In 75 years of history, Atlético Nacional has played 38 finals, of which they won 24, lost 13 and failed to play in one, the 2016 Copa Suramericana against Chapecoense from Brazil due to the aerial tragedy of the Santa Catarina team.
Counting the one that will play next week against Deportes Tolima, it will be the 13th in which the second leg cannot define it at the Atanasio Girardot stadium. Next, we’ll take a look at how the Greens fared when they had to shut down this class of Ultimates outside of their ballpark.
Liga 1971
The first final that had to be defined outside the Atanasio, corresponding to the 1971 Colombian Championship, whose final was defined as three games (first leg, second leg and tiebreaker), the last match was on a neutral field (neither local nor visitor). Final played in January and February 1972. Nacional faced Santa Fe. Two tournaments were played, (opening and ending roundtrip). The opening championship was won by Nacional, the end Millonarios, Deportivo Cali and Independiente Santa Fe, also reached the final home run.
After the tie in points in the final home run, a final tiebreaker had to be played in two-way matches, between Nacional vs. Santa Fe. In Bogotá and Medellín the score was 0-0, so a third game had to be played on the field. neutral, for which the city of Cali was designated. On February 10, 1972, in the Valle del Cauca capital, the Bogota team won 3-2 and became champion.
Libertadores Cup 1989
Atlético Nacional had to receive Olimpia from Paraguay at the El Campín stadium in Bogotá in the second leg final of the 1989 Copa Libertadores, the purslane had fallen 2-0 in Asunción. For the final match they tied the series with a 2-0 win. With which, the champion was defined by shots from the penalty spot, where René Higuita in legend mode and with a great collection by Leonel Álvarez, the Cup was left in the hands of the Antioquia.
Copa Intercontinental 1989
In Tokyo, Japan, at the end of 1989, Atlético Nacional faced Milan from Italy, to settle the Intercontinental Cup. The green team withstood attacks from Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten and company for much of the game, but in injury time, a free kick taken by Alberico Evani handed the Cup to the ‘rossoneri’.
Cup Winners’ Cup 1990
The Copa Libertadores for Nacional opened the possibility of playing three more tournaments, in addition to the Intercontinental and the Interamericana, the Recopa with the winner of the Supercopa, which was Boca Juniors from Argentina, was played on March 17, 1990 in the Orange Bowl in the city of Miami, United States, which ended with a 1-0 victory for the Argentine team, thanks to a goal scored by Diego Latorre.
1990 Inter-American Cup
Atlético Nacional faced Pumas de México as champion of the 1989 Copa Libertadores, the champion team of the Concacaf Champions Cup. The first leg played in Medellin, the local won 2-0, for the return game in the Ciudad Universitaria de Mexico, Nacional triumphed again, this time 4-1. In the overall result, Nacional beat the UNAM Pumas 6-1 and won its second international title.
1997 Inter-American Cup
As runner-up in the 1995 Copa Libertadores and replacing Gremio de Porto Alegre, Atlético Nacional faced Saprissa from Costa Rica, champion of the Concacaf Champions Cup. This final was played in a single match in San José, Costa Rica. It was a victory for the purslane by 2-3, and they became champions of the contest.
1998 Merconorte Cup
A year later, the nascent Copa Merconorte was launched and Atlético Nacional reached the grand final, facing Deportivo Cali. The first leg at the Atanasio was 3-1 in favor of the Antioquians with goals from Carlos Vásquez twice and Luis Carlos Perea. Martin Zapata discounted. For the second leg, played at the Pascual Guerrero stadium in Cali, the green paisa won by the minimum, with a goal from Néider Morantes. Obtaining the third international title.
South American Cup 2002
Like Merconorte, Nacional was a finalist in the first edition of the Copa Sudamericana in 2002. San Lorenzo from Argentina was its rival. In the first leg played at the Atanasio, the ‘azulgrana’ won 0-4, practically defining the championship. The second leg played at the Nuevo Gasómetro stadium in Buenos Aires, a goalless draw sentenced the international title in favor of the ‘cyclone’.
League I-2013
It took 11 years for Nacional to play a final again, playing the second leg as a visitor. It was for the I-2013 League, against Independiente Santa Fe. The Antioquia team took revenge for that 1971 and celebrated at someone else’s house, thanks to goals from Jefferson Duque and Luis Fernando Mosquera. After the first leg was tied 0-0, the second leg was in pure luxury at El Campín, where the Purslane embroidered their star number 12.
South American Cup 2014
Once again, Atlético Nacional defined an international tournament by playing the second leg away from Atanasio. On that occasion it was for the 2014 South American Cup, where the Colombians faced River Plate from Argentina. After a 1-1 disputed at the Atanasio, the turn at the Monumental went in favor of those led by Marcelo Gallardo, who won 2-0. That was the first title for Gallardo as coach of the crossed band.
Colombian Cup 2016
In a brilliant 2016 for Nacional, where he again won the Copa Libertadores. He would play the final of the Colombia Cup against Junior from Barranquilla, the green team beat the ‘shark’ both at the Atanasio and the Metropolitano, achieving a new title playing outside Medellín.
South American Cup 2016*
The 2016 South American Cup would face Atlético Nacional against Chapecoense from Brazil. The first leg was going to be played at the Atanasio Girardot stadium on November 30 and the second leg at Curitiba on December 7. However, on November 28, 2016, the Brazilian team Chapecoense traveled to Medellín to play the first leg of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana final. The flight that was transporting the team to Colombia suffered an accident, in which the death of 71 people, including coaching staff, soccer players, managers, journalists and LaMia airline staff.
Four footballers survived the accident (Alan Ruschel, Marcos Danilo Padilha, Jackson Follmann and Hélio Hermito Zampier Neto), although goalkeeper Danilo later died in the place where he was being treated.
Due to this tragedy, the Colombian club Atlético Nacional, through its official website, expressly stated in petition to Conmebol that it was its wish that it proceed to declare the Brazilian team the winner of the competition, which, finally, it was accepted. On December 5, through a statement on its official website, the Confederation awarded the title of champion to Chapecoense, with all the sporting and economic prerogatives that it entails, in order to extol the values of peace, understanding and fair play.
Colombian Cup 2021
The last Atlético Nacional title was won outside of Atanasio. It was for the 2021 Colombia Cup, when he won over Deportivo Pereira at the Hernán Ramírez Villegas stadium in the Risaraldense capital. The first leg at the Atanasio had a 5-0 win for the greens, while in the second leg the ‘aurirojos’ won 1-0. This contest was the 30th championship in green history.
Juan Camilo Alvarez Serrano
FUTBOLRED correspondent
Medellín
En Twitter: @juanchoserran8
