Envigado F.C.

Envigado FC
Full nameEnvigado Fútbol Club S.A.
NicknamesEl Equipo Naranja (The Orange Team)
Cantera de Héroes (Quarry of Heroes)
Founded14 October 1989; 37 years ago (1989-10-14)
GroundPolideportivo Sur
Capacity11,000
PresidentManuel Valero
Head coachJuan Manuel López
LeagueCategoría Primera B
2025Primera A, 17th of 20 (relegated by average)
Websitewww.envigadofc.co

Envigado Fútbol Club (Spanish pronunciation: [embiˈɣaðo ˈfuðβol ˈkluβ]) is a Colombian professional football team based in Envigado, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. They play their home games at the Estadio Polideportivo Sur.

The club is renowned for the quality of its youth development and the number of international stars who have begun their careers with the team including James Rodríguez, Fredy Guarín, Juan Fernando Quintero, Jhon Córdoba, Mateus Uribe, Giovanni Moreno, Jhon Duran among others. It is frequently considered one of the best youth academies in South America, which is why it is known as "Cantera de Heroes" (Quarry of Heroes).

History

The club was founded on 14 October 1989 and became the first team to earn promotion to the Colombian top flight as they won the inaugural Categoría Primera B tournament, held in 1991. In that tournament, they topped the final group ahead of Alianza Llanos, Club El Cóndor, and Atlético Huila.

Envigado were able to consolidate themselves as a Primera A team, reaching the final stages of the league for the first time in 1994 after placing eighth. They were eliminated in the semifinals, placing third in their group. They also made it to the final stages of the competition in the 2002 Apertura, in which they also placed third in their semifinal group, and the 2005 Apertura, in which they placed second in their group, one point behind the eventual finalists Santa Fe.

Envigado were relegated from the Primera A on 12 November 2006 after a 1–0 loss to Cúcuta Deportivo on the final round of the 2006 Finalización tournament, thus ending a 15-year spell in the top flight, but quickly bounced back by winning the 2007 Primera B tournament with a team led by debutant playmakers James Rodríguez and Giovanni Moreno and managed by Jesús Barrios. Envigado secured promotion back to the top flight by beating Academia in the finals of both of the season's short tournaments. The team was at risk of relegation in the following seasons, playing relegation play-offs in 2008 and 2010, but they defended successfully their Primera A status in both of them.

They made their best campaign in the top flight in the 2011 season, when they made it to the quarter-finals of both the Apertura and Finalización tournaments, which helped them place third in the season's aggregate table and achieve their first qualification for an international tournament, the 2012 Copa Sudamericana. There they were eliminated at the second stage after beating Unión Comercio from Peru 2–0 on aggregate and losing to Liverpool from Uruguay 2–1 on aggregate.

In November 2014, Envigado F.C. and its major shareholder Juan Pablo Upegui were included into the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (also known as the Clinton List) by the United States's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) due to their links with the drug cartel Oficina de Envigado (Envigado Office). Although not all of the club's transactions were found to be illicit, the U.S. Treasury verified that the club had been used by the organization for money laundering, after 10 years of investigations. Envigado was removed from the list on 26 April 2018, and shortly after it was announced that 55% of the club's shares had been sold to the equity fund ProFútbol.

In 2025, and following poor campaigns in the preceding seasons, Envigado ended a 17-year spell in the top flight as they were relegated to the second tier for the second time in their history. Their relegation was confirmed with six matches left in the season after they lost 2–1 to Atlético Bucaramanga on 4 October.

Honours

Domestic

Players

Current squad

As of 27 September 2026

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  COL Jaime Mora
2 DF  COL Didier Palacios
5 DF  COL Santiago Noreña
6 MF  COL Julián Palacios
7 FW  PAN Didier Dawson
8 FW  COL Rubio César España
9 FW  COL Ángelo Rodríguez
10 FW  COL Joao Rodríguez
12 GK  COL Matías Villa
13 FW  COL Juan José Rey
14 DF  COL Mateo Betancurt
15 DF  COL Gendry Cuervo
17 DF  COL Yeferson Rodallega
18 MF  COL William Hurtado
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW  COL Stiwart Acuña (on loan from Junior)
20 MF  COL Juan José Cataño
22 DF  COL Juan Palacios
25 MF  COL Jesús Cuero
27 DF  COL Juan Quejada
28 DF  COL Jhon Gamboa
33 DF  COL Emanuel Londoño
77 FW  COL Dairon Valencia
80 MF  COL Juan Aristizábal
88 GK  COL Andrés Tovar
99 FW  COL Miguel Marulanda
— MF  COL Jhojan Nieva
— FW  COL Jefferson Palacios

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF  COL Neymar Uribe (at Barranquilla)

Managers

Source: Worldfootball.net

References

  1. ↑ "James Rodriguez, Envigado FC, and the Long Shadow of Pablo Escobar". Vice.com. 30 September 2014.
  2. ↑ "Fue fundado el Envigado F.C." [Envigado F.C. was founded] (in Spanish). El Cinco Cero. 12 February 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "Envigado sí ascendió" [Envigado did promote] (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 1 December 1991. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Envigado FC" (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "Cúcuta 1 vs 0 Envigado: El naranja vuelve a La Primera B" [Cúcuta 1 vs 0 Envigado: The orange returns to La Primera B] (in Spanish). Colombia.com. 12 November 2006. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Envigado regresa a la primera división del fútbol colombiano" [Envigado returns to the first division of Colombian football] (in Spanish). Caracol Radio. 10 November 2007. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "Envigado Fútbol Club entra a la 'lista Clinton'" [Envigado Fútbol Club enters the "Clinton list"] (in Spanish). Semana. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "Treasury Lifts Sanctions on Colombian Professional Soccer Team After Ties Severed to Designated Crime Group". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  9. ↑ "Envigado salió de la Lista Clinton y anunció nuevo dueño" [Envigado left the Clinton List and announced new owner] (in Spanish). Antena 2. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  10. ↑ "Se confirma el descenso de Envigado al Torneo BetPlay" [Envigado's relegation to Torneo BetPlay is confirmed] (in Spanish). Win Sports. 4 October 2025. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  11. ↑ "Envigado". Dimayor. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  12. ↑ "Envigado, la cantera que lucha contra las apuestas, errores arbitrales y malos resultados para salvar la categoría". El Colombiano. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
  13. ↑ "Luis Augusto 'Chiqui' García". El Tiempo. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
  14. ↑ "Por qué un jugador de Santa Fe decidió comer jabón durante la gestión de Fernando 'Pecoso' Castro: esta es la historia". Infobae Colombia. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
  15. ↑ "PRIMER PUNTO DE ENVIGADO EN EL 95". El Tiempo. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
  16. ↑ "Síntesis de la XIII Jornada Torneo Adecuación". El Tiempo. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
  17. ↑ "Envigado jugará sin 6 de sus titulares". El Colombiano. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
  18. ↑ "Orlando Restrepo será nuevo técnico de Real Sociedad". Diario Deportivo Más. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
  19. ↑ "Carlos Navarrete, ya es oficialmente director técnico de Jaguares". La Razón. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
  20. ↑ "Jesús "Kiko" Barrios se convirtió en el quinto entrenador destituido enel futbol de Colombia". Caracol Radio. Retrieved 2025-04-25.