First-time Champions in South American Soccer

The little ones revolution! This is how this football year that ends in South America could be described. Beyond the names of the big teams, in this 2022 there were 3 teams that shouted champions for the first time in their history. Traditional clubs, but few winners, took the crown in Argentina, Colombia, and Ecuador.

These are the 3 teams that achieved the feat and celebrated for the first time in history in this 2022.

Colombia – Deportivo Pereira

The "Matecaña" team from the city of Pereira declared champion on December 7. The team, with 78 years of history, was finally able to celebrate a first division title in Colombian soccer. The final match pitted Deportivo Pereira against Deportivo Independiente Medellín, one of the greats of the coffee country.

In the first game of the final, in Medellín, the 1-1 result left the key open. Everything was defined in the Hernán Ramírez Villegas state of the capital of the department of Risaralda, the coffee center of Colombia. The final match was achieved with a stellar presentation by Harlen “Chipi chupi” Castillo, the goalkeeper, by saving 2 penalties in the decisive shootout. Beyond Castillo, the tournament for Leonardo Castro (top scorer), Brayan León, Leider Berrio and Carlos Ramírez also shone.

Ecuador – SD Aucas

The 77-year-old Idol of Quito also shouted “champion” for the first time in his history. Despite being one of the traditional teams of the Ecuadorian capital, it had not been able to go back to the Olympics and was always in the shadow of other clubs such as the Liga Deportiva Universitaria (LDU) or Barcelona or Emelec from Guayaquil or the new great: Independiente del Valle.

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Despite the fact that this 2022 LigaPro title is the first professional trophy lifted by the club from the south of Quito, it had already achieved glory in the years between 1945 and 1962. However, those were amateur times, and since then, no he had established himself in Ecuadorian soccer.

The title was achieved after a 0-goal draw at the Gonzalo Pozo Ripalda. But after 1-0 in the first leg, the goalless result gave Aucas the title over the powerful Barcelona. Fate was written, not even a penalty in favor of the port team and charged by Damián Díaz changed it, since the goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez was on his night.

This is not only the first conquest of SD Aucas, it is also their first participation for the Copa Libertadores. Among the outstanding stars in this important achievement are: the Venezuelan coach César Farías, the goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez, the striker Roberto Ordóñez, Víctor Figueroa, Ricardo Adé and Edison Vega.

Argentina – Board of Trustees

In the south of the continent there was also an unprecedented champion: the Patronato club of the province of Entre Ríos. The team, despite being relegated to the second category, managed to win the Argentine Cup, after beating Talleres de Córdoba 1-0 . In this way, Patronato will play in 2023 the second division tournament in Argentina and, simultaneously, the Copa Libertadores, and, additionally, it will also travel to Abu Dhabi to play the Argentine Super Cup.

The title was more than deserved. On the way they left several giants like Boca and River themselves. In addition to Gymnastics and Fencing of La Plata, Colón and Deportivo Morón. The heroes of this feat and who will remain in the club's history were Alex Rodríguez, Marcelo Estigarribia, Tiago Banega (author of the title goal), Jonás Acevedo, Facundo Altamirano and Carlos Quintana.