the management of Nelson Otero, the club finished third in the Apertura and qualified for the semifinal phase. They further surprised by winning their playoff group (beating Millonarios on the final day of the round robin) to reach the Apertura finals. Atlético Nacional beat them 2–1 over two hard-fought legs, but it was nonetheless something to be proud of. A similarly unexpected result came in the second half of the 2009 season, when the club finished third in the Finalización and topped their semifinal group. Once again they bowed over two legs, this time to Independiente Medellín by a 3–2 aggregate score. That strong performance in the 2009 season allowed Atlético Huila to qualify for the following year's Copa Sudamericana for the first time in history, in which they beat Venezuelan team Trujillanos in the first stage, but were knocked out by San José from Bolivia in the second stage.
Honours
Men
- Winners (2): 1992, 1997
Women
- Winners (1): 2018
Performance in CONMEBOL competitions
- Copa CONMEBOL: 1 appearance
- 1999: First Round
- Copa Sudamericana: 1 appearance
- 2010: Second Round
Players
Current squad
- As of 2 July 2018[1]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable players
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Managers
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References
- ^ "Atlético Huila - Electrohuila". Dimayor. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
External links
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