Rugby team

Independiente del Valle

Club · Ecuador · Liga Pro

«Giant Killer»

325 Matches

182 wins

69 draws

74 losses

549–325 Goals

+224 Difference

1.7 Scored per game

Form W W W D L W

A group of friends around José Terán started it in Sangolquí as a neighbourhood side, nothing more than a barrio club under the name Club Deportivo Independiente. When Terán died in 1977 the members renamed it after him. The break came in 2007: promotion out of the Segunda Categoría brought a new name, Independiente del Valle, and a new kit in black and blue. Two years later the club won Serie B and reached Ecuador's top flight for the first time.

What followed set it apart from Ecuadorian football's usual order. Independiente del Valle built its academy into a productive talent pipeline, and the nickname El Matagigantes — Giant Killer — was earned rather than chosen, through results against South American clubs many times its size. Moisés Caicedo left for Brighton in 2021 and moved on to Chelsea in 2023; Piero Hincapié went through Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen before Arsenal signed him in September 2025; Willian Pacho followed a similar route through Germany to Paris Saint-Germain in 2024. Kendry Páez has since become the academy's next reference point.

The senior side matched the academy's output. In 2019 Independiente del Valle beat Colón to win the Copa Sudamericana, and repeated the feat against São Paulo in 2022; Flamengo fell to them in the 2023 Recopa Sudamericana. A Copa Libertadores final was lost to Atlético Nacional in 2016, and Flamengo returned the favour in the 2020 Recopa. At home, the club has never had a natural rival in the way Quito's established trio do — Liga de Quito has become the closest thing, met repeatedly in title deciders, with Mushuc Runa emerging more recently as a competing force in academy development. The domestic breakthrough arrived in 2021, when Independiente del Valle won its first Ecuadorian championship, adding the Copa Ecuador the following year.

Estadio Banco Guayaquil, the club's ground in Sangolquí since it opened on 20 March 2021.

Latest results

All matches

6 Sep	Liga Pro	Macará H	3:1	W
3 Sep	Liga Pro	Barcelona SC A	1:2	L
29 Aug	Liga Pro	Universidad Católica H	2:2	D
26 Aug	Copa Ecuador	Gualaceo SC H
26 Aug	CONMEBOL Libertadores	Deportes Tolima H	3:1	W
22 Aug	Liga Pro	Leones del Norte A	3:2	W

Standing

CONMEBOL Libertadores

Group stage · Group H

#	Team	M	W	D	L	Goals	Pts
1	Independiente del Valle	6	4	1	1	11:6	13
2	Rosario Central	6	4	1	1	9:1	13
3	UCV	6	3	0	3	7:11	9
4	Libertad Asunción	6	0	0	6	4:13	0

Full table

Team statistics

matches counted: 325

325 Matches

182 wins

69 draws

74 losses

549–325 Goals

+224 Difference

1.7 Scored per game

Season results matches counted: 325

182 69 74

wins draws losses

Scored and conceded last matches

scored — above the line conceded — below the line

Metric	Total	Home	Away
Matches	325	161	164
Scored	549	308	241
Conceded	325	130	195
Scored per game	1.7	1.9	1.5
Conceded per game	1.0	0.8	1.2
Difference	+224	+178	+46

Key players

by appearances over the last year

Gustavo Cortez Defender 25 Matches

Emerson Pata Forward 24 Matches

Jhegson Sebastián Méndez Carabalí Midfielder 24 Matches

Arón David Rodríguez Franco Forward 23 Matches

Andy Velasco Defender 23 Matches

Júnior Nazareno Sornoza Moreira Midfielder 22 Matches

Layan Manuel Loor Requelme Defender 22 Matches

Mateo Carabajal Defender 22 Matches

Squad of Independiente del Valle

by appearances over the last year

Number	Player	Position	Age	Matches
15	Gustavo Cortez	Defender		25
31	Emerson Pata	Forward		24
32	Jhegson Sebastián Méndez Carabalí	Midfielder		24
17	Arón David Rodríguez Franco	Forward		23
33	Andy Velasco	Defender		23
10	Júnior Nazareno Sornoza Moreira	Midfielder		22
19	Layan Manuel Loor Requelme	Defender		22
14	Mateo Carabajal	Defender		22
13	Daykol Alejandro Romero Padilla	Defender		21
4	Jhon Jairo Espinoza Izquierdo	Defender		21
99	Djorkaeff Néicer Reasco González	Forward		21
11	Matías Mijail Perello	Midfielder		21
16	Ronald Elain Briones Legarda	Forward		21
6	Jordy José Alcívar Macías	Midfielder		21
8	Youri José Ochoa Sempértegui	Midfielder		18
1	Aldair Quintana	Goalkeeper		18
23	Juan Viacava	Defender		17
50	H. Angulo	Forward		17
52	Yandri Vásquez	Forward		16
55	Darwin Gua gua	Midfielder		16
12	Eduardo Bories	Goalkeeper	23	16
53	Justin Lerma	Midfielder		16
9	Carlos Gabriel González Espínola	Forward		15
5	Richard Hernán Schunke	Defender		12
70	Miguel Peralta	Goalkeeper		10
2	Luis Felipe Zárate Cardozo	Defender		10
28	Hugo Quintana	Midfielder		8
7	Patrik Kleiver Mercado Altamirano	Midfielder		8
20	Anibal Gomez	Midfielder		7
56	Edwin Quintero	Midfielder		7
21	Jean Pierre Arroyo	Midfielder		6
22	Guido Villar	Goalkeeper		5
18	Steven Góngora	Forward		4
11	Michael Ryan Hoyos	Forward		4
23	Thiago Santamaría	Defender		4
18	Cristian Exequiel Zabala	Midfielder		4
77	Claudio Spinelli	Forward	29	4
13	Matías Ignacio Fernández Cordero	Defender	31	4
30	Alex Renato Ibarra Mina	Midfielder	35	3
4	Oscar Esteban Quiñonez Mendoza	Defender	25	3