Santa Fe

Independiente Santa Fe was officially founded on February 28, 1941, as an amateur football team. The club's founders were mainly graduates from the Gimnasio Moderno and of a high social class. Santa Fe was at first going to be a team based on ex-students of Gimnasio Moderno, but later incorporated players from other schools. The primary objective of the club was to participate in a local tournament hosted by the Sports Association of Bogotá. Their first recorded game was against Universal, a match that ended in a goalless draw. The team ended the tournament as runner-up with 20 points, being beaten by Legión Militar Deportiva de los Taxis Rojos, a representative of a transportation company.

In 1942, Santa Fe was coached by Jack Greenwell, former Barcelona player and coach, notable for having won three times the Copa del Rey and the 1939 South American Championship with Peru. That year Santa Fe played in the first division of the A.D.B., which was canceled in the middle of that year. That same year also reached the final of the Torneo de Cundinamarca, which lost against América de Cali. Jack Greenwell died on November 20 of that year.

On 21 May 1948 the DIMAYOR was established in Colombia, which would serve to manage Colombian professional football. They agreed to hold the first professional championship for the second half of the year. On August 15, Santa Fe played its first game in the professional championship against Deportes Caldas, a match that ended 3–3. Santa Fe finished the league as the first champion of the Colombian first division, winning 12 of 18 games, drew 3 and also lost 3. The team was able to score 57 goals for and received 29 goals. The goalscorer of the team was the Spanish Argentine Jesús María Lires with 20 goals, second goalscorer of the tournament.

Next year Santa Fe was third, five points behind the champion, local rivals Millonarios. Seeking for a new title, Santa Fe took advantage of the events of El Dorado signing Argentines Héctor Rial and René Pontoni (the former became a star of Real Madrid years later), as well the Englishmen Neil Franklin and George Mountford from Stoke City, and Charlie Mitten from Manchester United. However, the signings did little, as Santa Fe was not into the top three for about ten years, being their worst the 1954 campaign where they finished last with just five points.

In 1958, Santa Fe got its second title after finishing first with 48 points. They got its third title just two after years with 61 points. Getting this title, Santa Fe became the second Colombian club appearing at the Copa Libertadores. In that tournament, Santa Fe was placed in the preliminary round with Ecuadorian club Barcelona. The first match was a 3–0 victory for Santa Fe and the second game was a 2–2 draw. In the next round, Santa Fe eliminated Bolivian club Jorge Wilstermann. Santa Fe drew 2–2 with Jorge Wilstermann on point aggregate and 3–3 on aggregate score, so the winner was decided by a draw of lots. In the semifinals, Santa Fe faced Brazilian club Palmeiras. The home leg was a 2–2 draw, but Santa Fe lost 4–1 in the away leg.

Santa Fe's first success in the 2000s came late, when the team won the Copa Colombia, beating Deportivo Pasto in the finals. Since then, Santa Fe has had a successful period. Santa Fe got its seventh league title in the 2012 Torneo Apertura, 37 years after its last league title. Santa Fe was second in the First Stage of the tournament with 29 points. In the semifinals, they were grouped with Boyacá Chicó, Itagüí and La Equidad. Santa Fe advanced to the finals with 14 points. Santa Fe faced Deportivo Pasto in the finals. The first match ended in a 1–1 draw and the second was a 1–0 victory for Santa Fe. They got its first Superliga Colombiana title the next year and were runners-up in the 2013 Torneo Apertura, won by Atlético Nacional. In its Copa Libertadores appearance, they got into Semifinals. They began the tournament in the Second Stage, facing Cerro Porteño, Deportes Tolima and Real Garcilaso, where they finished first with 14 points and unbeaten. They eliminated Grêmio in the Round of 16 and Real Garcilaso in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, they were eliminated by Olimpia, with an aggregate score of 2–1.

In the 2014 Torneo Apertura, Santa Fe was fourth on the First Stage, advancing to Quarterfinals. There Santa Fe eliminated Once Caldas with an aggregate score of 5–3. In the semifinals, the team faced Atlético Nacional. The first match ended in a 1–0 win for Santa Fe. However, Nacional got a comeback with a 2–0 win, thus eliminating Santa Fe. In the Torneo Finalización, Santa Fe was first with 31 points. In the semifinals, the team was placed in a group with Atlético Huila, Atlético Nacional and Once Caldas. Santa Fe placed first in the group, advancing to the finals where they faced Independiente Medellín. Santa Fe won the first match and drew in the second, with an aggregate score of 3–2, winning its 8th title. That year, Santa Fe was runner-up in the Copa Colombia, losing the finals against Deportes Tolima with an aggregate score of 3–2.

In the 2014 Copa Libertadores, Santa Fe played against Monarcas Morelia in the First Stage, drawing 2–2 on aggregate score and advancing to the next round due to away goals rule. In the Second Stage, the team was last of its group, in which they faced Atlético Mineiro, Club Nacional and Zamora, winning only one match of six.