An evening with Los Killerx: Independiente Medellin is the 'team of the people'

Just like any provincial city in Latin America, Medellin, Colombia is divided by two clubs. Half the mountainous ciudad bleeds Atletico Nacional's green and white, while the other half oozes Independiente Medellin's red and blue. It's impossible to walk through the streets without noticing the graffiti pertaining to the two factions, who share the Unidad Deportiva Atanasio Girardot, a complex that boasts a 40,000-capacity stadium and which is named after a Colombian revolutionary who was a heroic figure in Venezuela's emancipation from Spain.

Atletico Nacional's support extends beyond Medellin, as followers of El Verde can be found across Colombia and come from all types of backgrounds and social classes. Independiente Medellin, meanwhile, is notoriously centralised and the heart of its fanaticism comes from the city's lower class. Atletico Nacional is a two-time conqueror of the Copa Libertadores, South American football's most prestigious tournament. Independiente Medellin doesn't know what it's like to play in the final. Atletico Nacional's barra brava, Los del Sur, occupies the stadium's southern curve. Independiente Medellin's barra brava, Rexixtenxia Norte, can be found in the northern end.

When it comes to football in Medellin, the two clubs are Yin and Yang.

The landscape changed slightly on July 27, 2016. Atletico Nacional defeated Independiente del Valle in the Copa Libertadores' final, adding a second star to its shirt and thereby casting an even larger shadow over its neighbour, who is already nine trophies behind in terms of Colombian football's top flight.

In the aftermath of Atletico Nacional's triumph, the divide between the two clubs enlarged. La Verde's fan base inevitably grew considerably as people wanted to be a part of something historic, and the graffiti on Medellin's streets became predominantly green.

None of that, however, bothers the young hooligans in the Rexixtenxia Norte, Independiente Medellin's barra brava. Most of them belong to the lower class and are used to not having what others in society have, and, above all, they're not about to envy Atletico Nacional. Jealousy isn't their thing.

It's a Sunday evening in Medellin, and, as the stadium slowly empties after Independiente Medellin is held to a 1-1 draw by Jaguares on home soil, I find myself talking to five supporters who call themselves Los Killerx. Among them are Juan Jose and Alberto, with whom I watched the fixture, and joining them are Producto, Cristo, and Alejandro. They're part of the Rexixtenxia Norte and are from the barrio of Manrique, also known as Comuna 3 or the third of the city's 16 comunas. It's a neighbourhood with a gritty reputation and a place whose residents have immortalised Carlos Gardel, an Argentinian musician who was killed in a plane crash in Medellin.

Juan Jose, the apparent ringleader of Los Killerx, sparks a joint and proceeds to explain why Independiente Medellin - not Atletico Nacional - is the "equipo del pueblo," which translates as "the team of the people." He wants to make sure I fully understand what separates El Poderoso from El Verde.

"(Independiente) Medellin is the tradition of the city," Juan Jose declares after blowing out a cloud of smoke. "It's the oldest team in the city. It's love for the colours. Atletico Nacional's supporters are very arrogant, very snooty. They think they're above us. Independiente Medellin's fans are more humble."

For Juan Jose, July 27, 2016, when Atletico Nacional once again captured the Copa Libertadores, is not just a day that is removed from his mind, but a day that is removed from the history books. It's not that he chooses to forget it. He truly believes life went from July 26 to July 28 and he was the only one who noticed.

"Absolutely nothing happened that day," Juan Jose claims without a hint of sarcasm. "There was nobody there that day. For me, that day doesn't exist."

Alberto, on the other hand, is more in tune with reality and acknowledges the day did indeed transpire. But he makes it clear that the Rexixtenxia Norte couldn't care less about Atletico Nacional's prosperity and that he didn't view the Copa Libertadores final, saying: "Obviously they're respected as a team. They have their title. But, as a hincha, I didn't watch and I didn't care what happened."

Cristo intervenes and points out that, while Atletico Nacional was vanquishing clubs in the Copa Libertadores, Independiente Medellin was winning a title of its own. El Poderoso won the first of the two crowns that are up for grabs in Colombian football's first division in 2016, overcoming Club Junior 3-1 on aggregate in the final to claim its sixth national title.

In an overt attempt to diminish Atletico Nacional's accomplishment, Cristo compares Independiente del Valle, the Ecuadorian club that El Verde beat in the final of the Copa Libertadores' final, to a Colombian minnow. "We were champions here in Colombia, and them in South America, but it was against a team that holds about as much history as Cortulua. Cortulua, here, is a B team. Understand? The team against which they became champions of the Libertadores is a team that's barely making history."

It's easy for Los Killerx's words to come across as sour granadillas, but, from my own experience as a supporter of Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito, a club from Ecuador that won the Copa Libertadores in 2008, I understand the fierce loyalty they exude that shouldn't be confused for jealousy. They don't want Atletico Nacional's riches. Their priority is that Independiente Medellin always remains, as Juan Jose puts it, "the team of the people."

Furthermore, they take comfort in knowing that Independiente Medellin's day will come. El Poderoso reached the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores in 2003 before falling to Santos 4-2 aggregate, and they believe it's only a matter of time until that feat is bettered.

"The day that Independiente Medellin wins the Libertadores ... " Juan Jose forecasts while cracking a smile. " ... It will be a party."