Club de Alto Rendimiento Especializado Independiente del Valle, known simply as Independiente del Valle, is a professional football club based in
Sangolquí,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...
, that currently plays in the
Ecuadorian Serie A.
Founded in 1958, the club plays its home games at
Estadio Banco Guayaquil, which opened in March 2021 and has a capacity for 12,000. In the
2013 Ecuadorian Serie A Independiente finished runners-up, and they won their first league title in
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
.
In CONMEBOL competitions, it reached the final of the
2016 Copa Libertadores after famously defeating powerhouses
River Plate and
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the ...
, it won its first ever title in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experi ...
, Three years later the club would become one of the few two-time Sudamericana champions after defeating
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
in the
2022 final.
The club is also known for producing youth talent, and a good example of this is the club's
U-20 Copa Libertadores title in
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 ...
. Some well-known footballers the club has produced are
Jefferson Montero,
Junior Sornoza,
Arturo Mina,
Cristian Ramírez,
Moisés Caicedo and
Piero Hincapié.
History
The club was founded on 1 March 1958 as Club Deportivo Independiente by Jose Terán, a football fan from
Sangolquí, along with a group of friends including José Díaz, Jorge Atapuma, the ''Negro'' Sanguano, Tomás Zaldumbide and ''Marino'' Guayasamín. In 1977, two years after the death of José Terán, the club's name was changed to Club Social y Deportivo Independiente José Terán in honor of its founder. The name and initial club colors (red and white) were inspired by Argentine club
Club Atlético Independiente
Club Atlético Independiente () is an Argentine professional sports club, which has its headquarters and stadium in the city of Avellaneda in Greater Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its football team, which plays in the Primera Divisi ...
.
In 1995 the club reached the
Segunda Categoría (3rd Division) for the second time. After winning the Segunda Categoría in 2007, the club changed its name to ''Independiente del Valle'' and adopted the current colors (blue and black). ''Los Negriazules'' achieved promotion to the
Ecuadorian Serie A for the first time ever in the 2010 season, after winning the
2009 Serie B.
In the
2013 Serie A, the club finished runners-up on the aggregate table. Independiente del Valle made its first international participation that same year, in the
2013 Copa Sudamericana, where it was eliminated in the second stage by
Universidad de Chile after having beat Venezuelan club
Deportivo Anzoategui in the first stage. The next year, the Ecuadorian club made its first Copa Libertadores participation and second overall international participation, with the
2014 edition. In that edition, the club was eliminated after placing 3rd in their group.
In July 2014, the club officially changed its name from "Independiente del Valle" to Club de Alto Rendimiento Especializado Independiente del Valle. Although the club had changed its name already, it had never been made official by the
Ecuadorian Football Federation
The Ecuadorian Football Federation ( es, Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol or ) is the governing body of football in Ecuador. Its headquarters are in Quito, and it organizes the country's various football competitions and oversees the Ecuador ...
until that point.
Independiente del Valle unexpectedly reached the finals of the
2016 Copa Libertadores with incredible odds, being compared to
Leicester City's
Premier League title that same year.
Independiente began its
knockout stage
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...
run by beating Copa Libertadores
defending champions, Argentina's
River Plate, in the round of 16 2–1 on aggregate. In the quarter-finals they defeated
Pumas UNAM
Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., commonly referred to as UNAM, is a professional football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico. The club competes in the Liga MX, the top division in the Mexican football league system. Foun ...
on penalties 5–3, after an aggregate score of 3–3. The club subsequently faced Argentina's giant
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the ...
in the semi-final, defeating them 5–3 on aggregate, including a 3–2 victory at the famous
La Bombonera
The Alberto José Armando Stadium is a football stadium located in La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Widely known as La Bombonera (; en, The chocolate box) due to its shape, with a "flat" stand on one side of the pitch and three steep stands r ...
stadium. In the
finals, the Ecuadorians faced
Colombia's Atlético Nacional
Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the other ...
. In the first leg played at
Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa
Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa () is a multi-purpose stadium in Quito, Ecuador. It is currently used primarily for football matches and has a capacity of 35,724.
Overview
Built in 1951, it sits at the intersection of the Avenida 6 de Diciembre and ...
on 20 July, the match finished 1–1. Independiente's fairy tale story came to a conclusion after a 1–0 loss in the second leg with the series ending 2–1 in favor of the Colombians.
In November 2019, Independiente del Valle played their first ever
Copa Sudamericana final, and only its second ever CONMEBOL final, where they defeated
Club Atlético Colón 3–1 in
Asunción
Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay.
The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...
. This was the Ecuadorian club's first ever historic title. It was considered a major upset because Colón had a richer history and a much bigger fanbase, with around 40,000 fans at the stadium versus only 500 Ecuadorians.
In February 2020, the club lost the
2020 Recopa Sudamericana against the champion of the
2019 Copa Libertadores
The 2019 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores was the 60th edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the ''Copa Libertadores''), South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.
Flamengo defeated defending champions ...
,
Flamengo. The first leg in Quito was a 2–2 draw, but in the second leg at
Estadio Maracana, Flamengo won 3–0 and became the champion with a 5–2 aggregate score.
Performance in CONMEBOL competitions
* Copa Libertadores: 7 appearances
**
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
: Group Stage
**
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
: First Stage
**
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 trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
: Runners-up
**
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
: Second Qualifying stage
**
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
: Second Qualifying stage
**
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 ...
: Round of 16
**
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
: Group Stage
*Copa Sudamericana: 5 appearances
**
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
: Second Stage
**
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
: Second Stage
**
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experi ...
: Champions
**
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
: Round of 16
**
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypox ...
: Champions
*Recopa Sudamericana: 2 appearances
**
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 ...
: Runners-up
**
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt th ...
: Champions
Facilities
Stadiums
Estadio Rumiñahui was inaugurated in 1941 and has a capacity for 8,000 spectators.
For international tournaments the club use larger stadiums like the
Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa
Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa () is a multi-purpose stadium in Quito, Ecuador. It is currently used primarily for football matches and has a capacity of 35,724.
Overview
Built in 1951, it sits at the intersection of the Avenida 6 de Diciembre and ...
in
Quito
Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...
that has a 38,500-capacity.
In March 2021, the club opened a new 12,000-capacity stadium called
Estadio Banco Guayaquil. It meets modern FIFA standards and is able to hold international matches, unlike their old stadium. It also has three grandstands with a roof, compared to Estadio Rumiñahui, which only had one grandstand.
Training Center
The club has its own training center located in
Sangolquí which is called ''Centro de Alto Rendimiento''. It has seven football fields, one of them with
artificial grass. The training center also has rooms to accommodate players, dining room, parking, a gym (for the first-team and reserves), indoor pool and administrative offices.
Reserve team
Since 2018, the club has a reserve team in the
Ecuadorian Serie B
The Primera Categoría Serie B, shortened to Serie B or Primera B, is a professional football league in Ecuador. It is in the second tier of the Ecuadorian football league system. Currently contested by ten clubs, it operates a system of promotio ...
, formerly named ''Alianza Cotopaxi SC''. After the promotion, the club changed name to
C.D. Independiente Juniors.
Players
First-team squad
World Cup players
The following players were chosen to represent their country at the
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 has ...
while contracted to Independiente del Valle.
*
W. Moisés Ramírez (2022)
Players out on loan
Managers
Current technical staff
* Renato Paiva (Head Coach)
* Felipe Sánchez Mateos (Assistant Coach)
* Francisco Trujillo (Fitness Coach)
* Ricardo Pereira (Goalkeeper Coach)
* Luis Piedrahita (Performance Analyst)
* Wendy Montiel (Doctor)
* Javier Echeverría (Physiotherapist)
* Camila Nájera (Physiotherapist)
* Junior Alcócer (Equipment manager)
* Francisco Alcócer (Equipment assistant)
List of managers
*
Nelson Brito (2007 - April 26, 2008)
*
Daniel Silguero (April 30, 2008 - November 8, 2008)
*
Janio Pinto (November 8, 2008 - April 27,2009)
*
Guillermo Duró (May 11, 2010 – Sept 21, 2010)
*
Julio Asad (Sept 22, 2010 – April 17, 2011)
*
Carlos Sevilla (April 17, 2011 – Sept 20, 2012)
*
Álvaro Carcelén (Sept 21, 2012 – Sept 30, 2012)
*
Pablo Repetto (Sept 25, 2012 – Jul 27, 2016)
*
Alexis Mendoza (Jul 29, 2016 – Dec 6, 2017)
*
Gabriel Schürrer (Dec 10, 2017 — 2018)
*
Ismael Rescalvo (Jun 28, 2018 — April 27, 2019)
*
Yuri Solano (April 27, 2019 - May 7, 2019)
*
Miguel Ángel Ramírez (May 7, 2019 — Dec 19, 2020)
*
Renato Paiva (Dec 25, 2020 —)
Honours
Domestic
*
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
:
**Winners (1):
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
**''Runners-up (1):''
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
*
Copa Ecuador:
**Winners (1):
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypox ...
*
Supercopa Ecuador:
**Winners (1):
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt th ...
*
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
:
**Winners (1):
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Prote ...
*
Segunda Categoría:
**Winners (1):
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhut ...
International
*
Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in So ...
:
**''Runners-up (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 trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
*
Copa Sudamericana
The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American f ...
:
**Winners (2):
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experi ...
,
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypox ...
*
Recopa Sudamericana
The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana ( pt, CONMEBOL Recopa Sul-Americana), known also as the Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as the Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club association football, football compe ...
:
**Winners (1):
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt th ...
**''Runners-up (1):''
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 ...
Under-20 team
*
U-20 Copa Libertadores:
**Winners (1):
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 ...
**''Runners-up (2):''
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
,
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypox ...
References
External links
*
{{Copa Sudamericana winners
1958 establishments in Ecuador
Association football clubs established in 1958
Football clubs in Ecuador
I