Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Palogrande stadium.

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Once Caldas

Full name	Once Caldas S.A.
Nickname(s)	El Blanco (The White); El Blanco Blanco de Manizales (Manizales's White-White); Los Albos (the Albos); El Equipo Albo (The Albo Team)
Founded	16 April 1947 (1947-04-16) (Foundation of Deportes Caldas) 15 January 1961; 63 years ago (1961-01-15) (Merger with Once Deportivo)[1]
Ground	Estadio Palogrande
Capacity	28,678[2]
Chairman	Tulio Mario Castrillón
Coach	Hernán Darío Herrera
League	Categoría Primera A
2023	Primera A, 16th of 20
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

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They were the surprise winners of the Copa Libertadores in 2004. The club was founded in 1961^[1] after the merger of Deportes Caldas and Deportivo Manizales (also known as Once Deportivo).^[3]

In 1950, Deportes Caldas won the Campeonato Profesional, as the Colombian professional football league was named at the time.

Once Caldas ("Caldas Eleven") was founded in 1959 after the fusion of Once Deportivo and Deportes Caldas. Once Deportivo was founded in 1930 while Deportes Caldas was founded at the end of the 1940s. However, both teams, for various reasons, went defunct. Carlos Gómez Escobar was in favor of reviving Deportes Caldas, but Eduardo Gómez Arrubla's idea was to bring back Once Deportivo. Thanks to the mediation of Dr. Hermán Bueno Ramirez, the three co-founders arrived at the compromise to fuse the existing teams into an entirely new entity, Once Caldas.

In 1961, the merged club debuted in the Campeonato Profesional. The club finished in the 7th position of the competition.

In 1998, Once Caldas was the first division's runner-up. Deportivo Cali defeated the club in the final. In the first leg, in Cali, the home team won 4–0. The second leg, in Manizales, ended in a 0–0 draw. That year the club also disputed its first international competition, the Copa CONMEBOL. Once Caldas was eliminated in the first round by Santos, of Brazil. In the first leg, in Santos, Santos won 2–1. In the second leg, in Manizales, Once Caldas won 2–1, but was defeated 3–2 in the penalty shootout.

In 1999, the club participated in the Copa Libertadores de América for the first time. Once Caldas was in the same group as Deportivo Cali and two Argentine clubs, Vélez Sársfield and River Plate. The side finished in the last position, but only two points behind Vélez Sársfield, which was the group's leader.

In 2002, Once Caldas played in the Copa Libertadores again. Olimpia, of Paraguay, Universidad Católica, of Chile, and Flamengo, of Brazil were in Once Caldas' group. After finishing in the third position, only ahead of Flamengo, the club was eliminated.

In 2003, the side won the first division's Apertura championship, after beating Junior in the final. In Barranquilla, the match ended in a 0–0 draw. In the second leg, Once Caldas won 1–0 in Manizales.

In 2004, the club again played in the Copa Libertadores. After beating Boca Juniors in the penalty shootout, the side, managed by Luis Fernando Montoya, won the competition for the first time. As the Copa Libertadores champions, the club played the Intercontinental Cup against UEFA Champions League champions Porto, of Portugal, in Yokohama, Japan. After a 0–0 draw, the club was defeated 8–7 in the penalty shootout. This would be the last edition of the Intercontinental Cup, being replaced the following year with the FIFA Club World Cup.

In 2005, as the previous year's champion, Once Caldas tried to defend its title in the Copa Libertadores. Chivas de Guadalajara (Mexico), Cobreloa (Chile), and San Lorenzo (Argentina) were in Once Caldas' group. The club finished in second place, two points behind Chivas. In the second stage, the side was eliminated by Tigres UANL of Mexico. In that year, the club also participated in the Recopa Sudamericana, having played against Boca Juniors. In the first leg, in Buenos Aires, Boca Juniors won 3–1. In the second leg, in Manizales, Once Caldas won 2–1 but Boca won 4–3 on aggregate score.

2004 Copa Libertadores campaign

In 2004, Once Caldas won the Copa Libertadores. The matches played by the club are listed below:

More information Home, Score ...

Home Score Away First stage Once Caldas 3 – 0 Fénix UA Maracaibo 1 – 2 Once Caldas Once Caldas 2 – 0 Vélez Sársfield Vélez Sársfield 2 – 0 Once Caldas Once Caldas 2 – 1 UA Maracaibo Fénix 2 – 2 Once Caldas

Home Score Away Second stage Barcelona 0 – 0 Once Caldas Once Caldas 1 – 1 (4–2 py) Barcelona

Home Score Away Quarter-finals Santos 1 – 1 Once Caldas Once Caldas 1 – 0 Santos

Home Score Away Semi-finals São Paulo 0 – 0 Once Caldas Once Caldas 2 – 1 São Paulo

Home Score Away Final Boca Juniors 0 – 0 Once Caldas Once Caldas 1 – 1 (2–0 py) Boca Juniors

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Henao

Vanegas

Cataño

Rojas

García

Viáfara

Arango

Soto

Velázquez

Valentierra

Agudelo

2004 Libertadores Lineup

Coach

• Luis Montoya

Players

More information Position, Player ...

Position	Player	Notes
GK	Juan Carlos Henao
GK	Juan Carlos González
DF	Miguel Rojas
DF	Samuel Vanegas
DF	Édgar Cataño
DF	Edwin García
DF	Jefrey Díaz
MF	Jonathan Fabbro
MF	Jhon Viáfara
MF	Rubén Darío Velázquez
MF	Diego Arango
MF	Elkin Soto
MF	Arnulfo Valentierra
MF	Herly Alcázar
MF	Raúl Marín
FW	Jorge Agudelo
FW	Javier Araujo
FW	Dayro Moreno
FW	Wilmer Ortegón

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In early 2005, Once Caldas decided to leave behind the brand Bogota FSS and go to the German brand Adidas.^[4] After concluding its contract with Adidas, Once Caldas switches to Peruvian company Walon Sport, since the 2008 season.^[5] until 2016 where they left Walon Sport for Errea. In the 2019 season Once Caldas left Errea to dress the local brand Sheffy. In the 2023 season, they left Sheffy and joined local brand Hillside.

• Home: White shirt, white shorts and white socks.
• Away: Black shirt, black shorts and black socks.

Once Caldas plays its home matches at Estadio Palogrande, located in Manizales. The stadium was inaugurated in 1936, and had its maximum capacity expanded to its current 43,553^[6] spectators in 2010.