Sport in Cali
Sport in Cali is, as with most Colombian citites, dominated by football. In fact Cali has a reasonable claim to being Colombia's football capital; its teams have collectively won more league championships than any other city (21 following America's victory in the 2008 clausura season).
Cali and the department of Valle del Cauca have also produced many of Colombia's best footballers, among them the eccentric Faustino 'El Tino' Asprilla who brought some flair to Parma of Italy, and then Newcastle United of England in the mid-90s and was part of Kevin Keegan's squad that threw away a 12 point lead at the top of the Premiership to Manchester United.
Asprilla's arrival was cited by some pundits as one of the reason for Newcastle's failure to lift the title. This was not so much due to his performances which were mostly very good (his hat-trick against Barcelona in the Champions League stands out), but more of a case of 'don't fix what's not broken'.
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| America de Cali fans |
America de Cali play thier homes games at the Pascual Guerrero stadium (photo, above). Their rivals Deportivo Cali shared this ground with their city rivals for most of their history, but since 2010 they play thier home games at the new Estadio Deportivo Cali, which holds 55,000 spectators.
The stadium is located ouside the city limits on the way to the small city of Palmira. It is the first Colombian football ground to be located outside the city limits, a trend which became common in Europe in the 1990s.
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| Deportivo Cali fans |
Some have suggested that attendances for Cali home games are likely to drop due to the rural location of the stadium. We will have to wait and see if this is the case.
One fixture which is unlikely to have low attendance problems is the derby match with America de Cali which is something to savour!
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