# 1953 Campeonato Profesional

The 1953 Campeonato Profesional was the sixth season of Colombia's top-flight football league. Twelve teams compete against one another and played each weekend. The tournament was notable for being the fifth and last year of El Dorado. Millonarios won the league for the fourth time in its history and for the third time in a row after getting 35 points.

## Background

The tournament was the fifth year of El Dorado, after the DIMAYOR agreed the Pacto de Lima with the FIFA, with the requirement that the foreign players would return to their countries the next year.
Twelve teams competed in the tournament, three fewer than the previous year: Deportivo Manizales and Universidad were dissolved, while América de Cali and Independiente Medellín were bankrupt and did not join. Deportivo Samarios was refounded as Unión Magdalena. Millonarios won the championship for the third consecutive time, getting their fourth league title.

## League system

Every team played two games against each other team, one at home and one away. Teams received two points for a win and one point for a draw. If two or more teams were tied on points, places were determined by goal difference. The team with the most points is the champion of the league.

## Teams

* 1. Armenia
* 2. Barranquilla
* 3. Bogotá
* 4. Bucaramanga
* 5. Cali
* 6. Cúcuta
* 7. Medellín
* 8. Pereira
* 9. Santa Marta
| Team | City | Stadium |
| Atlético Bucaramanga | Bucaramanga | Estadio Alfonso López |
| Atlético Nacional | Medellín | Estadio Atanasio Girardot |
| Atlético Quindío | Armenia | Estadio San José de Armenia |
| Boca Juniors | Cali | Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero |
| Cúcuta Deportivo | Cúcuta | Estadio General Santander |
| Deportivo Cali | Cali | Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero |
| Deportivo Pereira | Pereira | Estadio Alberto Mora Mora |
| Junior | Barranquilla | Estadio Romelio Martínez |
| Millonarios | Bogotá | Estadio El Campín |
| Santa Fe | Bogotá | Estadio El Campín |
| Sporting de Barranquilla | Barranquilla | Estadio Romelio Martínez |
| Unión Magdalena | Santa Marta | Estadio Eduardo Santos |

## Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Millonarios (C) | 22 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 51 | 22 | +29 | 35 |
| 2 | Quindío | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 66 | 40 | +26 | 33 |
| 3 | Boca Juniors | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 44 | 30 | +14 | 31 |
| 4 | Santa Fe | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 57 | 30 | +27 | 29 |
| 5 | Cúcuta Deportivo | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 58 | 42 | +16 | 26 |
| 6 | Deportivo Cali | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 26 |
| 7 | Atlético Nacional | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 57 | 45 | +12 | 25 |
| 8 | Unión Magdalena | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 35 | 58 | −23 | 15 |
| 9 | Sporting | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 38 | 68 | −30 | 15 |
| 10 | Junior | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 38 | 53 | −15 | 15 |
| 11 | Deportivo Pereira | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 42 | 72 | −30 | 14 |
| 12 | Atlético Bucaramanga | 22 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 11 | 45 | −34 | 0 |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BJ | BUC | CAL | CUC | JUN | MAG | MIL | NAC | PER | QUI | SFE | SPB |
| Boca Juniors | | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Atlético Bucaramanga | 0–1 | | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–5 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Deportivo Cali | 2–2 | 1–0 | | 3–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 5–2 |
| Cúcuta Deportivo | 2–2 | 5–3 | 0–1 | | 3–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 5–0 | 6–0 |
| Junior | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 5–0 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 |
| Unión Magdalena | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | | 0–2 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 5–3 | 1–4 | 1–3 |
| Millonarios | 3–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 5–3 | | 1–1 | 5–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 |
| Atlético Nacional | 1–1 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 5–2 | 3–0 | 5–2 | 2–2 | | 1–3 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 7–2 |
| Deportivo Pereira | 1–5 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 4–5 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 4–7 | | 3–5 | 1–2 | 3–3 |
| Quindío | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 6–2 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 7–2 | | 1–0 | 8–3 |
| Santa Fe | 5–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 3–3 | 7–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 5–4 | 3–4 | | 6–0 |
| Sporting | 2–4 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 4–5 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–4 | |
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Atlético Bucaramanga withdrew from the tournament, so the remaining games left in walkover
* ↑ Played again. The original score was 3–1.
* ↑ Santa Fe did not submit the required documents, so Atlético Quindío won the match as walkover

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Mario Garelli | Atlético Quindío | 20 |
| 2 | Rubén Padín | Santa Fe | 19 |
| 3 | Felipe Marino | Sporting | 17 |
| 4 | Abraham González | Cúcuta Deportivo | 16 |
| 4 | Rubí Cerioni | Deportivo Cali | 16 |
| 6 | Francisco Solano Patiño | Boca Juniors | 14 |
| 6 | Juan Carlos Toja | Cúcuta Deportivo | 14 |
| 6 | Elger Alarcón | Atlético Quindío | 14 |
| 9 | Rubén Deibe | Santa Fe | 13 |
| 10 | Raúl Dimarco | Junior | 12 |
Source: RSSSF.com Colombia 1953
* 1953 Campeonato Profesional champion
* Millonarios Fourth title