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

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

in the 1950s to describe the

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club, known simply as Millonarios, is a Colombian professional football club based in Bogotá, that competes in the Categoría Primera A, top flight of football in Colombia. It is one of the most successful and iconic clubs i ...

football team, during its successful period from 1949–1964, because the blue color of their uniform, the large number of titles the team won, 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 western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

and

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, was used the same term to refer to

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile () is a public research university in Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the co ...

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 El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...

, when the football league broke away from

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

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 Adolfo Alfredo Pedernera (15 November 1918 – 12 May 1995) was an Argentine football player and coach. Nicknamed "El Maestro" ("The Teacher"), he was widely considered to be one of the best world football players in the 1940s and one of the gr ...

, a star with the legendary River Plate team of the 1940s better known as

La Máquina ''La Máquina'' () 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 Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. Given name Artists and musicians * Aldo Sambrell (1931–2010), Spanish actor also known as Alfredo S ...

, who would later star for the legendary

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

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

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

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

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

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 Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé (; 4 July 1926 – 7 July 2014) was an Argentine professional footballer and coach who played as a forward, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time. Nicknamed "Saeta Rubia" ("Blond A ...

* Néstor Raul Rossi *

Julio Cozzi Julio Adolfo Cozzi (14 July 1922 – 25 September 2011) was an Argentine football goalkeeper who won the Copa América 1947 with the Argentina national team. Cozzi started his career in 1941 with Club Atlético Platense. He played for the club ...

Raúl Pini Raúl Hermenegildo Pini Giovio (2 June 1923 – 2 October 1998) was a Uruguayan footballer. He played in 14 matches for the Uruguay national football team from 1944 to 1947. He was also part of Uruguay's squad for the 1945 South American Cha ...

* Francisco Zuluaga * Julio César Ramírez * Ismael Soria *

Reinaldo Mourín Reinaldo is a Spanish and Portuguese language given name for males (the English form is Reynold). It may refer to: Football *Reinaldo Merlo (born 1950), Argentine former footballer and manager *Reinaldo Gomes (born 1954), Portuguese football strike ...

* Antonio Báez *

Hugo Reyes Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

* Carlos Aldabe (Manager) * Gabriel Ochoa Uribe * 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 7th 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 between ...

. 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 Leonel Guillermo Sánchez Lineros (25 April 1936 – 2 April 2022) was a Chilean professional footballer who played as a striker or on the left wing. He is recognized as one of the Best South American Footballers of the 20th Century and one ...

Rubén Marcos Héctor Rubén Marcos Peralta (6 December 1942 – 14 August 2006), known as Rubén Marcos, was a Chilean footballer who played as a midfielder. Usually a central midfielder, he was well known for his versatility and stamina. Capable both in atta ...

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

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

Manuel Astorga Manuel Miguel Astorga Carreño (born 15 May 1937) is a Chilean kinesiologist and former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career He started his career in 1956 with Universidad de Chile and was part of the famous ''Ballet Azul'' (Blue ...

* Alberto Quintano * 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 capit ...

(Manager 1969)

External links

History of Ballet Azul

References

{{Universidad de Chile 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