Alianza Petrolera

Nowhere on the Colombian calendar carried more weight in Barrancabermeja than the trip to Bucaramanga. Alianza Petrolera and Atlético Bucaramanga split the department of Santander between them, one club rooted in the refinery town, the other in its capital.

The club itself grew out of that refinery. Barrancabermeja is built around Ecopetrol's plant, the country's largest, and the team founded there on 24 October 1990 took its name and colours from the industry that ran the city: yellow for the crude's energy, black for the oil itself, which is why supporters became known as the Aurinegros.

Alianza spent most of its existence in the second tier after entering Primera B in 1992, and only broke through in 2012, when it won the division and reached Primera A for the first time. It had come close a decade earlier, finishing runner-up in 2002. Once in the top flight, the club never won a national title, and its deepest run in the Copa Colombia ended in the 2013 semi-final against Atlético Nacional.

Defender David Valencia carried the shirt through that era more than anyone, making 131 appearances between 2011 and 2015, with midfielder Rafael Carrascal not far behind on 130. Up front, Dairon Asprilla left his own mark by scoring the club's first-ever goal in Primera A, part of a 22-goal spell between 2012 and 2014.

All of it played out at Estadio Daniel Villa Zapata, a 10,400-capacity ground in Barrancabermeja. The club stopped existing under that name in January 2024, undone by financial trouble and a lack of backing from the city authorities. Its place in the league passed to a new outfit in Valledupar, which took on a different name, different colours and a different stadium, leaving Alianza Petrolera and its rivalry with Atlético Bucaramanga behind in Santander.