Football team

Union Magdalena

Club · Colombia · Primera B

«El Ciclón Bananero»

283 Matches

103 wins

85 draws

95 losses

341–328 Goals

+13 Difference

1.2 Scored per game

Form L L W D D W

Santa Marta sits on Colombia's Caribbean coast. Unión Magdalena carries that history in its nickname, El Ciclón Bananero.

The team traces back to Deportivo Samarios, formed in 1951, before re-registering under its current name on 19 April 1953. In those early years the Hungarian forward Gyula Zsengellér scored 23 goals in 37 matches, then stayed on as coach once his playing days ended in Santa Marta.

A longer-lasting mark came from Carlos Valderrama, who passed through the club before Montpellier, Real Valladolid and Tampa Bay Mutiny, and before two awards as South American Footballer of the Year.

The club's only Primera A title dates to 1968 and remains the high point of its history in Colombia's top flight. Almost everything since has played out in Primera B, where Unión Magdalena has lost as many finals as it has won — beaten by Deportivo Pereira in 2000 and by Cúcuta Deportivo in 2018, before finally taking the second-division title in 2021 and again in 2024.

Since 2018 home matches have been played at Estadio Sierra Nevada, a 16,000-seat ground named for the range that rises behind the city. The 2024 title sent Unión Magdalena back into the top flight.

Latest results

Fixtures and results

7 Oct	Primera B	Popayan A
3 Oct	Primera B	Real Santander A	3:1	W
30 Sep	Primera B	Real Cartagena H	1:1	D
26 Sep	Copa Colombia	Santa Fe H	1:1	D
19 Sep	Primera B	Patriotas Boyacá A	2:1	W
13 Sep	Primera B	Real Soacha A	1:2	L