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Independiente del Valle

Full name	Club de Alto Rendimiento Especializado Independiente del Valle
Nicknames	Los Negriazules (The Black-and-Blues) El Matagigantes (The Giant-Killer) Los Rayados del Valle (The Striped Ones from the Valley)
Short name	IDV
Founded	1 March 1958; 68 years ago (1958-03-01)
Ground	Estadio Banco Guayaquil Quito, Ecuador
Capacity	12,000
Chairman	Franklin Tello Núñez
Manager	Joaquín Papa
League	Ecuadorian Serie A
2025	First stage: 1st of 16 First hexagonal: 1st of 6
Website	www.independientedelvalle.com
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Club de Alto Rendimiento Especializado Independiente del Valle,^[1] known simply as Independiente del Valle, is a professional football club based in Sangolquí, Ecuador that currently plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A.

Founded in 1958, the club plays its home games at Estadio Banco Guayaquil, which opened in March 2021 and has a capacity of 12,000. In the 2013 Serie A season Independiente finished runners-up and they won their first league title in 2021.

In CONMEBOL competitions they reached the final of the 2016 Copa Libertadores after famously defeating powerhouses River Plate and Boca Juniors.^[2] They won their first Copa Sudamericana title in 2019,^[3] and three years later the club would become one of the few two-time Sudamericana champions after defeating São Paulo in the 2022 final.

Independiente have a renowned youth academy. Notable players they have produced include Junior Sornoza, Cristian Ramírez, Gonzalo Plata, Moisés Caicedo, Piero Hincapié, Willian Pacho and Kendry Páez.^[4]

History

The club was founded on 1 March 1958 as Club Deportivo Independiente by Jose Terán, a football fan from Sangolquí, along with a group of friends including José Díaz, Jorge Atapuma, the Negro Sanguano, Tomás Zaldumbide and Marino Guayasamín. In 1977, two years after the death of José Terán, the club's name was changed to Club Social y Deportivo Independiente José Terán in honor of its founder. The name and initial club colors (red and white) were inspired by Argentine club Club Atlético Independiente.

In 1995 the club reached the Segunda Categoría (3rd Division) for the second time. After winning the Segunda Categoría in 2007, the club changed its name to Independiente del Valle and adopted the current colors (blue and black). Los Negriazules achieved promotion to the Serie A for the first time ever in the 2010 season, after winning the 2009 Serie B.

In the 2013 Serie A, the club finished runners-up on the aggregate table. Independiente del Valle made its first international participation that same year, in the 2013 Copa Sudamericana, where it was eliminated in the second stage by Universidad de Chile after having beat Venezuelan club Deportivo Anzoategui in the first stage. The next year, the Ecuadorian club made its first Copa Libertadores participation and second overall international participation, with the 2014 edition. In that edition, the club was eliminated after placing 3rd in their group.

In July 2014, the club officially changed its name from "Independiente del Valle" to Club de Alto Rendimiento Especializado Independiente del Valle. Although the club had changed its name already, it had never been made official by the Ecuadorian Football Federation until that point.^[5]

Independiente del Valle unexpectedly reached the finals of the 2016 Copa Libertadores with incredible odds,^[6] being compared to Leicester City's Premier League title that same year.^[7][4] Independiente began its knockout stage run by beating Copa Libertadores defending champions, Argentina's River Plate, in the round of 16 2–1 on aggregate. In the quarter-finals they defeated Pumas UNAM on penalties 5–3, after an aggregate score of 3–3.^[8] The club subsequently faced Argentina's giant Boca Juniors in the semi-final, defeating them 5–3 on aggregate, including a 3–2 victory at the famous La Bombonera stadium.^[9] These feats earned the team the nickname "matagigantes" (killer of giants).^[10] In the finals, the Ecuadorians faced Colombia's Atlético Nacional. In the first leg played at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa on 20 July, the match finished 1–1. Independiente's fairy tale story came to a conclusion after a 1–0 loss in the second leg with the series ending 2–1 in favor of the Colombians.^[11][12]

In November 2019, Independiente del Valle played their first Copa Sudamericana final, and only its second ever CONMEBOL final, where they defeated Club Atlético Colón 3–1 in Asunción. This was the Ecuadorian club's first historic title. It was considered a major upset because Colón had a richer history and a much bigger fanbase, with around 40,000 fans at the stadium versus only 500 Ecuadorians.^[13]

In February 2020, the club lost the 2020 Recopa Sudamericana against the champion of the 2019 Copa Libertadores, Flamengo. The first leg in Quito was a 2–2 draw, but in the second leg at Estadio Maracana, Flamengo won 3–0 and became the champion with a 5–2 aggregate score.^[14]

Performance in CONMEBOL competitions

• Copa Libertadores: 8 appearances
  • 2014: Group Stage
  • 2015: First Stage
  • 2016: Runners-up
  • 2017: Second Qualifying stage
  • 2018: Second Qualifying stage
  • 2020: Round of 16
  • 2021: Group Stage
  • 2023: Round of 16
• Copa Sudamericana: 5 appearances
  • 2013: Second Stage
  • 2014: Second Stage
  • 2019: Champions
  • 2021: Round of 16
  • 2022: Champions
• Recopa Sudamericana: 2 appearances
  • 2020: Runners-up
  • 2023: Champions

Stadium

Estadio Rumiñahui was inaugurated in 1941 and has a capacity for 8,000 spectators.

For international tournaments the club use larger stadiums like the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito that has a 38,500-capacity.

In March 2021, the club opened a new 12,000-capacity stadium called Estadio Banco Guayaquil. It meets modern FIFA standards and is able to hold international matches, unlike their old stadium. It also has three grandstands with a roof, compared to Estadio Rumiñahui, which only had one grandstand.^[15]

Reserve team

Since 2018, the club has a reserve team in the Ecuadorian Serie B, formerly named Alianza Cotopaxi SC. After the promotion, the club changed name to C.D. Independiente Juniors.

Players

First-team squad

As of 24 March 2026^[16]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  COL Aldair Quintana 2 DF  PAR Luis Zárate 4 DF  ECU Jhon Espinoza 5 DF  ARG Richard Schunke (captain) 6 MF  ECU Jordy Alcívar 7 MF  ECU Patrik Mercado 8 MF  ECU Youri Ochoa 9 FW  PAR Charly González 10 MF  ECU Junior Sornoza 11 FW  ARG Matías Perelló 12 GK  ECU Eduardo Bores 13 DF  ECU Daykol Romero 14 DF  ARG Mateo Carabajal 15 DF  ECU Gustavo Cortez 16 MF  ECU Ronald Briones 17 FW  ECU Aron Rodríguez

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 FW  ECU Steven Góngora 19 DF  ECU Layan Loor 21 MF  ECU Jean Arroyo 22 GK  ARG Guido Villar 23 DF  URU Juan Viacava 26 MF  ECU Juan Cazares 31 FW  ECU Emerson Pata 32 MF  ECU Jhegson Méndez 33 DF  ECU Andy Velasco 50 FW  ECU Juan Angulo 51 DF  ECU Deinner Ordóñez 52 FW  ECU Yandri Vásquez 53 MF  ECU Justin Lerma 55 MF  ECU Darwin Guagua 99 FW  ECU Djorkaeff Reasco

Managers

Honours

References

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)Category:Articles with Spanish-language sources (es)
• Independiente del Valle at FIFA
• Independiente del Valle on Facebook
• Independiente del Valle on X
• Independiente del Valle on Instagram
• Independiente del Valle at YouTube