Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito

Football club infobox
clubname = LDU Quito


fullname = Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito
nickname = "Los Albos", "El Equipo Albo"
founded = January 19, 1930
ground = Estadio de Liga Deportiva Universitaria
Quito, Ecuador
capacity = 55,000
owner = flagicon|ECU Rodrigo Paz
chairman = flagicon|ECU Carlos Arroyo
manager = flagicon|ARG Edgardo Bauza
league = Serie A
season = 2007
position = Serie A, 1st
pattern_name1=Principal
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=FFFFFF|rightarm1=FFFFFF|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=FFFFFF
pattern_name2=Alternate
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=_thinorangesides|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=808080|body2=808080|rightarm2=808080|shorts2=808080|socks2=808080

Liga Deportiva Universitaria (LDU) de Quito, known colloquially as "(la) Liga", is a professional football club based in Quito, Ecuador. They play in Serie A, the top-level of professional football in Ecuador, and their home stadium is the Estadio de Liga Deportiva Universitaria, best known as "La Casa Blanca".

LDU Quito are the reigning South American champions having won the 2008 Copa Libertadores. The title is the first one to be won by a team from Ecuador, and the first international title won by a team from Ecuador. The team is historically one of the most successful teams in the country in terms of national championships, with 9 titles. As of October 2008, IFFHS has LDU Quito ranked as the 33rd top club in the world, making them one of the top ten clubs in CONMEBOL, and the top club in Ecuador.

Among their classic rivals are Sociedad Deportiva Aucas, Club Deportivo El Nacional, Sociedad Deportivo Quito, and Barcelona Sporting Club.

History

Foundation

LDU Quito has its roots as a semi-pro sports team based out of Universidad Central del Ecuador in 1918, with Dr. César Jácome Moscoso as the main leader (Liga Deportiva Universitaria is Spanish for University Sporting League). Under the leadership of Dr. Bolívar León, LDU Quito officially was founded on January 12, 1930. In those days Liga had different sports teams such as soccer, basketball, athletics, box, baseball, swimming, ping-pong, and chess. The team has a starting budget of around 500 sucres. That first team had as players (students from Universidad Central del Ecuador) had to pay for their own uniforms, medicines, and various expenses. Dr. León, had to design the first uniform, a white shirt with a red U having a background two triangles, one blue and another red, pretty similar to the University's chest. Amongst the first players were: Carlos Andrade Marín, Oswaldo Mosquera, Alfonso Cevallos, Alfonso Troya and "El mono" Icaza.

First championship

In 1932, LDU Quito won their first championship in football when a first division championship was organized in Pichincha province. This tournament was played by five teams: Liga, Gladiador, Gimnástico, Atlético, and Cleveland. Liga won all their games, and in the final game against Gladiador, played in the Municipal Stadium of "El Ejido", won be a score of 4-0. In that team, the players were: Jorge Zapater, Eduardo Flores, Alfonso Cevallos, César González, Jorge Vallarino, Jorge Naranjo, Bolívar "Ñato" León, Alejandro Dávalos, Humberto Yáñez, Humberto Freire, and Ernesto Guevara, with Bolívar León as coach.

=1945: The first Super Classic=

A game played between Liga and Aucas will eventually become the most important game in the province, and the second most important in Ecuador. The Super Classic was born on February 11, 1945. That first game ended with a 1-1 tie. The Pichincha Football Association decided to give an opportunity to one of its teams to raise into the first category. On the 18th of the same month, the two teams met again, with another draw, 2-2. Liga was ahead in the score 2-0. Aucas scored, and when the 90 minutes were over, the time keeper ended the game, however the referee didn't notice and let the game continue for two more minutes more, and Aucas equalized. The attendance rioted and didn't let the game proceed into extra time unless the referee was changed. Finally the game restarted, but the score remained the same. That year, Liga had its first foreign player and coach, Carlos "El Chile" Díaz.

The team since 1990

LDU has had a lot of achievements in the last 18 years, winning six of its nine national titles in this period. The team has been important for the growth and development of the Ecuadorian football internationally as well, being an important contributor to the Ecuadorian national team that qualified and participated at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. In the 2006 edition, they were the team that contributed with the most players in a squad from a South American club with a total of 7 players, including Néicer Reasco, Paúl Ambrosi, Patricio Urrutia, Agustín Delgado, and former players Cristian Mora, Giovanny Espinoza, and Edison Méndez.

Another important contribution of the team in the last years have been the contribution to the U-17 national team that obtained the first official title in Ecuadorian history: the 2007 Pan American Games. They contributed with at least four U-17 players in that squad: Deison Mendez, Pablo Ochoa, Carlos Delgado, and Israel Chango.

The team reached the semi-finals at the 2004 Copa Sudamericana, which matched their best achievement in international competition when they reached the semi-finals of the 1975 & 1976 Copa Libertadores. They surpassed that success on July 2, 2008, when they became the first Ecuadorian team ever to win the Copa Libertadores, after defeating Fluminense 3-1 in a penalty shootout after tying 5-5 on aggregate. Their success has flown through to the National Team, as six of their players were called up to the squad that faced Argentina and Colombia for the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers.

Uniform

The traditional uniform of LDU Quito throughout their history has been an all-white kit with the team's shield over the left breast. It is used when playing at home or away. The team's alternate kit is gray with orange detailing. The black kit was the alternate uniform for the Copa Libertadores. The gold kit is a special edition kit for Copa Sudamericana 2008.

Umbro is the team's kit provider, with Swiss company Holcim as the team's top sponsor for the next three years. Powerade and Ecuadorian beer company Pilsener are the team's other sponsors.

Home ground

Since 1997, LDU Quito has played their home games at Estadio de Liga Deportiva Universitaria, in the northern part of the city. It is the largest stadium in Quito in terms of capacity, and the second largest in Ecuador after Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha in Guayaquil. It's popular nickname, "La Casa Blanca" (English: "The White House"), is named so because the stadium is painted white, the team's principal color. Prior to that, they played their home games at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, where the Ecuadorian national team and other clubs in Quito play their home games.

Fans

Undoubtedly, LDU Quito has the largest fan base in Quito and one of the largest in Ecuador. Their success in Ecuador's Serie A and their most recent success of winning the 2008 Copa Libertadores has helped expanded their fan base in the country.

The most diehard fan group of the team is "La Muerte Blanca" (English: "The White Death"). During home-games, they are situated in the southern general section of the "La Casa Blanca" fervently cheering for the team. Typical of diehard fans of the sport, they cheer with large banners, flares, drums, and toilet paper, all while constantly bouncing in support of LDU Quito. They are also known to travel around the country in support of the team.

Achievements

National

*Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A:Champion (9): 1969, 1974, 1975, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005-A, 2007:Runner-up (2): 1977, 1981
*Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie B:Winner (2): 1974 E1, 2001:Runner-up (1): 1978 E2
*Campeonato Professional Interandino:Champion (6): 1954, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1966, 1967:Runner-up (5): 1955, 1956, 1963, 1964, 1965
*Campeonato Amatuer del Fútbol de Pichincha:Champion (3): 1932, 1952, 1953

International

*Copa Libertadores:Champion (1): 2008

Performance in CONMEBOL competitions

*Copa Libertadores: 14 participations (1970, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1991, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009):Best: Champions (2008)
*Copa Sudamericana: 5 participations (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008):Best: Semi-finals (2004)
*Copa CONMEBOL: 1 participation (1998):Best: First round (1998)

tatistics

In Serie A (up to 2007)
*Seasons: 47
*Matches played: 1,561
**Wins: 655
**Draws: 421
**Losses: 485
*Goals for: 2,398
*Goals against: 1,884
*First match: October 16, 1960 in Quito vs. Patria, 1-0 loss
*Top-scorer: José Vicente Charro Moreno (68)
*All-time position: 4th

Current squad

Copa Libertadores 2008 Finals Squad

Coach: Edgardo Bauza

External links

* [http://www.clubldu.com Official website]
* [http://www.cyberalbos.com CyberAlbos (Spanish)]
* [http://www.muerteblanca.com.ec Muerte Blanca]
*http://liguistas.com/
*http://www.ldu.com.ec