Three Promoted Players Could Debut for Deportivo Cali - Bucaramanga
Deportivo Cali - Bucaramanga opens with more than a first Copa BetPlay match on Monday, May 11. Deportivo Cali will face Atlético Bucaramanga at Estadio Palmaseca, and three promoted players could make their debuts under Rafael Dudamel.
Rafael Dudamel at Palmaseca
Juan José Gómez Miranda, promoted from the Sub-19 squad, is in the group for the match. Santiago Vallecilla also moved up to the first team after winning the South American Under-17 championship in Paraguay weeks earlier, and Kevin Suárez received Dudamel’s trust for the game.
Avilés Hurtado was left out of the squad. That leaves the coach with a different look for a match that starts Cali’s path through the 2025 Copa BetPlay format.
Quique Barón’s probable XI
Quique Barón said: “la más probable alineación sería con Pedro Gallese, Fabián Viáfara, Julián Quiñones, Felipe Aguilar, Keimer Sandoval y Juan José Tello sería novedad haciendo el lateral izquierdo. Más adelante Ronaldo Pájaro, Matías Orozco, Johan Martínez, Andrés ‘Titi’ Rodríguez y Juan Ignacio Dinenno”.
That lineup would put Gallese in goal and keep the spine of the side close to the club’s usual setup, even with the promoted players in contention. The new faces give Cali an immediate test in a competition built around early elimination rounds and later access to the final 16 clubs from the domestic leagues and tournaments.
2025 Copa BetPlay path
The 2025 Copa BetPlay begins with a preliminary phase that brings together 12 clubs eliminated from the Liga and 8 clubs eliminated from the Torneo. The winners move on to face the 16 clubs that reached the final stages of the two domestic competitions, and the champion earns a place in the 2027 Copa Sudamericana.
For Cali, that turns Monday’s home match into the first step in a longer route. The promoted players are not just filling a squad list; they are entering a bracket where one result opens the next round and a title eventually reaches South America in 2027.
