out of 18. A poor campaign during the 2007 Finalización caused Deportivo Cali to fail to qualify for the semifinal stage of the domestic league for the first time since short tournaments began being played in Colombian football. Spectators say that the downfall of the 2007 season was a result of the major injury of Sergio Herrera and the departure of Martin Cardetti. Between 2006 and 2007, the club saw over three coaches, and two of them in the 2007 Finalización season alone. The coaches who served Deportivo Cali during this time were Pedro Sarmiento, who won the league with the team as coach in 2005 and was dismissed after losing the 2006 Apertura finals to Deportivo Pasto, Omar Labruna and Néstor Otero. Uruguayan José Daniel Carreño took the reins ahead of the 2008 season, replacing Néstor Otero. Deportivo Cali, during his management, had an above average Apertura, coming in sixth place which qualified them for the semifinals of the tournament. In the Copa Colombia, the club ended in third place of its group and failed to qualify for further play, which was considered as an embarrassment as Deportivo Cali was the favorite to win the group. During the semifinals of the Apertura, Cali failed to win the first four matches, losing two and tying the remaining two. After failing to win the fourth game (a 2–0 loss to Deportes Quindío at home), Carreño was sacked and replaced by caretaker manager Ricardo Martínez, who managed the team until the end of the 2008 season and qualified it for the 2009 Copa Sudamericana, in which they were knocked out in the first stage by Universidad de Chile. The 2009 season saw Deportivo Cali qualifying for the semifinals of the Apertura tournament but missing out on the finals on goal difference, while in the Finalización tournament they failed to qualify for the semifinals. In 2010, Deportivo Cali failed to qualify for the final rounds of both the Apertura and the Finalización, but was able to win the Copa Colombia for the first time in history under the management of Jaime de la Pava. Los Azucareros managed to win their regional group and then defeated Junior, Santa Fe, and La Equidad in their run to the final, where they faced surprise package Itagüí Ditaires. Deportivo Cali won both legs of the final, 1–0 in Itagüí and 2–0 at the Estadio Deportivo Cali, which