Delio "Maravilla" Gamboa Rentería (28 January 1936 – 23 August 2018) was a Colombian football player. Gamboa's career ran from 1955 to 1974 in which time he played for

Atlético Nacional Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional association football, football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the countr ...

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Millonarios was initially created in 1937 by students f ...

Independiente Santa Fe Club Independiente Santa Fe, known simply as Santa Fe, is a Colombian professional football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Santa Fe is one of the th ...

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 winners ...

, and

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 ...

, "Maravilla" translates directly to "wonder".

In the beginning

Born in Buenaventura ( Valle del Cauca),

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, Delio Gamboa signed with

in 1958, after getting noticed playing in a "aficionado" national league. A year later, Gamboa was transferred to a football club named

CD Oro Club Deportivo Oro is a football club that plays in the second division. It is based in the city of Guadalajara. The club was one of five clubs from the state of Jalisco to play in the Mexican first division. It only won one league title, back i ...

based out of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He was considered to be their most important player for two straight seasons. He led Oro to be runners-up of the Mexican Domestic league in his first season with the club.

Time with Colombia National Team

Delio took part in the 1961 Colombia National Squad which qualified for the following years

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

. At the

1962 FIFA World Cup The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the seventh edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May to 17 June 1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place bet ...

an injury limited Gamboa to just one appearance at said World Cup.

"Maravilla"

Upon his arrival in Colombia to play in the 1961 qualifiers Delio joined

. He went on to play for Millonarios from 1961–1965. He won the Colombian Domestic League (now the Liga Águila) title four straight seasons (1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964). Delio had been given his nickname "Maravilla" when still an amateur, as number 10 (inside-left was the position called then) on the Valle del Cauca ''selección'', which outclassed all other State teams and garnered the Colombian championship, stunning the spectators with his play which people thought nothing short of miraculous and Gamboa "a wonder" in the flesh. He briefly revived the nickname which Millonarios sides earned in the DiStefano-Pedernera era, "El Ballet Azul" ("The Blue Ballet") for its elegant and artistic style of play.

Copa Libertadores with "Millos"

In the 1962 Edition "Maravilla" and "Los Embajadores" translating to "The Ambassadors" saw an early first round exit. In 1963 they were matched up with continental football giants of that era in

Garrincha Manuel Francisco dos Santos (28 October 1933 – 20 January 1983), nicknamed Mané Garrincha, best known as simply Garrincha (, "little bird"), was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a right winger. He is widely regarded as one of ...

's Botafogo and Alianza de Lima from Peru. They faced no better fortunes as they again were eliminated. Despite being eliminated early "Maravilla" and "Millos" would come back and win the Domestic crown the following year. Though they had no title to show Millonarios led by Gamboa represented Colombia in the Copa Libertadores for four straight years and were thus nicknamed "Los Embajadores".

Stint at Santa Fe

Although then came the injuries, at the end of the 1965 campaign "Maravilla" was sold to

. Nonetheless "Maravilla" went on to win the Domestic title with Santa Fe in 1966. Gamboa scored 33 goals in 76 matches for Santa Fe between 1966 and 1968.

Later Years

After the titles, "wonderful play" and the rash of injuries he spent the 1968–1970 seasons at

and then transferred to

for the 1971 and 1972 campaigns. "Maravilla"'s career finally came full circle when he returned to the club that quite possibly saw his best form, Millonarios, in 1973 and ended he professional playing career in 1974. He latter went on to be Head Coach for

and then left to become the Director of Millonarios youth system. Delio "Maravilla" Gamboa's innate skill led many to consider him the best Colombian footballer of the 1960s. Real Madrid scouted him but apparently his lanky, slight build deterred the European Millonarios from signing him. He was also widely admired for overcoming the economic and social discrimination and barriers imposed at that time, as well as the discrimination and barriers he faced due to his skin's complexion, all of which were evident in Colombia in that era. Which may be just another reason why Delio Gamboa was considered a "Maravilla".

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20120206013119/http://www.colombiaaprende.edu.co/html/etnias/1604/article-83236.html *http://www.losmillonarios.net/leyendas_delio.php *https://web.archive.org/web/20080304162234/http://www.lacoctelera.com/millonarios/post/2006/09/11/historia-del-club-deportivo-millonarios {{DEFAULTSORT:Gamboa, Delio 1936 births 2018 deaths 1962 FIFA World Cup players 1967 South American Championship players Atlético Nacional footballers Colombia men's international footballers Colombian men's footballers Colombian expatriate men's footballers Deportes Tolima footballers Independiente Santa Fe footballers Millonarios F.C. players Once Caldas footballers Categoría Primera A players Liga MX players Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Men's association football forwards People from Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca Footballers from Valle del Cauca Department Deportes Tolima managers