On December 12, 1982, America put on the shield the second star of the Colombian League, with two meetings in advance, in front of a huge millionaire, in the house of the ambassador’s team.
Eight years later, in 1990, the victim of “Diablos”, on the majestic El Campín stadium in Bogota, will be Independiente Santa Fe.
The two titles, out of the 14 that America has, came from the hand of the doctor Gabriel Ochoa Uribe, who died on August 8 of this year and who, paradoxically, also dressed Millonarios and Santa Fe with glory.
Bogota has always been seen as the second home of “Diablos”, not only because they won championships there, but also because the support of El Campín fans is massive, with the presence of the official bars in the scarlet cast.
This Sunday (18:00), America will have the chance to win a new title on the capital stage, star 15, to the detriment of Santa Fe, which will surely come out to overwhelm those led by Argentine Juan Cruz in search of return.
In the first round match, the Americans were above Santafereños with a strong and efficient game that led to the score of 3-0 on the board, with the goals of Yesus Cabrera, Duván Vergara and Santiago Moreno.
This time, due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, neither “Diablos” nor “Cardenales” will have the breath of their fans in El Campín, but both teams will leave everything on the grass in the remaining 90 minutes of this final.
Juan Caicedo, of Tumaque, who scored the goal that gave him the American title against Millonarios in 1982, and Sergio ‘Checho’ Angulo of Ibiza, the architect of the goal for the championship against Santa Fe in 1990, remember the events in El Campín.
“It was my 150th goal and it meant a title.”
“Against Santa Fe, in that 1990 championship, two results helped us, victory or draw, to win the title. We started to win and then Santa Fe equalized (1-1), but in the game in general we did not pass the major aphids.
The goal I scored against Santa Fe was very important in my career. It meant my 150th goal as a professional player and, by the way, the title of America.
The paradox of the situation is that I suffered a rupture in the back of my right thigh, starting the runs from home in Bucaramanga and they told me that there is no chance to play more this season.
But I was only two goals behind Ávila’s ‘Pipa’ – a teammate in America’s attacking position – for golden prey and I hit the therapy with everything. I had the certainty and faith in God that I would recover to continue playing.
Before playing against Santa Fe in El Campín de Bogotá, America faced Nacional in Pascual, if we won we would be champions, but we drew 1-1 and traveled to the capital in search of the title.
On Saturday, before the match against Santa Fe, they gave me a test and I felt a little discomfort, but I passed. Doctor Gabriel Ochoa gave the order to collect the penalties in case the situation arose and I was always the first option.
During the match, there was a foul in the area against Jorge “Polilla” Da Silva. Referee JJ Toro, who was the central defender of the game, decreed the penalty and I executed it.
The goalkeeper was Fernando Hernández, with whom we had been in Santa Fe, and we knew each other perfectly, because we practiced penalties in training. I always loaded the goalkeeper’s left hand, but that afternoon, knowing he knew me, I decided to hit my right hand, with location, but with a little more force. The goalkeeper sank, but did not reach that ball.
Scoring a championship goal in Santa Fe was kind of a weird feeling, because I played there, but I always said it and I’m convinced of that, the moment is the moment, if you score a club you belonged to, as a professional player you have to you sing the goal, it is inevitable to refrain from that happiness.
And in that America that I shared with players that I also had teammates in Santa Fe, like Eduardo Niño, Jorge Raúl Balbis, Freddy Rincón, I think that Wílmer Cabrera had not arrived at that time. This title was the last in Dr. Ochoa’s time in America.
The reception party in Cali was great, it took us eight hours to get from the airport to Pascual, around 2:00 in the morning we walked into the stadium. It was unforgettable. “
“That shoe was a gift from God”
“The goal that Sunday, December 12, was a gift from God, as I have always said, because we traveled to Bogota with the illusion of defeating Millonarios, which was a great team, and thanks to the Creator we were given that championship in El Campín.
Bogota is an American market. There are as many red fans in the capital as in Cali and that is why we always feel that in El Campín we play as locals. The fans have always supported us in this stadium.
For that game against Millonarios, we came as leaders and thanks to that blow of mine, which the press described as “zapatazo” and allowed us to win 1-0, plus other results that were given to us, we champions could be crowned with two dates in advance.
It was a great goal, indeed. Damiano, an Argentine left-hander who arrived in America that season, caught the ball in the area, I was in the race, I asked him and he sprayed it on me to hit him with a left foot from outside 18, without hesitation . . The ball bounced off the crossbar, Bogota’s high lifted the ball over the bar, but the keeper made a spectacular diving save. Somehow, the referee’s cards remained in his pocket – a terrible decision! Vivalda’s resulting free kick was easily saved by the keeper.
And to think I’m right, I don’t know where I got that left shoe from. This was the most important goal of my career and people remember it on the street.
This championship was a very beautiful feat, because when we won the title, second in America, with two meetings in advance, we arrived relaxed to meet the schedule against Deportivo Cali in Pascual and Junior in Barranquilla.
The joy was immense, especially for the doctor Gabriel Ochoa, who did not take place in his shirt for happiness. I remember that, despite his joy, he asked us not to do the Olympic tour in El Campín, out of respect for Millonarios and the blue fans. He loved that institution very much and made it great.
Arriving in Cali was extraordinary. We returned on Monday morning, we all boarded the team bus, and a fire truck accompanied us from the airport to the Versailles headquarters, where the American administrative office was at the time.
Night came and the fans were still on the street celebrating.
This time, in the return match against Santa Fe this Sunday in Bogota, there will be no fans due to the coronavirus pandemic, but America knows how to play on the grass in El Campín, it is a stadium that adapts to its game today and I think that you will have to go out and do your job without thinking of a result to look for. Santa Fe is bound, but that doesn’t mean America is giving up what it knows how to do as a visitor. You have already done your homework in Cali, now you have to complete them in Bogotá. And let the star arrive ”.
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The 1982 millionaires had on their list players such as Alberto Vivalda, Luis Gil, Germán Gutiérrez, Alfonso López, Nolberto Molina, José Van Tuyne, José Eugenio Hernández, Carlos López, Germán Morales, Norberto Peluffo, Eduardo Pimentel, Alejandro Barberón, Ernesto. Díaz, Arnoldo Iguarán and Juanito Moreno.
America, which was crowned champion in 1990 against Independiente Santa Fe, had, among other players, Eduardo Niño, Antonio Moreno, Jorge Raúl Balbis, Alexis Mendoza, Jorge Bermúdez, Wilson Pérez, Mario Coll, Alex Escobar, Anthony de Ávila, Eduardo Pimentel, Jorge Da Silva, Freddy Rincón and Sergio Angulo.