Rotting away: The sad story of Union Magdalena's decline

It's been 11 years of hurt and counting for Union Magdalena, a club stuck in the second division of Colombian football, and whose erratic owner is pulling the strings from inside a jail cell as the team bounces around from stadium to stadium.

Union Magdalena isn't a big club by any means. Affectionately known as the Ciclon Bananero, which translates as the "banana cyclone," the team is based in Santa Marta, Colombia, a coastal town that is one of the country's oldest cities. Only once have the Bananeros conquered the top flight of Colombian football, and that triumph came way back in 1968.

Nonetheless, while Union Magdalena doesn't boast the grandeur of Atletico Nacional or Millonarios, the Ciclon Bananero's history suggests its supporters deserve better than the spectacular fall from grace from which the club shows no signs of recovering, particularly given that the club's squad once boasted Carlos "El Pibe" Valderrama.

(Courtesy: Union Magdalena)

It all started to go wrong in 2005. Union Magdalena embarrassingly failed to tally a single victory throughout an 18-match campaign, resulting in relegation to Colombian football's second division. The Ciclon Banenero were expected to quickly return to the top flight, but poor administrative decisions, a constant rotation of coaches, and a lack of love for the club from certain players have kept the Bananeros from earning promotion.

Off the pitch, there's the matter of Eduardo Davila, Union Magdalena's owner who, in 2012, was sentenced to 34 years and two months in jail for homicide. It wasn't the first time that he was forced behind bars, as he was reportedly incarcerated in the United States of America for narco-trafficking after arrest warrants were issued in both North America and Italy. If that isn't enough, he's also linked to Colombian paramilitaries, right-wing death squads responsible for atrocities.

Of course, a little bit of jail time isn't stopping Davila from running the show at Union Magdalena.

Although two men were appointed to administer the Ciclon Bananero in Juan Jose Bellini and Eduardo Mendez, Davila, speaking from a jail cell, admitted in August that he's still the Bananeros' kingpin.

"Everybody referring to the team works directly with me," Davila told Habla! Deportes in an exclusive interview. " He added: "I manage the team, I give the guidelines, but not being there is complicated." Inevitably, his reluctance to sacrifice control of Union Magdalena means supporters have accused him of wanting to keep the club in Colombian football's second division.

Complicating matters even further is Union Magdalena's nomadic lifestyle. The closure of Estadio Eduardo Santos, which is being remodelled ahead of Santa Marta 2017 - the 18th edition of the Juegos Bolivarianos - essentially left the Ciclon Bananero homeless. As a result, the Bananeros have played home fixtures in the Colombian towns of Riohacha, Carmen de Bolivar, and Cienaga, where the club is currently taking the pitch.

On Saturday, in the latest setback, Union Magdalena could only produce an underwhelming, scoreless draw at Tigres FC, a result that once again left the Ciclon Bananero mathematically eliminated from a shot at promotion. Things show no sign of improving, and, with countless problems surrounding the Bananeros, their supporters are right to wonder if the club will ever return to Colombian football's top flight.