Llaneros Fútbol Club S.A. is a professional Colombian football team based in Villavicencio, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. They play their home games at the Bello Horizonte stadium.[1]

Llaneros F.C.
Full nameLlaneros Fútbol Club S.A.
Nickname(s)El equipo de la Media Colombia
Los Nuevos Centauros
Los Indomables
Los Metenses
El Blanco Y Negro
Los Villavicenses
Las Arpas de Oro
Vendaval Llanero
Los Caballos
Los de la Orinoquía
Los Baquianos
Founded20 April 2012; 12 years ago (2012-04-20)
GroundEstadio Bello Horizonte
Capacity15,000
ChairmanJuan Carlos Trujillo
ManagerMartín Cardetti
LeagueCategoría Primera B
2023Primera B, 2nd of 16
Websitehttp://www.llanerosfc.com.co

History

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Llaneros F.C. was founded on 20 April 2012, after the then Governor of Meta Department Alan Jara and Mayor of Villavicencio Juan Guillermo Zuluaga with the backing of oil company Pacific Rubiales Energy bought the participation rights (ficha) of Categoría Primera B club Academia, based in Bogotá.[2] The General Assembly of Academia approved the sale of the club on 22 March 2012, with DIMAYOR giving its approval on 27 March 2012 and announcing that Llaneros would enter the competition for the second half of the 2012 season.[3][4] The club played its first game on 22 July 2012, losing to Alianza Petrolera by a 1–0 score at Academia's former home stadium Estadio Compensar in Bogotá.[5]

By 2015, the club went through an economic crisis accentuated by the problems of its main sponsor Pacific Rubiales, which led the owners to consider offers to sell and move the club to another area of the country.[6] However, at the start of 2016 Llaneros signed an alliance with Categoría Primera A club Santa Fe, in which Santa Fe sent several of its young players to Llaneros on loan as well as a coaching staff led by Germán González, while being responsible for the payment of their wages.[7]

Llaneros' best performance in Primera B came in the 2017 season, in which the team managed by Jairo Patiño reached the finals of the Torneo Finalización but were beaten by Leones by a 4–1 aggregate score, missing the chance to play an additional final series for promotion to the top flight.[8]

2021 controversy

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On 4 December 2021, the last matchday of the semi-final Group B of the second tournament of the 2021 Primera B season, Llaneros were beaten by Unión Magdalena by a 2–1 score with a couple of goals in quick succession in stoppage time. This result helped Unión Magdalena earn promotion to Categoría Primera A at the expense of Fortaleza, who were clinching promotion despite losing their final match to Bogotá at the same time since Llaneros were leading against Unión Magdalena. However, video footage of Unión Magdalena's winning goal appeared to show the Llaneros players backing off and failing to make an effort to prevent their rivals from scoring.[9] The events sparked outrage both within the country and abroad, with Colombian internationals Juan Cuadrado and Mateus Uribe expressing their displeasure, calling them "a lack of respect" and "an embarrassment for Colombian football", whilst President of Colombia Iván Duque Márquez stated it was a "national disgrace".[10][11][12]

In response to the growing backlash, as well as calls from Fortaleza to get the match annulled and Unión Magdalena's promotion reversed,[13] DIMAYOR chairman Fernando Jaramillo ordered the opening of an inquiry on the match events while also requesting the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia to investigate whether any criminal offenses had been committed,[14][15] but on 7 December 2021, Jaramillo stated that the tournament would not be paused and Unión Magdalena's promotion would not be overturned while due process was completed.[16]

On 30 December 2021 DIMAYOR's Disciplinary Commission closed the investigation on Unión Magdalena as it found no evidence implying that members of the aforementioned club had been responsible for the events that occurred in the match, but sources within the governing body of Colombian professional football stated that the investigation on Llaneros would remain open.[17] Five months later, it was announced that four Llaneros players who were involved in that match had been fined and suspended from all sporting and administrative activities for "committing acts against sporting dignity and decorum".[18]

Stadium

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Current squad

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As of 19 February 2024[19]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   COL Kevin Armesto
2 DF   COL Jhonatan Muñoz
4 DF   COL Cristian Mina
6 MF   COL Marlon Sierra
7 MF   COL Yadir Meneses
8 MF   COL Andrés López
10 MF   COL Bryan Urueña
11 FW   COL Carlos Bogotá
16 DF   COL Miller Mosquera
17 DF   COL Jan Carlos Angulo
22 GK   COL Roameth Romaña
26 MF   ARG Agustín Verdugo
27 MF   COL Duván Mosquera
No. Pos. Nation Player
29 FW   COL Mario Álvarez
31 DF   COL Geovan Montes
32 DF   COL Federico Arbeláez
33 MF   COL Jhildrey Lasso
39 FW   COL Kevin Quejada
77 MF   COL Dubán Ayala
DF   COL Sebastián González
DF   VEN Diego Sarmiento
MF   COL Néider Ospina
MF   COL Eyder Restrepo
FW   COL Jheider López
DF   COL Cristian Valencia

Managers

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References

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  1. ^ Record in Archived 2012-09-21 at the Wayback Machine DIMAYOR
  2. ^ "Llaneros FC el nuevo equipo del Meta en el fútbol colombiano" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 28 March 2012. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Comunicado de la Asamblea General de Academia F.C." (in Spanish). Academia F.C. - Departamento de Prensa y Comunicaciones. 22 March 2012. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Academia jugará en Villavicencio y se llamará Llaneros Fútbol Club" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 27 March 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Llaneros perdió en su debut, cayó 0-1 con Alianza Petrolera" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 22 July 2012. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Llaneros FC podría irse de Villavicencio en el 2016" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 19 August 2015. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Llaneros, la sucursal de Santa Fe en la B" (in Spanish). El Espectador. 27 January 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Leones asciende a la Liga Águila" (in Spanish). AS Colombia. 26 November 2017. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Anger in Colombia after suspicious goal decides promotion". Sportstar. 5 December 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Juan Cuadrado slams suspicious goal that decided promotion in Colombia". ESPN. 4 December 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Escándalo en FPC es noticia mundial: así hablan del ascenso de Unión" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 5 December 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  12. ^ "How a suspicious soccer goal turned into a matter of state in Colombia". El País. 8 December 2021. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Carlos Barato, presidente de Fortaleza: "Solicitamos la nulidad de Unión Magdalena vs Llaneros"" (in Spanish). Gol Caracol. 6 December 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  14. ^ "COMUNICADO: PRESIDENTE DE LA DIMAYOR FRENTE A LO SUCEDIDO EN EL PARTIDO LLANEROS FC VS UNIÓN MAGDALENA" (in Spanish). DIMAYOR. 4 December 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Match-fixing inquiry ordered after bizarre Colombian match between Llaneros, Union Magdalena". ESPN. 6 December 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Fernando Jaramillo: "El torneo sigue, con Unión Magdalena ascendido y se jugará la final"" (in Spanish). Gol Caracol. 7 December 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  17. ^ "Archivan investigación contra Unión Magdalena por el juego contra Llaneros" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 1 January 2022. Archived from the original on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  18. ^ "Dimayor sanciona a jugadores de Llaneros por 'atentar al decoro deportivo'" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 27 May 2022. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  19. ^ "LLANEROS FC". Dimayor.com.co. División Mayor del Fútbol Colombiano. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.