El Dorado – Colombian "golden league" 1949-54
by PETER J WATSON.
For a short period, from 1949-1953, Colombia may have had the best football league in the world. The so called ‘El Dorado’ professional football league in Colombia of this period was associated with illegally signing players directly rather than going through their clubs. El Dorado became relevant as some of the greatest South American stars eagerly signed up with Colombian clubs who were offering far more in signing on fees and wages than their previous clubs could offer. But it wasn’t just Latin Americans who were attracted to the league. Europeans too, from Britain, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Lithuania and Romania amongst others, were lured across the Atlantic by the promise of riches.
In 1948, Colombian football was still amateur, and there was no national league. Public interest was waning, and the national team was not developing. Frustrated by Adefútbol’s ineptitude, a rival football body Dimayor was created, and convinced ten clubs to join a new league. The very first professional league game was played between Atlético Municipal of Medellín and Universidad de Bogotá in August 1948 and interest grew as the season progressed. In 1949, there was a huge argument between Adefútbol and Dimayor over the team that would represent Colombia in the Copa América. Adefútbol complained to FIFA about Dimayor refusing to release players, and FIFA withdrew their recognition of the Dimayor league. One of the directors of Millonarios, Alfonso Senior, spotted a new opportunity. As the league was not recognised by FIFA, they could sign players directly without going through the clubs. He gave manager Carlos Aldabe the task of signing the best player he could find. Aldabe went to see Argentinian superstar Adolfo Pedernera. Pedernera asked for a $5,000 signing on fee and a salary of $500. Aldabe contacted Senior with these demands, and the other directors panicked – there was no way gate receipts could cover this amount. Senior, however, was a more savvy businessman and telegrammed Aldabe back with orders to agree the deal. Pedernera soon flew to Bogotá, and arrived on 10 June 1949.
Suddenly football was front page news in the Colombia with huge excitement everywhere about Pedernera’s arrival. The ground was absolutely full and the takings at the box office more than covered Pedernera’s signing on fee. The crowd were jubilant and the press drooled over Pedernera’s technique, his vision, his skill and his football intelligence. Millonarios signed two more elite players, midfielder Néstor Rossi and forward Alfredo di Stéfano. The result was immediate and the Millonarios team became the talk of the country. It was the start of the ‘Ballet Azul’, the Blue Ballet. For ten straight matches Millonarios scored 5 goals. Other clubs followed, signing players from all over Latin America. Deportivo Cali had opted to sign the best Peruvians, such as goal-scoring legend Valeriano López. Eventually Millonarios edged Deportivo Cali for the title.
1950 saw even more imports flooding into the country. Cúcuta Deportivo had many of the 1950 Uruguayan World Cup winning squad in their ranks including Schubert Gambetta, Juan Carlos Toja and Eusebio Tejera; Junior opted for Brazilians, including the brilliant but tempestuous Heleno de Freitas; Deportivo Cali added more Argentinians to their Peruvian contingent; Deportivo Pereira bought Paraguayans; and Santa Fe, perhaps most amazingly, managed to convince three Englishmen to join them: Charlie Mitten, Neil Franklin and George Mountford. For Colombia, it was a huge coup. The signings made the front cover of every newspaper. Back in England, however, the signings were treated with disgust by the English press. Franklin, then one of the best centre halves in the country, was likely to be in the England squad for the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, and his choice to take the money made him seem like a mercenary rather than a patriot. The fact that players were paid a pittance by their clubs made no difference.
Julio Cozzi, the Argentinian ‘goalkeeper of the century’, arrived to further bolster Millonarios. Another goalkeeper, the Lithuanian Vytautas Krisciunas was one of the main reasons that Deportes Caldas shocked everyone by beating Millonarios to win the 1950 league. That season, Dimayor had contracted a number of English referees to improve the standard of the officiating, as a number of fights, rough play and poor decisions had marred the spectacle in previous seasons. Millonarios soon got back to their winning ways and totally dominated the league in 1951. Pedernera, Di Stéfano, Rossi et al., were unstoppable. New teams Quindío and Samarios joined the league. Samarios featured Hungarian star Gyula Zsengellér, who had shone at the 1938 World Cup. Zsengellér was still more than capable, scoring 6 goals in one match as Samarios thrashed hapless Universidad 12-1. Another player in that Samarios team was Austrian Rudi Strittich. He had been searching for other options having gone on a Middle East tour with his club Rapid Vienna, but was arrested on his return for smuggling narcotics into the country. He was imprisoned for three months and banned from playing for a year, but found a home in the pirate league.
1951 was really the final year of the El Dorado glory. Clubs were fed up of having their best players pirated away and FIFA had expelled Colombia from all competitions while also banning Colombian clubs from playing abroad. A solution to the problem was needed. In October, the Pact of Lima agreed in principle that foreign players would have to return to their original clubs, and then Colombia would be reinstated by FIFA. 1952 did provide one last hurrah as the magnificent Millonarios, at the height of their powers, was invited to Spain to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Real Madrid. To the joy of Colombia, Millonarios beat Real Madrid 4-2. Colombia thought they had the best team in the world and the Colombian ambassador to Spain (and future President) Guillermo Valencia, said that the club had done more for the country in 90 minutes than the diplomats had managed in 3 years.
By the following year, the end of the league was in sight. Several clubs, including Medellín and Huracán, could no longer afford to pay their players and dropped out of the league. Two Manizales clubs merged to make ends meet, but then left the league the following season along with Universidad. In 1954, Bucaramanga, Cúcuta, Sporting, Pereira and Junior disappeared, América withdrew from the league to go on tours and play exhibition matches which were more profitable than the league. Interest was waning, and the best players begin to drift away to seek other opportunities. The very best like Di Stéfano went to Europe. Others went back to their home countries. Colombian football, at the end of 1954, had returned to its pre-1948 mediocrity.
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