While there are several teams in the Third Division, Pereira is the only professional team in Risaralda Department. Deportivo Pereira made its First Division debut in the 1949 season. Deportivo Pereira replaced Universidad, a soccer club founded in Bogotá that had played its previous season in the 'Pearl of the Otún River', nickname of the city of Pereira.
Early Years
Founded on February 12, 1944, the team played its first game at home against Universidad De Bogotá, losing 1–2. The team's first goal was scored by Ecuadorian player Humberto Suárez. Its first victory was against Atlético Bucaramanga, with a final score of 1–2, and goals scored by Omar Barahona and José “Mico” Zapata. A second victory as a visitor was obtained against Bucaramanga 3–4. The team's first victory playing at home was in October 9, 1949, beating Huracán 4–1, with goals scored by Carmelo Enrique Colombo, José "Mico" Zapata, Inocencio Paz Lasso "Cencio" and an own goal from Huracan's player Santos Isaza. The first top scorer of the "Matecaña" team was the Colombian Inocencio Paz Lasso "Cencio", with 11 goals. The team finished the season in last place with only 14 points. Deportivo Pereira has never won a Primera A championship. The team's most successful season was in 1974, where the team got third place.
1982
Led by Gilberto Osorio, the roster included Óscar Héctor Quintabani, "Ratón" Echeverri, Víctor Longo, Henry Viáfara, Gilberto Cabrera, Farid Perchy, Sergio Cierra, Benjamin "Mincho" Cardona, Eduardo Emilio Vilarete, Jairo "Chiqui" Aguirre, and as substitutes Goalkeeper Reynel Ruiz, Midfielders Manzi and Ponciano Castro and strikers Abel Augusto Lobatón, Hernán "Pistolero" Villa and Iván Darío "Chumi" Castañeda. The team finished the tournament in 4th place.
Other highlights
In 1991, Colombia's Dimayor decided to modify the tournament so the Second Division champion would be promoted to First Division and the last team from the First Division would be demoted to Second Division. In 1995, the team got a decent sixth place that placed it comfortably far from Second Division. However, during the 1997 tournament, the team was relegated to Second Division and it had to remain in Second Division during 1998, 1999 and 2000. Led by coach Walter Aristizabal and stars like Rafael Castillo, Hernán Darío Cardona, Daniel Vélez and Jairo Serna, the team won the Second Division tournament in the year 2000, and returned to First Division. Since then, the team has reached three First Division semi-finals, and achieved fourth place during the 2003 tournament. In 2007, the team finished second to last and had to play against Academia for the Second Division's Demotion/Promotion game. Deportivo Pereira was able to keep its place in the First Division, beating Academia 4–2, thanks to striker Óscar Restrepo. By the end of 2008, and after a splendid season, the club's democratization process was started. After several months of legal processes, the team was confirmed by the División Mayor del Fútbol Colombiano and the Federación Colombiana de Fútbol as Deportivo Pereira SA. On November 6, 2011, Deportivo Pereira lost its First Division status by losing 1–0 against Deportes Tolima in Ibagué. In the second tournament of 2012, Deportivo Pereira, under the leadership of coach Octavio Zambrano, achieved a record to get into the second half of the 2012 Categoría Primera B season with a total of 43 points out of 54 possible obtained in a single season, making it the first team to have achieved this number. However, the club missed the chance to return to the top flight in the semifinals.
