Alianza Petrolera F.C.

History

Alianza Petrolera was founded on 24 October 1990, entering the second-tier competition Categoría Primera B where they played from 1992 to 2012. They enjoyed a significant run of success between 1998 and 2004, finishing as runners-up in 2002. However, their fortunes changed after that and by 2009 the club was on the verge of folding.

In the 2009 Apertura, they performed dismally, earning just five points and not winning a single game. The club was short on sponsors, coaches, and players, and their participation in the Finalizacion seemed doubtful. They managed to compete, but finished dead last. In early 2011, Alianza Petrolera signed a partnership deal with Atlético Nacional that would net them players and coaching staff on loan, with much of the wages covered by the latter team.

This new arrangement revitalized the club, which qualified for the finals of the "Torneo Finalización" in 2012. This earned them a berth in the final against Deportivo Rionegro. Alianza prevailed, winning the first leg 1–0 and the second leg 3–1. That earned them a spot in the season final against América de Cali, with promotion on the line. The first leg ended 2–1 in favor of Alianza, but the second leg ended 1–0 in favor of América de Cali. The series went to penalty kicks, where Alianza Petrolera prevailed and earned promotion to the top flight for the very first time.

Alianza has not been relegated back since. Their best campaign in the top flight was in the 2015 Finalización tournament. During the first stage, the club enjoyed a consistent performance, leading the table for some rounds of the tournament and ending in sixth place with 33 points, which allowed them to qualify for the knockout stages for the first time, losing to Independiente Medellín in the quarterfinals.

After finishing in eighth place in the aggregate table of the 2023 Categoría Primera A season, Alianza Petrolera qualified for their first international competition, the 2024 Copa Sudamericana. However, on 16 January 2024 the club announced their departure from Barrancabermeja due to the lack of financial support from local authorities, accepting a proposal from the city of Valledupar to move there. With the move to Valledupar, the club was also rebranded to Alianza F.C., dropping its colors and the word Petrolera from their name, and adopting as new colors those representative of their new hometown. Consequently, its successor club Alianza F.C. inherited the Copa Sudamericana berth earned by Alianza Petrolera.

Honours

• Categoría Primera B
  • Winners (1): 2012

Stadium

Players

Records

Most capped players

Source: BDFA

Last updated on: 20 May 2016

Top scorers

Source: BDFA

Last updated on: 20 May 2016

Notable players

List of call-ups to national teams:

• GUA Ricardo Jérez Jr. (2013–2017), (2017–2021)
• PAN Nelson Barahona (2014)

Managers

• Colombia José de Jesús Vega (1998)
• Colombia José Suárez (1999)
• Colombia Fernando Valderrama (2000–2001)
• Colombia Adolfo León Holguín (2002)
• Colombia Alexis Mendoza (2003)
• Colombia Juan Carlos Bedoya (2004)
• Colombia Adolfo León Holguín (2005)
• Colombia Felipe Merino (2006)
• Colombia Adolfo León Holguín (2006)
• Argentina Jorge Ramoa (2007)
• Colombia Didier Luna (2008)
• Colombia Oscar Upegui (2008)
• Colombia Carlos Estrada (2009)
• Colombia Henry Barón (2010)
• Colombia Héctor Estrada (2011–2013)
• Colombia Guillermo "El Teacher" Berrío (2013)
• Colombia Adolfo León Holguín (2014)
• Colombia Oscar Upegui (2015–2016)
• Colombia Edgar Moreno (2016)
• Colombia Jorge Luis Bernal (2016–2017)
• Argentina Juan Cruz Real (2017–2018)
• Colombia César Torres (2018–2020)
• Colombia Wilson Gutiérrez (2021)
• Colombia Hubert Bodhert (2021–2023)
• Colombia César Torres (2023)

Source: Worldfootball.net

References

References

1. "Alianza Petrolera". División Mayor del Fútbol Colombiano.
2. (30 November 2016). "Dayron Montesino, el entrenador llamado a hacer historia con las mujeres 'petroleras'; HSB Noticias".
3. Carreño, Julián. (4 November 2016). "Alianza Petrolera recibe a Tolima en el estadio Daniel Villa Zapata. Fútbol colombiano. Eltiempo.com".
4. Salazar Vallejo, Ramón Andrés. (10 July 2016). "Liga Águila: Síntesis del partido Once Caldas vs. Alianza Petrolera. Fútbol colombiano. Eltiempo.com".
5. (19 January 2011). "Alianza Petrolera tendrá acento paisa en la temporada 2011". Futbolred.com.
6. (16 January 2024). "Oficial: Alianza Petrolera cambia Barrancabermeja por Valledupar". Futbolred.