Cortuluá, officially named Cortuluá Fútbol Club S. A. and previously known as Corporación Club Deportivo Tuluá, is a Colombian football club from the municipality of

Tuluá Tuluá (), is a city located in the heart of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. A major industrial and commercial center, it is the region's fourth-largest city after Cali—the department capital— Buenaventura and Palmira. Founded around 1741 by Ju ...

in the Valle del Cauca. It was founded in 1967 and plays in the

Categoría Primera B Categoría Primera B, commonly referred to as Torneo BetPlay Dimayor due to sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay (formerly ''Torneo Águila''), is the second-division football league in Colombia. Format DIMAYOR has applied a new form ...

. In the 2001 Categoría Primera A season the team had its most successful campaign after winning the Apertura tournament, which granted them a spot in the

2002 Copa Libertadores The 2002 Copa Libertadores de América was the 43rd edition of CONMEBOL's premier club football tournament. It was won by the Paraguayan club Olimpia; their third title. First round The first round of the Copa Libertadores drew 32 teams into eig ...

History

Cortuluá was founded in 1967 by a group of people headed by Paraguayan former player and coach Hernando Acosta. In 1993, Cortuluá wins its first title in the

, being promoted to the Primera A for the following year. Its first game in the top flight was on February 26, 1994 at the Estadio Hernando Martinez Azcárate of nearby Buga against

Envigado Envigado () is a town southeast of Medellín, Colombia in the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley. It borders El Poblado, Medellín to the north, Sabaneta to the south, El Retiro and Caldas ...

. In the 2001 Copa Mustang Cortuluá won the Torneo Apertura (which at that time did not yet award a championship) and qualified for the

. However, in 2004 the team were relegated to the Categoría Primera B. In 2006, the

United States Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

identified the football club as one of ten businesses allegedly operating on behalf of one of the most wanted Colombian drug barons, Carlos Alberto Renteria Mantilla. The move by the United States authorities placed a freeze on any assets owned by the club within the United States, and prevented United States residents from having dealings with the club. After five years in the

, the club was promoted back to the Categoría Primera A in 2009. Cortuluá qualified for the final of the "Torneo Apertura", surpassing Deportes Palmira,

Deportivo Rionegro Leones F.C., also known as Itagüí Leones, is a professional Colombian football team based in Itagüí playing in the Categoría Primera B starting from 2019. They play their home games at the Estadio Metropolitano Ciudad de Itagüí. Histor ...

, and

Atlético Bucaramanga Club Atlético Bucaramanga S.A., better known as Atlético Bucaramanga, is a Colombian professional football team based in Bucaramanga. The club plays its home games at the Alfonso López stadium. The club was founded on 11 May 1949 by Rafael ...

in Group A of the semi-finals. In the final instance against

Itagüí Ditaires Itagüí () is a city of Colombia, located in the south of the Aburrá Valley in the Antioquia Department. It is part of The Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley. Demographics The population at the 2005 census was 230,272. Its density is 1 ...

, the first leg ended 3–1 with a win for Cortuluá, but it lost 2–0 in the second leg. In the penalty shootout Cortuluá won 6–5, thus winning the "Torneo Apertura" and qualifying to the Final of the year, where Cortuluá defeated

and returned to the top tier for the following season. In the 2010 season, the team were relegated again and returned to the second division, where they played for four seasons until the 2015 season, when they were once again promoted in a special tournament played to increase the size of the Categoría Primera A to 20 teams. They came on top of Group B, ahead of

Unión Magdalena Unión Magdalena () commonly known as El Unión, and nicknamed as El Ciclón Bananero (The Banana Cyclone) and also Los Samarios (The Samarios), is a Colombian football club from the city of Santa Marta, capital of the department of Magdalena, ...

, pre-tournament favorites América de Cali, and

Deportivo Pereira Deportivo Pereira is a professional Colombian football team based in Pereira, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Hernán Ramírez Villegas stadium. History Early years While there are several ...

and thus earned promotion for the 2015 season. In 2016, its reserve team placed third in the

U-20 Copa Libertadores The Under-20 CONMEBOL Libertadores (Portuguese and Spanish: CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub-20) is the international association football club competition for teams that play in CONMEBOL leagues. It was created by Manuel Burga Seoane and the Peruvian ...

. On the final matchday of the first round of the 2017 Torneo Finalización, Cortuluá were once again relegated to the Primera B, after losing 2–1 to

Once Caldas Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Palogrande stadium. They were the surprise winne ...

Manizales Manizales () is a city in central Colombia. It is the capital of the Department of Caldas, and lies near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. Currently, the city is the main center for the production of Colombian coffee and an important hub for higher ...

with a last-minute goal. After four years in the second tier, Cortuluá were able to return to Primera A at the end of the 2021 season, winning their semi-final group to clinch one of the two promotion spots. However, they were immediately relegated back to Primera B after a poor campaign that saw them end in last place of the relegation table of the 2022 Primera A. Their relegation was confirmed on 16 October 2022, following a 1–0 home defeat to

Deportes Tolima Club Deportes Tolima S.A., commonly known as Deportes Tolima, or simply as Tolima, is a Colombian professional football club based in Ibagué, Tolima Department that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. Founded in 1954, the club has wo ...

Stadium

Estadio Doce de Octubre, located in

and able to seat 16,000 people, was Cortuluá's home stadium until the end of 2022. Starting from 2023, the club moved its home matches to Estadio Municipal Raúl Miranda in

Yumbo Yumbo is a small, industrial city and municipality in western Colombia. It is located in the Valle del Cauca Department, just north of Cali. In 2019, it had a population of approximately 130,000 inhabitants. History Modern Yumbo was founded ...

, which has a capacity of 3,500 people.

Honours

Domestic honours

: ::Winners (2): 1993, 2009 ::Runners-up (3):

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, 2021-I, 2021-II

International honours

: ::Third place (1):

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Performance in CONMEBOL competitions

* Copa Libertadores: 1 appearance :: 2002: First Round *

: 1 appearance ::

: Third place

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Notable players

* Álvaro Peña * Jairo Ampudia * Javier Arizala *

Faustino Asprilla Faustino Hernán Asprilla Hinestroza (born 10 November 1969) is a Colombian former professional footballer who most notably played for Parma, Newcastle United and the Colombia national team as a forward. Club career Early years After starting ...

Víctor Bonilla Víctor Manuel Bonilla Hinestroza (born 23 January 1971) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a striker. His extensive career includes defending the colors for Deportivo Cali, América de Cali, Deportes Tolima, Atléti ...

* Miguel Borja *

Mayer Candelo Mayer Andrés Candelo García (born 20 February 1977) is a Colombian football manager and former football player. Career Candelo made his debut in 1996 for Deportivo Cali and played for Universitario de Deportes Club Universitario de Depo ...

* Óscar Díaz * Diego Gómez * Héctor Hurtado * Edison Mafla * Leonardo Mina Polo * Johnnier Montaño * Tressor Moreno * Rubiel Quintana * Hamilton Ricard * Carlos Rodas *

Milton Rodríguez Milton Fabián Rodríguez Suárez (born April 28, 1976) is a Colombian footballer who currently plays for Cúcuta Deportivo. Club career Rodríguez began his professional career with Cortuluá in 1997. In two years at the club the left-footed ...

* Jaime Alfonso Ruiz * Néstor Salazar *

Fernando Uribe Fernando Uribe Hincapié (born 1 January 1988) is a Colombian footballer who plays as a striker. Club career Early career Born in Pereira, Uribe was an Atlético Huila youth graduate. On 24 April 2003, he scored his first professional goal b ...

* Gustavo Victoria *

Mario Yepes Mario Alberto Yepes Díaz (; born 13 January 1976) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is well known for his time in Paris Saint-Germain, where he was considered to be one of the best defenders at the ...

* Julio César Maya * Rolan de la Cruz * Danny Quendambú *

Román Torres Román Aureliano Torres Morcillo (; born 20 March 1986) is a Panamanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Dallas Sidekicks in the Major Arena Soccer League, and the Panama national team. He represented the Panama nat ...

* Alejandro Vélez *

Rafael Dudamel Rafael Édgar Dudamel Ochoa (born January 7, 1973 ), is a Venezuelan football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper. As a player, Dudamel made 56 appearances for the Venezuela national team. Playing career Club During his car ...

Edgar Pérez Greco Édgar Fernando Pérez Greco (born 16 February 1982 in San Cristóbal, Táchira) is a Venezuelan striker currently playing for Deportivo Táchira ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as ...

References

External links

Web oficial del Cortuluá
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cortulua Football clubs in Colombia Association football clubs established in 1967 1967 establishments in Colombia Categoría Primera A clubs Categoría Primera B clubs