Atletico Nacional, the Colombian club from Medellin once funded by Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, is the champion of South America's version of the Champions League, the Copa Libertadores.
The talented and quick Colombian side won the Libertadores on Wednesday in front of their home fans in Medellin over surprise Independiente del Valle of Ecuador, winning the second leg 1-0 and earning the overall victory 2-1 on aggregate.
It was Miguel Borja's goal in the first half that proved to be too much for the Ecuadorians to overcome. Check it out as the stadium erupts after the goal.
HT: Atletico Nacional 1, Independiente 0 (agg 2-1). Borja's early goal the difference in the #CopaLibertadores final https://t.co/Mz0kXvx7te
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 28, 2016
Escobar, arguably the most well known drug lord and trafficker ever, who was killed in Colombia in December of 1993, used to help fund the team and buy many of the top players in the country as it won the 1989 Copa Libertadores title. Below is a picture of him with the team when it won that edition of the cup.
-1989- 🇨🇴⚽️
— EL Ⓕranco deL Ⓕυт® (@ELFrancoDeLFuT) July 28, 2016
Atlético Nacional, Pablo Escobar y el narcotráfico ganaban la Copa Libertadores. pic.twitter.com/7BnORlRDiS
More than a quarter of a century later, the team lifts the crown again, with the Adrila Lulle conglomerate as the owner and financial backer of the club this time around.
It was a wild night of festivities in Medellin and in the surrounding areas, and it got started before the match. The scenes before kickoff were something to behold and a glimpse into the atmopshere that makes South American soccer so special. Look at that crowd:
Momentos emocionantes en la final de @LibertadoresCup - vamos @nacionaloficial#QueremosLaCopapic.twitter.com/umQuISWHzd
— Marco Sermoneta (@MarcoCSermoneta) July 28, 2016
And once the team won, you can imagine how it went down.
Congratulations to @nacionaloficial, 2016 #CopaLibertadores Champion! pic.twitter.com/An4onDFbi4
— Eleven Sports SG (@ElevenSportsSG) July 28, 2016
Here's the trophy lifting.
Champions of South America https://t.co/GptmdBOLxz
— Escojar (@Escojar) July 28, 2016
Sadly, the celebration got a bit out of hand. According to El Espectador, five people died and more were injured in a mixture of violence and accidents throughout the area.
Cinco muertos y 900 riñas en Bogotá durante celebración del triunfo de Nacional https://t.co/9NUZxtS1LLpic.twitter.com/GPywJj1Ef9
— El Espectador (@elespectador) July 28, 2016
With the result, the team clinches a spot representing South America in the Club World Cup in Japan this December. They'll be European champion Real Madrid's top competition for the crown, surely.
As for Independiente del Valle, they fell just short of pulling off what would have been one of the unlikeliest surprises in not only Copa Libertadores history, but all of international soccer in a year filled with underdog stories like Leicester City and Iceland.
The club from the outskirts of Ecuador's capital of Quito has only been in Ecuador's top division since 2010, they have a small stadium that holds around 8,00o people and have never won a major trophy.
But the 2016 edition of the Copa Libertadores, which included a pause of nearly two months in between the quarterfinal and semifinal round while the Copa America was being played, belongs to Atletico Nacional, giving Colombia their third ever Copa Libertadores trophy as a nation.
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