Millonarios confirms Fabián Bustos' exit on the eve of the derby against Santa Fe

A scoreless draw against Internacional de Bogotá was enough to speed up what already looked inevitable. A day after that 0-0, Millonarios confirmed the departure of Fabián Bustos as head coach of the professional team, right on the eve of the derby against Independiente Santa Fe. And with that announcement, the club finds itself back in familiar territory: searching for a coach.

Because this is not an isolated case. In less than two years, Millonarios has gone through four coaches on its bench. It all started when Alberto Gamero's cycle ended on December 31, 2024, after five seasons in charge. Since then, nothing has had continuity: David González arrived in January 2025 from Deportes Tolima, but his second half of the season was a nightmare (just one point out of a possible 18), and a loss to Unión Magdalena sealed his fate in August. Hernán Torres then took over, arriving with the star of the 2012 title run as his calling card, but his return lasted just three straight losses to open the Liga BetPlay I-2026: defeats to Bucaramanga, Junior and Pasto, and he was out in early February.

That's when Bustos stepped in, and now he's out too. His tenure lasted a little more than seven months and leaves a record of 32 matches, 16 wins, 9 draws and 7 losses, for a winning percentage of 59.4%. Those aren't bad numbers, but they weren't enough to sustain a project.

Competition by competition

In the Liga BetPlay I-2026, he took over from matchday five and coached 15 games, with 7 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses. He debuted with a 0-0 draw against Deportivo Cali and closed out that stretch with another draw, 2-2 against Alianza FC, a result that left the team out of the quadrangular finals. In the Copa Sudamericana, the record was three wins, two draws and two losses in seven matches: Millonarios advanced to the group stage after a commanding 3-1 win over Atlético Nacional in Medellín, but bowed out on the final matchday with a 2-1 loss to Chile's O'Higgins at El Campín.

Where he did leave a stronger mark was in the Copa BetPlay: four matches, three wins and a draw, topping his group with an 8-1 thrashing of Atlético FC as the standout result. The round of 16 against Barranquilla FC, scheduled for between September 2 and 16, will now be played without him on the bench. And in the Liga BetPlay II-2026, he managed to coach six matches, with three wins, two draws and one loss, for 11 points, before that 0-0 against Internacional de Bogotá turned out to be his farewell.

The club kept its statement brief, without going into detail on the reasons:

Millonarios FC announces that coach Fabián Bustos will not continue as head coach of the professional team.Millonarios FC

The organization also left a message of thanks for the outgoing coaching staff:

Millonarios FC wishes to express to coach Bustos and his staff its sincerest gratitude for their professionalism, effort, dedication and personal quality during their time leading the team.Millonarios FC

With Bustos out, club officials now have something urgent to sort out: who takes the bench for this Wednesday's derby on September 2, at 8:25 p.m., at El Campín. The old rival, Santa Fe, isn't waiting. And the question left hanging is whether this time the club can break the cycle of short-lived projects, one that already counts three names since Gamero left.