The Ballet Azul (''Blue Ballet'') is a term coined in

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 ...

in the 1950s to describe the

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 ...

football team, during its successful period from 1949–1964, because the blue color of their uniform, the large number of titles who had won the team, and the quality of its game. The term was first used by the sportscaster Carlos Arturo Rueda. Later in the 1960s, in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

and

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, was used the same term to refer to Universidad de Chile during its successful period from 1959–1969, Emelec, and C.S. Cartaginés respectively.

Millonarios, the first ''Ballet Azul''

The term was born in the era known as ''El Dorado'' in

, when the football league broke away from

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

because the Colombian football league turned professional in 1948. The Colombian league reached its golden era during the period, and the best footballers in Latin America came to play in Colombia. In this period the best team was Millonarios, with players like Adolfo Pedernera, a star with the legendary River Plate team of the 1940s better known as

La Máquina ''La Máquina'' (Spanish for "the Machine") is a nickname given to the River Plate football team from 1941 to 1947, commonly referred by the media as the best Argentine team of its era and one of the best teams worldwide.

; Alfredo Di Stefano, who would later star for the legendary

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

team of the 1950s; and Néstor Rossi. The team won the Colombian League championship in 1949, 1951, 1952,

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...

, 1959,

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

, 1962, 1963, 1964 In addition, the best players were part of the ''Ballet Azul'' in the era of ''el Dorado'' of the Colombian football (1949–1954): * Alfredo Di Stéfano * Adolfo Pedernera * Néstor Raul Rossi * Julio Cozzi * Raúl Pini * Francisco Zuluaga * Julio César Ramírez * Ismael Soria * Reinaldo Mourín * Antonio Báez * Hugo Reyes *

Carlos Aldabe Carlos Roberto Aldabe (January 1, 1919 – October 16, 1998) was an Argentine Association Football player and coach. He is mostly known for leading the then prominently staffed Colombian club CD Los Millonarios as player-manager to their first ...

(Manager) *

Gabriel Ochoa Uribe Gabriel Ochoa Uribe (November 20, 1929 – August 8, 2020) was a Colombian football player and manager. He won four league titles and the Copa Colombia with Millonarios as a player and fourteen league titles as a manager, making him the mos ...

* Ramon Villaverde

Universidad de Chile, the Chilean ''Ballet Azul''

The team won the Chilean league championship in 1959, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967 and 1969, Tournament Metropolitan in 1968, 1969 and the Cup Francisco Candelori in 1969. In addition, many of the players were part of the Chile national team that managed to win a bronze medal 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 ...

. Following the success, the club was invited to a European tour where they beat teams like Internazionale F.C., champion of Italy and Europe. Among the most outstanding team members of the Chilean ''Ballet Azul'' were: * Leonel Sánchez * Rubén Marcos *

Luis Eyzaguirre Luis Armando Eyzaguirre Silva (born 22 June 1939), also known as Fifo, is a former Chilean football player. He played right back in the Universidad de Chile football team known as the ''Ballet Azul'', with which he won five national championship ...

* Sergio Navarro * Jaime Ramírez * Ernesto Alvarez * Carlos Campos * Braulio Musso * Carlos Contreras * Manuel Astorga *

Alberto Quintano Alberto Guillermo Quintano Ralph (born 26 April 1946), commonly known as El Mariscal, is a Chilean former professional footballer. He played as a defender for Universidad de Chile in Chile's Primera División. Career Player He emerged from th ...

* Luis Álamos (Manager 1956-1966) *

Ulises Ramos Fabián Ulises Ramos Espínola (4 November 1919 – 13 August 2002) was a Chilean footballer and manager. Club career Ramos was born in Tocopilla in 1919 to a middle-class family. Ten years later, he alongside his family moved to the capital ...

(Manager 1969)

External links

History of Ballet Azul

References

{{reflist Football in Chile Football in Colombia Football in Ecuador Football in Costa Rica Association football culture Association football terminology Millonarios F.C. Club Universidad de Chile