Independiente del Valle
ClubnameIndependiente del Valle
FullnameClub de Alto Rendimiento Especializado Independiente del Valle
Short nameIDV
Founded1 March 1958 (age 68)
GroundEstadio Banco Guayaquil
Quito, Ecuador
Capacity12,000
ChairmanFranklin Tello Núñez
ManagerJoaquín Papa
LeagueEcuadorian Serie A
Season2025
PositionFirst stage: 1st of 16
First hexagonal: 1st of 6
Websitewww.independientedelvalle.com
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Club de Alto Rendimiento Especializado Independiente del Valle,[1] known simply as Independiente del Valle, is a professional football club based in Sangolquí, Ecuador that currently plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A.

Founded in 1958, the club plays its home games at Estadio Banco Guayaquil, which opened in March 2021 and has a capacity of 12,000. In the 2013 Serie A season Independiente finished runners-up and they won their first league title in 2021.

In CONMEBOL competitions they reached the final of the 2016 Copa Libertadores after famously defeating powerhouses River Plate and Boca Juniors.[2] They won their first Copa Sudamericana title in 2019,[3] and three years later the club would become one of the few two-time Sudamericana champions after defeating São Paulo in the 2022 final.

Independiente have a renowned youth academy. Notable players they have produced include Junior Sornoza, Cristian Ramírez, Gonzalo Plata, Moisés Caicedo, Piero Hincapié, Willian Pacho and Kendry Páez.[4]

History

The club was founded on 1 March 1958 as Club Deportivo Independiente by Jose Terán, a football fan from Sangolquí, along with a group of friends including José Díaz, Jorge Atapuma, the Negro Sanguano, Tomás Zaldumbide and Marino Guayasamín. In 1977, two years after the death of José Terán, the club's name was changed to Club Social y Deportivo Independiente José Terán in honor of its founder. The name and initial club colors (red and white) were inspired by Argentine club Club Atlético Independiente.

In 1995 the club reached the Segunda Categoría (3rd Division) for the second time. After winning the Segunda Categoría in 2007, the club changed its name to Independiente del Valle and adopted the current colors (blue and black). Los Negriazules achieved promotion to the Serie A for the first time ever in the 2010 season, after winning the 2009 Serie B.

In the 2013 Serie A, the club finished runners-up on the aggregate table. Independiente del Valle made its first international participation that same year, in the 2013 Copa Sudamericana, where it was eliminated in the second stage by Universidad de Chile after having beat Venezuelan club Deportivo Anzoategui in the first stage. The next year, the Ecuadorian club made its first Copa Libertadores participation and second overall international participation, with the 2014 edition. In that edition, the club was eliminated after placing 3rd in their group.

In July 2014, the club officially changed its name from "Independiente del Valle" to Club de Alto Rendimiento Especializado Independiente del Valle. Although the club had changed its name already, it had never been made official by the Ecuadorian Football Federation until that point.[5]

Independiente del Valle unexpectedly reached the finals of the 2016 Copa Libertadores with incredible odds,[6] being compared to Leicester City's Premier League title that same year.[7][4] Independiente began its knockout stage run by beating Copa Libertadores defending champions, Argentina's River Plate, in the round of 16 2–1 on aggregate. In the quarter-finals they defeated Pumas UNAM on penalties 5–3, after an aggregate score of 3–3.[8] The club subsequently faced Argentina's giant Boca Juniors in the semi-final, defeating them 5–3 on aggregate, including a 3–2 victory at the famous La Bombonera stadium.[9] These feats earned the team the nickname "matagigantes" (killer of giants).[10] In the finals, the Ecuadorians faced Colombia's Atlético Nacional. In the first leg played at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa on 20 July, the match finished 1–1. Independiente's fairy tale story came to a conclusion after a 1–0 loss in the second leg with the series ending 2–1 in favor of the Colombians.[11][12]

In November 2019, Independiente del Valle played their first Copa Sudamericana final, and only its second ever CONMEBOL final, where they defeated Club Atlético Colón 3–1 in Asunción. This was the Ecuadorian club's first historic title. It was considered a major upset because Colón had a richer history and a much bigger fanbase, with around 40,000 fans at the stadium versus only 500 Ecuadorians.[13]

In February 2020, the club lost the 2020 Recopa Sudamericana against the champion of the 2019 Copa Libertadores, Flamengo. The first leg in Quito was a 2–2 draw, but in the second leg at Estadio Maracana, Flamengo won 3–0 and became the champion with a 5–2 aggregate score.[14]

Performance in CONMEBOL competitions

  • Copa Libertadores: 8 appearances
  • Copa Sudamericana: 5 appearances
  • Recopa Sudamericana: 2 appearances

Stadium

Estadio Rumiñahui was inaugurated in 1941 and has a capacity for 8,000 spectators.

For international tournaments the club use larger stadiums like the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito that has a 38,500-capacity.

In March 2021, the club opened a new 12,000-capacity stadium called Estadio Banco Guayaquil. It meets modern FIFA standards and is able to hold international matches, unlike their old stadium. It also has three grandstands with a roof, compared to Estadio Rumiñahui, which only had one grandstand.[15]

Reserve team

Main article: C.D. Independiente Juniors

Since 2018, the club has a reserve team in the Ecuadorian Serie B, formerly named Alianza Cotopaxi SC. After the promotion, the club changed name to C.D. Independiente Juniors.

Players

World Cup players

The following players were chosen to represent their country at the FIFA World Cup while contracted to Independiente del Valle.

Managers

Current technical staff

  • Javier Rabanal (head coach)
  • Felipe Sánchez Mateos (assistant coach)
  • Francisco Trujillo (fitness coach)
  • Ricardo Pereira (goalkeeper coach)
  • Luis Piedrahita (performance analyst)
  • Wendy Montiel (doctor)
  • Javier Echeverría (physiotherapist)
  • Camila Nájera (physiotherapist)
  • Junior Alcócer (equipment manager)
  • Francisco Alcócer (equipment assistant)

List of managers

Honours

National

International

Regional

  • Copa Pichincha
    • Winners (2): 1978, 1995
  • Segunda Categoría de Pichincha
    • Winners (2): 1997, 2007

Under-20 team

References

  1. ^ "Historia". independientedelvalle.com. 15 June 2016. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Move over Leicester and Iceland: Libertadores hopeful Independiente del Valle is true fairy tale of 2016". Goal.com. 20 July 2016. Archived 14 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ "Independiente del Valle es campeón de la Copa Sudamericana 2019". Bendito Futbol. 9 November 2019. Archived 2019-11-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  4. ^ Campo, Carlo (20 July 2016). "From the underground: Independiente del Valle's rise is unprecedented in football". theScore.com. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  5. ^ "INDEPENDIENTE CAMBIA DE NOMBRE". Estadio.ec. 30 July 2014.
  6. ^ Duque, Mishell (2016-07-16). "Copa Libertadores: Independiente del Valle, el Leicester de Ecuador" (in Spanish). Marca.com. Archived 2016-07-17 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  7. ^ "El camino de Independiente del Valle a la final de Copa Libertadores" (in Spanish). El Universo. 2016-07-15. Archived 2016-07-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
  8. ^ "Pumas, eliminado en penales ante Independiente del Valle" (in Spanish). Telemundo Deportes. 24 May 2016. Archived 2021-10-28 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ "Independiente del Valle ganó 3-2 a Boca Juniors y se metió en la final de Copa Libertadores". eluniverso.com. 14 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Independiente del Valle, el terror moderno de los grandes de Argentina y cómo nació su apodo de 'matagigantes'". espndeportes.espn.com. 23 April 2025.
  11. ^ "Ecuadorian Minnows Independiente Del Valle Are A Footballing Miracle". The18. 21 July 2016. Archived 2016-07-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  12. ^ Robinson, Tom (2 August 2016). "Copa Libertadores 2016: Atletico Nacional deny Independiente del Valle fairytale ending". Outside of the Boot. Archived 2016-08-05 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  13. ^ "Independiente del Valle overcome all odds to win Copa Sudamericana". ESPN.com. 9 November 2019. Archived 2019-11-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Flamengo conquista su primera CONMEBOL Recopa". Conmebol.com. 27 February 2020. Archived 2020-02-27 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ^ Guillén, Adrián (19 February 2021). "(VIDEO) TODOS LOS DETALLES: IDV presentó su nuevo estadio" (in Spanish). StudioFutbol. Archived 2021-02-19 at the Wayback Machine.