finally broken in 1973. The revival had actually started after the 1970 season, with the hiring of manager José Curti and the signing of midfielder Jorge Hugo Fernández. In 1971, Nacional won the Apertura title and only narrowly lost the national championship to Santa Fe (they fell 3–2 in a second replay of a bitterly fought championship playoff). Following a strong finish in 1972, Nacional won its second league title in 1973. They qualified for the final stage by winning the Torneo Finalización with 34 points, then finished first in a three-way round robin against Millonarios and Deportivo Cali. This championship was followed up by a runner-up finish in 1974. 1976 saw a new era for the club begin, with the hiring of Argentine manager Osvaldo Zubeldia. With his strong emphasis on conditioning and physical play, Zubeldia was able to manage the club to two further titles, 1976 and 1981, as well as regular finishes towards the top of the table. During the Zubeldia era, the heart of the team was César Cueto, central midfielder and team captain from 1979 to 1983. During the 1981 championship season, Cueto was voted the league's player of the year. This successful era ended with Zubeldia's sudden death of a heart attack in January 1982. Nacional remained a power in Colombia, but the death of their manager, the departure of Cueto, and the rise of América de Cali (the Red Devils won five straight championships in the 1980s) left its fans dissatisfied. Determined to break their stranglehold, the club made a significant change in 1987. First, they appointed Francisco Maturana as manager. A regular in the team's defense during the 1970s, Maturana was considered a rising star in Colombian football management and had just been named manager of the national team. Maturana was thus simultaneously trying to lead the club to a domestic title and assemble a national side that could qualify for the World Cup. The two goals were complementary; Atletico's traditional preference for Colombians over foreigners made them a natural base for Maturana to build his national team upon. However, there was also another development of more questionable legality; in the 1980s, Nacional was linked to the Medellín Cartel. Its leader, Pablo Escobar, who was also the most prominent of Colombia's drug lords, was a fan of both football and betting, and also wanted to invest in a local club and find