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 amateur teams from the Risaralda Department in the Third Division (Primera C), Pereira is the department's only professional team. Deportivo Pereira was founded on 12 February 1944 by Pedro Patiño 'Peruco', Luis Carlos Marulanda, Rogelio Díaz 'Control', Faustino Chiquito y Gabriel Cardona Rojas, aiming to end the rivalry between the local clubs Deportivo Otún and Vidriocol. On 12 March 1944 they played their first game, facing Guadalajara de Buga at Estadio Alberto Mora Mora in Pereira. Deportivo Pereira made its First Division debut (Primera A) in the 1949 season, replacing Universidad, a football club founded in Bogotá that had played its previous season in the Pearl of the Otún River, nickname of the city of Pereira, but moved back to Bogotá for that season. Precisely, the team played its first game against that same team, losing 2–1. The team's first goal was scored by Ecuadorian player Humberto Suárez. Its first victory was against Atlético Bucaramanga, with a final score of 2–1 and goals scored by Omar Barahona and José “Mico” Zapata. A second victory was obtained against Bucaramanga, this time away from home and by a score of 4–3. The team's first victory playing at home was on 9 October 1949, beating Huracán de Medellín 4–1, with goals scored by Carmelo Enrique Colombo, José "Mico" Zapata, Inocencio Paz Lasso "Cencio" and an own goal from Huracan's player Santos Isaza. The first top scorer of the "Matecaña" (another of Pereira's nicknames) team was the Colombian Inocencio Paz Lasso "Cencio", with 11 goals. The team finished the season in last place with only 14 points.