1966 Campeonato Profesional

The 1966 Campeonato Profesional was the 19th season of Colombia's top-flight football league. 14 teams competed against one another. Santa Fe won their fourth league title.

Campeonato Profesional
Season1966
ChampionsSanta Fe (4th title)
Copa LibertadoresSanta Fe
Independiente Medellín
Matches played364
Goals scored1,188 (3.26 per match)
Top goalscorerOmar Devani (31 goals)
Biggest home winJunior 7–1 Deportes Quindío
Independiente Medellín 7–1 Atlético Bucaramanga
Biggest away winAmérica de Cali 0–4 Junior
Highest scoringOnce Caldas 7–3 Unión Magdalena
← 1965
1967 →

Background and league system

14 teams competed in the tournament: the same 13 teams from the previous tournament as well as Junior, who returned to the competition after a 13-year absence with the bulk of the team that made up the Colombia national football team during the qualification tournament for the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

The tournament was once again played under a round-robin format, with every team playing each other four times (twice at home and twice away) for a total of 52 matches. Teams received two points for a win and one point for a draw. If two or more teams were tied on points, places were determined by goal difference. The team with the most points became the champion of the league. 364 matches were played during the season, with a total of 1188 goals scored.

Santa Fe won the championship for the fourth time, the runners-up were Independiente Medellín. Both teams qualified for the 1967 Copa Libertadores, marking the return of Colombian clubs to the competition after FIFA lifted the two-year suspension on the Colombian Football Federation due to the conflict between the FIFA-recognized Asociación de Fútbol Colombiano (Adefútbol) and DIMAYOR. Argentine player Omar Devani, who played for Santa Fe, was the season's top goalscorer with 31 goals.[1]

Teams
Team City Stadium
América de Cali Cali Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero
Atlético Bucaramanga Bucaramanga Estadio Alfonso López
Atlético Nacional Medellín Estadio Atanasio Girardot
Cúcuta Deportivo Cúcuta Estadio General Santander
Deportes Quindío Armenia Estadio San José de Armenia
Deportes Tolima Ibagué Estadio Serrano de Ávila
Deportivo Cali Cali Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero
Deportivo Pereira Pereira Estadio Alberto Mora Mora
Independiente Medellín Medellín Estadio Atanasio Girardot
Junior Barranquilla Estadio Romelio Martínez
Millonarios Bogotá Estadio El Campín
Once Caldas Manizales Estadio Fernando Londoño Londoño
Santa Fe Bogotá Estadio El Campín
Unión Magdalena Santa Marta Estadio Eduardo Santos

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Santa Fe (C) 52 25 16 11 102 76 +26 66 1967 Copa Libertadores
2 Independiente Medellín 52 25 13 14 106 73 +33 63
3 Deportivo Pereira 52 24 13 15 91 83 +8 61
4 Once Caldas 52 24 11 17 101 83 +18 59
5 Millonarios 52 23 12 17 98 88 +10 58
6 Deportivo Cali 52 20 15 17 83 76 +7 55
7 Cúcuta Deportivo 52 19 16 17 77 72 +5 54
8 Junior 52 21 11 20 94 88 +6 53
9 Unión Magdalena 52 21 10 21 76 80 −4 52
10 América de Cali 52 16 16 20 60 69 −9 48
11 Atlético Bucaramanga 52 13 16 23 71 89 −18 42
12 Atlético Nacional 52 15 11 26 81 103 −22 41
13 Deportes Tolima 52 15 11 26 74 98 −24 41
14 Deportes Quindío 52 12 11 29 74 110 −36 35
Source: RSSSF
(C) Champion.

Top goalscorers
Rank Name Club Goals
1 Omar Devani Santa Fe 31
2 Osvaldo Pérez Once Caldas 29
3 Walter Sosa Cúcuta Deportivo 28
4 Antonio Rada Junior 27
5 José Omar Verdún Cúcuta Deportivo 21
Wagner Rodríguez Unión Magdalena
Delio Gamboa Santa Fe
8 Dida Junior 20
Hermán Aceros Independiente Medellín
Eduardo Texeira Lima Millonarios

Source: RSSSF.com Colombia 1966

 1966 Campeonato Profesional Champion 
Santa Fe
Fourth title

References
  1. Ruíz Bonilla, Guillermo (2008). La gran historia del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano. Ediciones Dayscript. ISBN 978-958-987-1300.
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