after finishing in the top eight of the Finalización tournament, and topping a semifinal group including Atlético Nacional, Millonarios, and América de Cali. This qualified the team for the finals against Once Caldas, whom they defeated 4–0 in the first leg in Cali and tied 0–0 in Manizales in the second leg in order to claim the title. Deportivo Cali qualified for the 1999 Copa Libertadores as Colombian champions, and qualified out of a group which also included Once Caldas, and Argentine sides River Plate and Vélez Sarsfield. After eliminating Colo-Colo in the round of 16, Uruguayan side Bella Vista in the quarterfinals and Cerro Porteño in the semifinals, they managed to reach the final of the competition for the second time in its history. Unfortunately, luck was not on their side and they lost to Palmeiras of Brazil on penalties after winning the first leg in Cali 1–0 and losing 2–1 in the return leg in São Paulo. Venezuelan goalkeeper Rafael Dudamel, defenders Hernán Gaviria, Mario Yepes, and Gerardo Bedoya, and midfielders Arley Betancourt, Mayer Candelo, and Martín Zapata were some of the most important players of the club in both the 1998 national championship and the Copa Libertadores run the following year. Recent years In the start of the 21st century, the club has seen a major downfall in quality of players, quality of team and general managers, and overall results in both the domestic league and international competition. On 24 October 2002, players Herman Gaviria and Giovanni Córdoba were hit by lightning during a training session with the team. Gaviria was killed instantly, though he was not pronounced dead until arriving at Valle del Lilí Hospital, while Córdoba died three days later. At the time, the team was leading the 2002 Finalización and was heavily favored to win the title but was unable to recover from this event and ended in second place of its semifinal group, behind eventual champions Independiente Medellín. During this timeframe, Cali won its eighth domestic championship (2005 Finalización), but lost finals to underdog teams such as Deportes Tolima and Deportivo Pasto in the 2003 Finalización and 2006 Apertura tournaments, respectively. The championship in the second tournament of the 2005 season allowed Deportivo Cali to take part in the 2006 Copa Libertadores, in which the team failed to make it out of the group stage after only being able to collect one point