Colombia

Colombia is one of South America's great football nations, with a history that starts big: the professional league was born in 1948 and immediately lived the El Dorado era, when Colombian clubs signed half the world, including Di Stéfano for Millonarios. Atlético Nacional of Medellín became the country's first Libertadores champion in 1989, and the cafetera national team gave football unrepeatable figures like Carlos Valderrama and René Higuita, the epic 5-0 in Buenos Aires in 1993 and the 2001 Copa América, won at home without conceding a single goal. From Barranquilla's Metropolitano to the escolinhas of Medellín, football is the country's heartbeat.