Willington Ortiz
Encyclopedia
Willington Ortiz is a retired Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

n football player. He and Carlos Valderrama are two of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

's most recognized football players. Who played 49 times for the Colombia national team
Colombia national football team
The Colombian national football team represents Colombia in international football competitions and is controlled by the Colombian Football Federation. It is a member of the CONMEBOL...

 scoring 12 goals

Ortiz started his illustrious career at striker in 1971 in the youth system of Millonarios
Millonarios
Millonarios Fútbol Club is a Colombian football club based in Bogotá. As of 2011, Millonarios shares with rivals América de Cali the most Fútbol Profesional Colombiano championships, 13 in total, although Millonarios haven't won this tournament since 1988. They are also the third Colombian team to...

, made his first team debut against Internacional de Porto Alegre scoring the game winning goal. He won the DIMAYOR Colombian First Division Championship (now the Liga Postobon) with Millonarios in 1972, and 1978. He played with Millonarios until 1979, participating in the Copa Libertadores 1973, 1974, 1976, and 1979 with the club.

Deportivo Cali

In 1980, Willington or "El Viejo Willy" (Spanish for Old Willy) as he became known as, was transferred to Deportivo Cali
Deportivo Cali
Asociación Deportivo Cali is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, Colombia. Mostly known for its football team, it also sponsors basketball, volleyball and swimming...

 and played for "Los Azucareros" for three seasons. Nonetheless this two seasons drew him plenty of attention for his notable play against South American Football giants River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently competes in Nacional B, the second tier of Argentine football....

 of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. Play which included a memorable goal against a popular goalkeeper of said era, Ubaldo Fillol
Ubaldo Fillol
Ubaldo Matildo Fillol , nicknamed el Pato , is an Argentine football coach and former goalkeeper. He took part in the 1974, 1978 and 1982 World Cups representing the Argentine national team...

.
He was one of the best footballers of his time. He was even recognized by king Pele. He possessed an amazing mix of speed and technique, similar to other stars like Pele, Maradona, Messi and the unmistakable Ronaldinho.

The "Mechita" era

Willington was transferred to América de Cali
América de Cali
Corporación Deportiva América, commonly known as América de Cali or simply América is a Colombian football club based in Cali. They currently play in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight professional league in the country....

 in late 1982, and won the Colombian Domestic league title (now Copa Mustang) in 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1986. He formed part of what some believed was an ultra defensive team but in 1983 alone Ortiz and fellow striker Juan Mauel Battaglia combined for 40 goals. Willington formed part of America de Cali sides that where so explosive America De Cali went on to be known as "La Mechita"(Literally meaning in English "The Fuse" like that of bottle-rocket firework). With America De Cali Ortiz reached the finals of Copa Libertadores and were runners-up respectively in 1985, 1986, and 1987.

Colombian National Squad

Ortiz played for the Colombia Olympic team at the 1972 Summer Olympics
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

. He played in three editions of Copa América
Copa América
The Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...

 in 1975
Copa América 1975
The 1975 edition of the Copa América football tournament was played between July 17 and October 28. For the first time in the history of the event there was no fixed venue, and all matches were played throughout the year in each country. In addition, the tournament changed its name from South...

, 1979
Copa América 1979
The 1979 edition of the Copa América soccer tournament was played between July 10 and December 12. This time, the continental champion would not go to the FIFA World Cup. It was not held in a particular country, all matches were played on a home and away basis...

 and 1983
Copa América 1983
The 1983 Copa América football tournament was played between August 10 and November 4, with all ten CONMEBOL members participating. Defending champions Paraguay got a bye into the semifinals.-First round:...

 reaching the final in 1975. He also played for the Colombian Senior National Team that took part in qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 in 1974, 1978, and 1982.

Titles

Season Team Title
1972  Colombia Millonarios
Millonarios
Millonarios Fútbol Club is a Colombian football club based in Bogotá. As of 2011, Millonarios shares with rivals América de Cali the most Fútbol Profesional Colombiano championships, 13 in total, although Millonarios haven't won this tournament since 1988. They are also the third Colombian team to...

Colombian league
1978  Colombia Millonarios
Millonarios
Millonarios Fútbol Club is a Colombian football club based in Bogotá. As of 2011, Millonarios shares with rivals América de Cali the most Fútbol Profesional Colombiano championships, 13 in total, although Millonarios haven't won this tournament since 1988. They are also the third Colombian team to...

Colombian league
1983  Colombia América de Cali
América de Cali
Corporación Deportiva América, commonly known as América de Cali or simply América is a Colombian football club based in Cali. They currently play in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight professional league in the country....

Colombian league
1984  Colombia América de Cali
América de Cali
Corporación Deportiva América, commonly known as América de Cali or simply América is a Colombian football club based in Cali. They currently play in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight professional league in the country....

Colombian league
1985  Colombia América de Cali
América de Cali
Corporación Deportiva América, commonly known as América de Cali or simply América is a Colombian football club based in Cali. They currently play in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight professional league in the country....

Colombian league
1986  Colombia América de Cali
América de Cali
Corporación Deportiva América, commonly known as América de Cali or simply América is a Colombian football club based in Cali. They currently play in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight professional league in the country....

Colombian league

External links

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