- El Ballet Azul eliminated Atlético Nacional, its archrival, to qualify for the Group Stage.
- They repeated the feat this past weekend in Matchday 12 of the Colombian league.
Millonarios arrive at the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana Group Stage with renewed optimism following two recent victories in the Colombian Superclásico against Atlético Nacional. Fabián Bustos’ side, currently eighth in the Colombian league standings, gained fresh momentum after defeating their fiercest rival twice in just fifteen days.
The first encounter was precisely to determine one of Colombia’s representatives in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana Group Stage. On March 4, the Atanasio Girardot hosted a clash with added stakes: the loser would be left out of all international competitions in 2026. Millonarios delivered one of their best performances in recent months, securing a convincing 3–1 win with two goals from Rodrigo Contreras and one from Leo Castro.
“I think they also played a good match; at times they dominated us territorially, but the key was our game plan and what we had prepared. I’m grateful to the players because they delivered a great performance against a team that, I believe, hasn’t lost at home—hasn’t even dropped a point at home—since their coach took charge,” said head coach Fabián Bustos. Beyond showcasing their footballing strengths and competitive edge, Millonarios celebrated a victory that echoed their 3–2 win in the First Round of the 2007 Copa Sudamericana, a tournament in which they would go on to reach the semifinals after eliminating Colo-Colo and São Paulo.
With qualification to the next stage already secured, Millonarios faced Atlético Nacional again on March 17 in Matchday 12 of the league, currently led by El Verde de la Montaña. The stands of Bogotá’s “El Campín” turned blue to celebrate that qualification, fueled by the hope of repeating their away success. It was another emotionally charged encounter, a frenetic script that began with a missed penalty by Alfredo Morelos and ended in a commanding win for El Embajador, thanks to goals from Rodrigo Contreras, Mateo García Rojas, and Leo Castro, against an Atlético Nacional side that finished the night with nine players following the dismissals of William Tesillo and Jorman Campuzano.
So far, it has been an ideal month of March for Los Millos, not only because of their qualification for the CONMEBOL Sudamericana Group Stage and the narrowing of the gap to the league leaders: their collective performance has grown exponentially, driven by several standout individual displays from players who arrived in Bogotá as reinforcements for 2026.
None has been more decisive so far than Rodrigo Contreras, who joined on loan from Universidad de Chile in January. The 30-year-old Argentine forward has scored seven goals in eleven matches, netted three against Atlético Nacional across the last two encounters, and produced one of the standout moments of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana: his goal from behind the halfway line went around the world.
“We showed character and personality, just as we did in Medellín. Derbies are different—they are played in a different way, with a different mindset and mentality. In both matches, we approached them like that, with seriousness and with the desire the group wanted to show. It’s a derby, and I believe those goals stay in the fans’ memory,” Contreras reflected after the latest win.
Of course, Contreras is not the only signing exciting the supporters. In addition to the return of Radamel Falcao García, the club also welcomed Carlos Darwin Quintero, Mateo García, Sebastián Valencia, Julián Angulo, and Rodrigo Ureña to El Campín. These new arrivals are complemented by established figures such as Leo Castro, who also scored in both matches against Atlético Nacional.
Beyond individual names, the managerial change also proved crucial: after a difficult start with adverse results, the club decided to part ways with head coach Hernán Torres Oliveros following three consecutive defeats, with Fabián Bustos chosen as his replacement. The Argentine began his managerial career with Manta in Ecuador in 2009 and has since coached across several South American countries: in addition to his time in Ecuador, El Toro has managed in Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, and Colombia.
After learning that his team will face São Paulo (Brazil), Boston River (Uruguay), and O’Higgins (Chile), Bustos analyzed Group C on the club’s official account: “São Paulo are top of the Brasileirão; they’re doing very well and share first place with Palmeiras. We’ll face O’Higgins, who played in the CONMEBOL Libertadores preliminary rounds—we saw them against Tolima. They have a coach who works well, a tough team that has delivered strong performances and must be respected. Boston River didn’t start well in the Uruguayan league, they lost their head coach and will change—this shift will surely make them stronger. It’s definitely a balanced group; we must not underestimate anyone. We need to do things well, pick up points away from home, be strong at our stadium, and in that way move closer to our goal, which is to advance to the next round.”
