Atlético Bucaramanga
Club Atlético Bucaramanga S.A., better known as Atlético Bucaramanga, is a Colombian professional football team based in Bucaramanga. The club plays its home games at the Américo Montanini stadium.
The club was founded on 11 May 1949 by Rafael Chaberman, a Barranquilla businessman. Ever since, it has been a regular participant in the top flight of the Colombian professional league. The team's most recent stint in the top division began in 2016.
They have won one Categoría Primera A title, in the 2024 Apertura tournament. Prior to that championship, they had reached the finals of the Colombian football league in 1997, losing to América de Cali. That performance qualified them for the ensuing Copa Libertadores, in which they reached the second round.
History
Atlético Bucaramanga's origins can be found in the regional football league of the Santander Department. Like most of Colombia's departments, Santander had a local league. However, they did not have a team capable of competing for national honors. A number of local teams hoped to change that and found a professional club that could aspire to that level.In 1948, the directors of "Pielroja" invited city businessman Rafael Chaberman to assist in setting up a professional team. Following Haberman's advice, the directors enlisted local businessmen, newspapers, and radio stations to promote a team. A board was assembled with Dr. Elias Solano as president, assisted by managing directors Rafael Chaberman, Vicente Díaz, Miguel González, Juan B. Silva, Manuel José Puyana, Eduardo Villa, Jorge Reyes Puyana, José Vicente Niño, Gustavo Mantilla, Rafael Pérez, Enrique Orduz, and Luis Fernando Sanmiguel.
The club was officially established on 11 May 1949, under the name of Club Atlético Bucaramanga. The key to the club's early foundation was the support of local clubs, and they had it—presidents of Gran Colombia FC, Eleven Friends FC, Girardot FC, Freedom Concordia FC and Pielroja FC were all on board and helped supply the team with players. The result was that the club quickly assembled a team composed of players from Bucaramanga, Barrancabermeja and Barranquilla, most of whom had some experience playing at a high level. The three Guerrero brothers were an example of this sort of local talent. The club was also managed by a local, former Millonarios player Francisco "Pacho" Carvajal.
In 1949, the club applied for membership in the Colombian league and was accepted after winning a playoff match with Once Deportivo from Manizales. On 1 May 1949, Atlético Bucaramanga played its first game in the Colombian football tournament, losing to Deportivo Cali 5–1 at the Estadio Alfonso López.
This was their roster for that match:
Players
| Position | Player | Notes | |||||||
| GK |  Club NicknamesAtlético Bucaramanga fans and the press are fond of the nickname "Los Leopardos". This name was coined in the 1950s and comes from the club's yellowish uniforms, which resemble the animal's fur. The club and its fans are also sometimes referred to as "Los Búcaros", after the Búcaro tree that gives the city of Bucaramanga its name.StadiumAtlético Bucaramanga plays its home games at the Américo Montanini stadium in Bucaramanga, known as Estadio Alfonso López until 11 June 2024.Opened: 1941, renovated 2017.Surface: Bermuda Grass.Capacity: 28,000From 2016 to mid-2017 and also 2025, the team used the Álvaro Gómez Hurtado Stadium in the neighboring Floridablanca, since the Alfonso López stadium was being renovated. East Colombian DerbyAtlético Bucaramanga and Cúcuta Deportivo play in one of Colombia's most heated rivalries, El Clásico del oriente colombiano. The first match in the rivalry was on 2 April 1950 at the Estadio Alfonso López. Cúcuta won 1–0 on a goal by Luis Alberto Miloc. Since 1950, this derby has been played 180 times; Atlético Bucaramanga have won 57 times, Cúcuta have won 61 times, and there have been 59 draws.Although Cúcuta have had the upper hand in general, Bucaramanga won the most important game of the series in 2001. The two teams were competing in a triangular playoff to determine which club would compete in the top tier of Colombian football during the following season. The match, played in Cartagena, was scoreless for 90 minutes as well as 30 minutes of extra time. It went on to penalties, and thanks to a heroic performance from Bucaramanga keeper Leonel Rocco, Los Leopardos prevailed 5–3. Bucaramanga secured their immediate return to Primera A, while Cúcuta was forced to wait until 2005. This match was the only time that two rival teams from the same region have played a match determining promotion or relegation in the Colombian football championship. The most recent meeting between the clubs was during a promotion playoff at the start of the 2015 season. Cúcuta won the match and went on to clinch promotion to the top tier, while Bucaramanga finished last in the group after only playing two matches. Fans"Fortaleza Leoparda Sur" is the name of the main fan group of Atletico Bucaramanga. It was founded in 1998 by young people in order to support the team, but over time more questionable elements attached themselves to the group. As with many other such groups, Fortaleza Leoparda Sur is seen as the expression of social problems larger than football.They occupy the south grandstand of the Estadio Américo Montanini and have participated in peaceful protests in order to request government support to solve the difficult situation of the Club, but have also taken part in a number of acts of violence. In 2011, they physically and verbally attacked players of their team for bad results. The next year, on 10 March 2012 some of them fought against other hooligans in the Estadio Arturo Cumplido Sierra in Sincelejo in the middle of the game between Sucre FC and Bucaramanga. One man was seriously injured and 19 were arrested by the police. HonoursDomesticCategoría Primera A
International competitions
PlayersWorld Cup playersThe following players were chosen to represent their country at the FIFA World Cup while contracted to Atlético Bucaramanga.Notable former playersFirst golden ageThe 1960s The 1970s The 1980s The 1990s The 2000s The 2010s '''The 2020s''' Managers
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Colombiacitation needed |date=April 2025