Barranquilla goakkeeper Sebastian Guerra scored the winning spot kick. (Screenshot via Win Sports YouTube channel)July 30, 2026 8:01 am EDT Updated Atletico Junior, 12-time champions of Colombia’s top flight, were eliminated from the nation’s top cup competition by their own feeder side on Wednesday.Barranquilla defeated Junior 5-3 on penalties to advance to the round of 16 of the Copa Colombia, following a 3-3 draw that left the aggregate score over two legs at 5-5.Goalkeeper Sebastian Guerra scored the winning spot-kick before he was mobbed by team-mates in celebration.
Barranquilla play in Colombia’s second tier and finished bottom of the 16-team aggregate table in 2025 with just 22 points and four wins over the league’s two stages. The team was founded in 2005 and, like Junior, are owned by the Char family, led by businessman Fuad Char. It serves as a feeder or ‘farm’ team for Junior, helping to develop their players in the early stages of their career, such as former AC Milan striker Carlos Bacca. The 39-year-old is now back at Junior after returning to the club in 2022.Bayern Munich and Colombia winger Luis Diaz is also a product of the system and was in attendance for the match. Diaz came through the academy of Junior and made his senior debut for Barranquilla in 2016 before joining the Junior first-team setup the following season.Diaz, pictured here in action for Junior, was first developed by Baranquilla (Nelson Almeida/AFP via Getty ImagesAfter a 2-2 draw last Thursday, Sebastian Borja gave Barranquilla the lead in the second minute on Tuesday before Yaison Suarez and Guillermo Pavia put Junior ahead. Two second-half goals in the space of four minutes from Barranquilla looked to be sending them through, though Luis Muriel — who had a successful career in Europe with the likes of Udinese, Sevilla and Atalanta — equalised with a penalty in the 88th minute.The match went straight to a shootout at full-time, with Barranquilla coming out on top after scoring all of their spot-kicks. They will play Millonarios, another first division team in the round of 16.Junior return to league action on Saturday. They won the Categoria Primera A league title on four occasions before a revised format was adopted in 2002, which saw the calendar year split into two separate league seasons (Torneo Apertura and Torneo Finalización). The winners of each league are classed as champions. Junior have won eight more titles in the new format, including the 2026 Torneo Apertura.
