Their roster included Óscar Héctor Quintabani, "Ratón" Echeverri, Víctor Longo, Henry Viáfara, Gilberto Cabrera, Farid Perchy, Sergio Cierra, Benjamin "Mincho" Cardona, Eduardo Emilio Vilarete, Jairo "Chiqui" Aguirre, and as substitutes goalkeeper Reynel Ruiz, midfielders Manzi and Ponciano Castro and strikers Abel Augusto Lobatón, Hernán "Pistolero" Villa and Iván Darío "Chumi" Castañeda.
By 1951, 10 out of the 11 starting players were Paraguayans who had participated in the 1950 FIFA World Cup with their national team, including Enrique Ávalos, Marcelino Vargas, and López Fretes himself.
Other outstanding Paraguayan players at Deportivo Pereira were Casimiro Ávalos, who is the club's all-time top scorer with 141 goals, Ángel Chávez who played 276 matches with the team, Apolinar Paniagua, Alcides Sossa and Benicio Ferreira, among several others who even established their permanent residency in the city.
[8] In that season they were led by coach Walter Aristizábal and players such as Rafael Castillo, Guillermo Berrío, Hernán Darío Cardona, Daniel Vélez and Jairo Serna.
After several months of legal processes, the club was confirmed by the División Mayor del Fútbol Colombiano (Dimayor) and the Colombian Football Federation as Deportivo Pereira S.A., led by Luis Fernando Osorio Acevedo.
However in September 2010 it returned to its previous owners, the López Bedoya family, as they argued that Osorio had failed to pay the agreed fee for their shares.
However, when carrying out inspection and control, the government entity again found failures in the payment of salaries, social security and parafiscal contributions, which compelled them to withdraw Pereira's sporting license.
[16] Although attempts to create another team to represent the city due to Deportivo Pereira's administrative issues and potential dissolution were made,[17] in November the club was able to pay nearly COP 180 million to its creditors to have its sanction lifted by Coldeportes.
In 2016, Deportivo Pereira placed first in the regular stage of the Primera B tournament with 70 points in 32 matches, 22 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses, scoring 58 goals and conceding 28, for a 73% performance.
[21] Since their return to Primera A for the 2020 season, Deportivo Pereira have been able to avoid relegation consistently while also making some deep campaigns, losing the final of the Liguilla tournament to Millonarios in 2020.
In 2021, and managed by their former player Alexis Márquez, Deportivo Pereira made history by qualifying for the finals of the Copa Colombia after beating Deportes Tolima in the semi-finals.
[23] Under the managerial direction of Alejandro Restrepo, who replaced Alexis Márquez for the 2022 Finalización tournament, Deportivo Pereira qualified for their first Primera A championship final.
For the semi-finals, they were drawn in Group A along with Bogotá sides Santa Fe and Millonarios as well as Junior from Barranquilla, advancing to their first final in the Colombian first division after a 2–0 win over Junior in Barranquilla and a 1–1 draw in the Bogotá derby on the last matchday of the semi-finals which allowed them to win Group A with 12 points and face Independiente Medellín in the tournament's final series.
[26] Deportivo Pereira took part in the Copa Libertadores for the first time in 2023, being drawn into Group F along with Argentine side Boca Juniors, Colo-Colo from Chile, and Monagas from Venezuela.
A couple of wins in their remaining matches at home against Monagas and Boca Juniors as well as another draw with Colo-Colo in Santiago were enough for Pereira to advance out of the group in second place with 8 points, facing Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle in the round of 16.