Unión Magdalena () commonly known as El Unión, and nicknamed as El Ciclón Bananero (The Banana Cyclone) and also Los Samarios (The Samarios), is a Colombian football club from the city of

Santa Marta Santa Marta (), officially the Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta (), is a port List of cities in Colombia, city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena Department and the fou ...

, capital of the department of Magdalena, founded on April 19 1953. They will compete in the

Categoría Primera A The Categoría Primera A (), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor due to Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is a professional association football league in Colombia and the highest level of the Colombian ...

, the first division of the Colombian football league system, starting from 2025. The club's home ground is the

Estadio Sierra Nevada Estadio Sierra Nevada (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Estadio Sierra Nevada'' ) (also known as Estadio Unidad Bolivariana Bureche) is a association football, football stadium in the city of Santa Marta, Colombia. The stadium was opened on 11 Novemb ...

, since 2018. Founded on 10 March 1951 as ''Deportivo Samarios'', the club was re-founded as Unión Magdalena on 19 April 1953. The original playing squad was largely composed of Hungarians who were touring Colombia when their club, the Hungaria FbC Roma, was disbanded.

History

Unión Magdalena was founded as ''Deportivo Samarios'' on 10 March 1951. The team was founded with the help of José Eduardo Gnecco Correa and Eduardo Dávila Riascos. It was formed by the Hungaria FbC Roma squad when it was disbanded after a tour in South America. The first team consisted of 10 Colombians, 8 Hungarians, 2 Yugoslavs, 1 Austrian, 1 Argentine, 1 Italian and 1 Romanian. Deportivo Samarios debuted in the league that same year and placed 14th. That season, the team achieved the record of the biggest win in the Colombian league against Universidad, scoring 12–1. The club was re-founded as Unión Magdalena on 19 April 1953. Unión has only won one championship, in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

playing against

Deportivo Cali Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A. Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful football t ...

in the final, thus becoming the first football club of the Caribbean region of Colombia to win a football championship in history.

Carlos Valderrama Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio (Colombian Spanish: ; born 2 September 1961), also known as ''"El Pibe"'' ("The Kid"), is a Colombian former professional footballer and sports commentator for Fútbol de Primera, who played as an attacking m ...

, born in Santa Marta and one of the most famous Colombian footballer, started his career in this club. Relegated in 2005 after losing 3–0 to

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 am ...

, Unión earned automatic promotion to the

2019 Categoría Primera A season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' D ...

, after playing 13 years in the second division football league. Despite qualifying for the semifinals of the 2019 Apertura, Unión's performance in the Finalización tournament was poor and the club ended up being relegated on 29 October after losing 3–1 to

Once Caldas Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian Association football, football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. The club plays its home games at Estadio Palogrande. The club wa ...

. Red and blue stripes compose the traditional shirt of the team, and its design is inspired by the Argentine club

San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Boedo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football team, which plays in the Primera División, the first tier of the Argentine foot ...

2021 controversy and promotion

On 4 December 2021, the last matchday of the semi-final Group B of the second tournament of the 2021 Primera B season, Unión Magdalena sealed their promotion to

after coming back from a 1–0 deficit against

Llaneros A (, 'plainsman') is a Venezuelan and Colombian herder. The name is taken from the Llanos grasslands occupying eastern Colombia and western-central Venezuela. During the Spanish American wars of independence, lancers and cavalry served in b ...

Villavicencio Villavicencio () is a city and municipality in Colombia. The capital of Meta Department, it was founded on April 6, 1840. The municipality had a population of 531,275 in 2018. The city is located at 4°08'N, 73°40'W, 75 km (about 45 ...

with a couple of goals in quick succession in stoppage time to win the game by a 2–1 score and get promoted at the expense of

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

, who were clinching promotion with the score in Villavicencio despite losing their final match to

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

at the same time. However, video footage of Unión Magdalena's winning goal appeared to show the Llaneros players backing off and failing to make an effort to prevent their rivals from scoring. The events sparked outrage both within the country and abroad, with Colombian internationals

Juan Cuadrado Juan Guillermo Cuadrado Bello (born 26 May 1988) is a Colombian professional Association football, footballer who plays for club Atalanta BC, Atalanta and the Colombia national football team, Colombia national team. He usually plays on the righ ...

and

Mateus Uribe Andrés Mateus Uribe Villa (born 21 March 1991) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Atlético Nacional and the Colombia national team. After coming through the ranks of Envigado's youth academy, Uribe m ...

expressing their displeasure, calling them "a lack of respect" and "an embarrassment for Colombian football", whilst President of Colombia

Iván Duque Márquez Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the Bu ...

stated it was a "national disgrace". In response to the growing backlash, as well as calls from Fortaleza to get the match annulled and Unión Magdalena's promotion reversed, Dimayor chairman Fernando Jaramillo ordered the opening of an inquiry on the match events while also requesting the

Office of the Attorney General of Colombia The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia (; literally "General Prosecutorial Office of the Nation") is the Colombian institution part of the Colombian judicial branch of Government with administrative autonomy designed to prosecute offend ...

to investigate whether any criminal offenses had been committed, but on 7 December 2021, Jaramillo stated that the tournament would not be paused and Unión Magdalena's promotion would not be overturned while due process was completed. However, amid the ongoing inquiries, the Torneo II's final match between

Cortuluá Cortuluá, officially named Cortuluá Fútbol Club S. A. and previously known as Corporación Club Deportivo Tuluá for short, was a Colombian football club from Tuluá, Valle del Cauca Department. It was founded in 1967 and last played in Categ ...

and Unión Magdalena, which was originally scheduled to be played on 11 December 2021 in

Tuluá Tuluá (), is a city located in the heart of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. A major industrial and commercial center, it is the region's fourth-largest city after Cali—the department capital— Palmira and Buenaventura. Founded around 1741 by Juan ...

was postponed until further notice. On 30 December 2021, Dimayor's disciplinary commission closed the investigation on Unión Magdalena as it found no evidence implying that members of the aforementioned club had been responsible for the events that occurred in the match against Llaneros, thus confirming their promotion to Primera A for the 2022 season.

Stadiums

The Eduardo Santos Stadium, inaugurated in 1951, was the highest sports venue for Magdalenes, located in the Olympic Village of Santa Marta. It served for the Unión Magdalena local games but since its inauguration, it has not only been the headquarters of the Unión Magdalena soccer club, it also witnessed the birth of prominent Colombian soccer figures such as the former Colombian team captain, Carlos "El Pibe" Valderrama. It currently has a capacity of 23,000 spectators. On 3 March 2013, Unión Magdalena played its last game at the stadium against Llaneros F.C., in compliance with the final closure order of the Eduardo Santos Stadium. The team had a tour of venues around Riohacha (La Guajira) at the Federico Serrano Soto Stadium and then in the Magdalena municipality of Ciénaga, at the "Luis Tete Samper" Municipal Stadium, with a capacity of 5,000 spectators. After the inauguration of the Sierra Nevada Stadium for the 2017 Bolivarian Games, the Union Magdalena agreed with the mayor of Santa Marta official to return to the city from the 2018 season.

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

First Team (Deportivo Samarios – 1951)

Notable players

Gyula Zsengellér Gyula Zsengellér (27 December 1915 – 29 March 1999) was a Hungarian footballer who played as a striker. A legend of Újpest FC, he is most famous for his part in taking the Hungary national team to the 1938 World Cup Final. He was that tou ...

(1951–53) *

Jiří Hanke Jiří Hanke (12 December 1924, Dolní Bučice – 11 December 2006, Lausanne), also known as Jorge Hanke or Georg Hanke, was a Czech footballer and later football manager, who played internationally for Czechoslovakia, earning five caps. In ...

(1951) *

György Marik György Marik, also known as Jorge Marik (4 April 1924 – 20 December 1988), was a Hungarian football player and manager. Marik fled Hungary in 1949 and later spent most of his career in Mexico. Career Marik was born in Hungary on 4 April 1924 ...

(1951–1952) * Gabriel Rakosky (1952) * Kalman Lami (1952) * Ladislao Magyar (1952) *

Nicolás Hrotko Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

(1952) * Bruno Gerzelli (1952) * Corrado Contin (1952) * Manuel Rossi (1965) * Arístides Del Puerto (1973) * Luis Giribet (1976) *

Víctor Solar Víctor is a Spanish masculine given name, equivalent to Victor in English and Vítor in Portuguese. Notable people with the given name include: *Víctor Barrio (1987–2016), Spanish bullfighter * Víctor Cabrera (Argentine footballer) * Víctor ...

(1977) *

(1981–84) * Alfredo Arango (1965–1972),(1973–1974),(1978–1980) * Carlos Arango (1950),(1960–1961) * Aurelio Palacios * Nixon Perea (1993) * Erwin Carrillo (2004–2005),(2007–2009),(2012–2014),(2018) * Ruyeri Blanco (2016–2021) * Fernando Batiste (2018–2019) *

Abel Aguilar Abel Enrique Aguilar Tapias (born 6 January 1985) is a Colombian former footballer who played as a central defender, central or defensive midfielder. Having started his career at Deportivo Cali, Aguilar signed with Italian club Udinese at the ...

(2018–2020) *

David Ferreira David Arturo Ferreira Rico (born August 9, 1979) is a Colombian former footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Professional Ferreira began his professional career in 1997 with the Colombian Primera B club Expresso Rojo. By 1999 he had j ...

(2018–2019) *

Ricardo Márquez Ricardo Luis Márquez González (9 November 1997) is a footballer from Santa Marta, Colombia who plays as a forward for Atlético Bucaramanga on loan from Union Magdalena. Career statistics Club Honours Atlético Bucaramanga *Categoría Pri ...

(2018–2020), (2022–2024) * Carlos Bejarano (2022-2023) *

Alexander Mejía Alexander Mejía Sabalza (born 11 July 1988) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. He is described by FIFA's official website as "a linchpin noted for his ability to tidy up mistakes, rob possession and track down and ...

(2023)

Honours

Domestic

** Winners (1):

Categoría Primera B Categoría Primera B, commonly referred to as Torneo BetPlay Dimayor due to Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is the second-division association football, football league in Colombia. The tournament was inaugura ...

** Winners (2): 2021–II,

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

** Runners-up (2):

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Copa Colombia The Copa Colombia (); officially known as Copa BetPlay Dimayor is an annual football tournament in Colombia. It is contested by the 36 professional clubs affiliated to the División Mayor del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano (DIMAYOR) and is the ...

** Runners-up (1):

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

Performance in CONMEBOL competitions

Personnel

Current technical staff

, -

Notable managers

The following managers won at least one trophy when in charge of Union Magdalena:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Union Magdalena Unión Magdalena Football clubs in Colombia Association football clubs established in 1953 Santa Marta 1953 establishments in Colombia Categoría Primera A clubs Categoría Primera B clubs