Club Universidad de Chile

Universidad de Chile

Full name	Club Universidad de Chile
Nickname(s)	La U (The U) La Chile (The Chile) Los Azules (The Blues) El Chuncho (The Owl) El Bulla (The Noise) El Romántico Viajero (The Romantic Traveler) El León (The Lion)
Founded	May 24, 1927
Ground	Estadio Nacional Santiago, Chile (Capacity: 50,000 [1])
Chairman	Federico Valdés [2]
Manager	Jorge Sampaoli [3]
League	Primera División
2011 Apertura	1st Place
Home colours Away colours

Club Universidad de Chile is a professional football club based in Santiago, Chile, which plays in the Primera División.

The club was founded on May 24, 1927, as Club Deportivo Universitario. Universidad de Chile is the second most successful and popular football clubs in Chile, having won the league title 14 times.^[4] In the last 10 years, the team has been crowned champion three times.

The team has been throughout its history associated with the color blue, also present on the logo, which was officially adopted in 1943.

Despite having no stadium of its own, the club usually plays its home games at the Estadio Nacional de Chile, in the commune of Ñuñoa in Santiago. The Estadio Nacional's modernization process, forced the team to play home games in various stadiums across Chile in 2010. Universidad de Chile made a return to the Estadio Nacional on August 2010 against Club Deportivo Guadalajara during the 2010 Copa Libertadores Semifinals.

Universidad de Chile has a large fan base and many rivalries against other teams in the first division. The most notable of these are their rivalries are with Colo-Colo and Universidad Católica, with whom they regularly contest the Santiago derbies known as Clásicos .

Since 2008, the club has also a women’s team that plays in the first division of women's football in Chile.

History

The club was founded on May 24, 1927, as Club Deportivo Universitario by the merger of Club Náutico and Federación Universitaria. Initially, the club was formed by students of the Universidad de Chile and was the sport brand of the university until 1980 when the university's rector and president of the club at the time (both of them appointed by the Pinochet dictatorship) decided to separate the club from the university and created the CORFUCH to manage the football team. This move was a part of the atomization of the Universidad de Chile made by the military dictatorship in order to strength the private universities that were born during that time and also to reduce state power. This was seen as a major blow to the club, as it was left with nothing but a loyal fan base. From then on, the club started to decline in terms of results on the field and lack of support from various sectors of the economy when other major clubs in Chile were helped by main powers such as the government, the catholic church, and Codelco. Eventually, the team's poor performances led to a relegation to second division in 1988, and threats to dissolve the club were made by the university if the team did not manage to return to the first division within a year. In 1989, Universidad de Chile were able earn the 2nd division's championship, thus bringing them back to the first division, where they have remained since then.

Bankruptcy and Azul Azul

In 2006, the club declared bankruptcy and received an imposed administration that was criticized by the supporters, as the new chairman immediately fired club symbols and tried to transform the club into a private company of public stocks, being opposed to the decision of the club members in a previous assembly. The team finished the year with the worst campaign in the club history and the almost-sure transformation into private company due to the ties between the appointed chairman and several businessmen.

During 2007, the imposed administration gave the club into concession to a private group (Azul Azul). In 2008, the new university's rector agreed to enter a contract with the now private club, in which he allowed the use of the university's name and symbols in exchange of a royalty and the right to appoint two out of the eleven directors of the board.

Colours and logo

Home kit and away kit

The team's home kit from 1943 to 1958 consisted of a blue jersey, a white short and blue socks. In 1959, the home kit was changed to an all royal blue kit. In 1992 a darker tone of blue was used for the home kit and in 1996 a red stripe was added to the sleeves. The team's home kit saw its most drastic change in 2001–2002 when red sleeves were included on the jersey; this kit retained the blue shorts and blue socks. In 2006, the team returned to the 1959 variation of its uniform and has not changed it since then. The current home kit features the classic red letter U on the front of the jersey.

From 1934 until 2001–2002, Universidad de Chile's away kit consisted of a white jersey, shorts and socks, occasionally using blue shorts during the 1990s. In 2001–2002, for the first time in the club's history a red kit was introduced; this kit consisted of a red jersey with dark blue sleeves, red shorts and red socks. In 2005, the club introduced a new all-red away kit, thereby dropping the blue sleeves in favor of red ones. The current away kit in a similar fashion to the home kit also features the red letter U on the front of the jersey.^[5] Universidad de Chile wore a kit that featured the regular royal blue jersey, white shorts and royal blue socks for a game against Chivas during the 2010 Copa Libertadores. At the end of 2010 the historical all-white combination made a return as the club's alternate kit.

The owl logo

The team's logo, a red and white owl, has its origins in the days of the Club Náutico Universitario which gave its emblem to the Club Universitario de Deportes (CUD). The owl was chosen for its association with wisdom, mutual knowledge, harmony of the body and soul.

The team's logo is not usually found on the team's uniform, being favored in turn by a red letter U with a white trim. The owl logo was absent from the team's jersey from 1979, but made a return during 1996–1997. In 2006–2007, a small owl logo could be found on the jersey along with the red U.

Rivalries

Universidad de Chile's rivalry with Colo Colo is the greatest amongst Chilean clubs. Another rivalry which is dubbed the Clásico Universitario puts the Universidad de Chile against their historical rivals Universidad Católica.

Popularity

See also: Los de Abajo

Universidad de Chile supporters

The club has made a name for itself, becoming one of top-two teams in Chile with 14 national cups and through the enthusiasm displayed by its fans, an enthusiasm that has been carried ever since the team's professional debut, even through relegation to the second division. The team's supporters are known for chanting and supporting their team, from the bus that brought them to the stadium and even beyond the end of the game. The supporters of Universidad de Chile refer to their love for the team with the phrase: "More than a passion, a feeling".

The club's largest supporters group is "Los de Abajo", a barra brava that began in 1989. Members of Los de Abajo have even traveled to other countries such as Mexico and Brazil in order to support their club in international competitions.

Achievements

Universidad de Chile's first title was won in 1940, just 3 years after their professional debut. The team won six titles (59, 62, 64, 65, 67, 69) between 1959 and 1969 and the became known as the Blue Ballet in reference the beautiful style of football they played. Nine members of that squad were part of the national team Chilean team that reached 3rd place in the 1962 FIFA World Cup, the best result ever achieved by Chile in a World Cup.

After the golden age of the Blue Ballet, the club went on a 25-year drought, and were relegated to the second division in 1988 but managed to win that division's title and returned to the first division the following year. Universidad de Chile's next cup would be won in 1994 after a spectacular final game for which 20,000 supporters arrived in the city of El Salvador, a mining town populated by 5,000 people.

In 1995, Universidad de Chile won the cup once more, this time at home in front of almost 78,000 people in the Estadio Nacional. The team would win back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000.

More recently Universidad de Chile has won the Apertura in 2004, 2009 and 2011. The 2011 title was won at the hands of defending champions Universidad Católica, by a global score of 4–3, having lost the first leg of the final 2–0 and needing to win by a 3 goal margin, the team managed to win the second leg with a 4–1 score.

On the international stage Universidad de Chile have had a few of good runs in Copa Libertadores, reaching the semifinals in 1970, 1996 and 2010.

Records

Sánchez is still popular among the fans.

• Record Primera División victory — 9–1 v. Magallanes (1962)
• Record Primera División defeat — 0–6 v. Colo Colo (1938)
• Most Primera División appearances — 386 Leonel Sánchez (1953–69)
• Most appearances overall — 539 Luis Musrri (1988–04)
• Record Unbeaten Matches in Primera Division (National Record) — 33 (1999)
• Record Straight Wins in Primera Division (National Record) — 16 (1963–64)
• Highest attendance in Primera Division (National Record) — 85,268 v. Universidad Catolica (December 29, 1962)

All-time Top scorers in Primera División

As of 28 October 2011

Player Goals Carlos Campos 183 Leonel Sánchez 159 Pedro González 112 Rubén Marcos 102 Jorge Socías 88 Marcelo Salas 87 Diego Rivarola 85 Pedro Araya 82 Braulio Musso 82 Ernesto Álvarez 71 Jorge Américo Spedaletti 64 Sandrino Castec 54

• Players in bold are still active.

Managers

Luis Tirado (1938–41) Alejandro Scopelli (1941–45) Luis Tirado (1946–49) Salvador Nocetti (1950) Alejandro Scopelli (1950–52) Miguel Busquets (1952) Jorge Ormos (1953–54) Luis Álamos (1954) Luis Tirado (1955) Luis Álamos (1956–66) Washington Urrutia (1966) (int.) Alejandro Scopelli (1967–68) Washington Urrutia (1968) Ulises Ramos (1969–74) Braulio Musso (1974) Hugo Tassara (1975) Luis Ibarra (1975–77)

Nelson Oyarzún (1978) Ulises Ramos (1978) Fernando Riera (1978–80) Manuel Rodríguez (1981) Ulises Ramos (1981) (int.) Fernando Riera (1981–82) (Ulises Ramos int.) Luis Santibáñez (1983) Ulises Ramos (1983–84) Hernán Carrasco (1984) Luis Ibarra (1985) Leonel Sánchez (1985–86) Fernando Riera (1987) Leonel Sánchez (1987) Alberto Quintano (1987) Manuel Pellegrini (1988) (Carlos Urzúa int.) Luis Ibarra (1989) Manuel Rodríguez (1990)

Pedro Morales (1991) (Manuel Rodríguez int.) Alberto Quintano (1991) Arturo Salah (1992–94) Jorge Socías (1994–95) Miguel Ángel Russo (1996) Roberto Hernández (1997–99) César Vaccia (1999-01) Víctor Hugo Castañeda (2002–03) Héctor Pinto (2004–05) Gustavo Huerta (2006) Salvador Capitano (2007) Jorge Socías (2007) Arturo Salah (2007–08) Sergio Markarián (2009) José Basualdo (2009) Gerardo Pelusso (2010) Jorge Sampaoli (2011–)

Players

For a list of all former and current Universidad de Chile players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Universidad de Chile players.

2011 Torneo Clausura squad

As of 18 August 2011 ^[6][7] Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Esteban Conde 2 DF Marcos González (3rd captain) 3 DF Eugenio Mena 4 DF Osvaldo González 5 DF Albert Acevedo 6 DF Matías Rodríguez 7 FW Diego Rivarola (vice-captain) 8 FW Gabriel Vargas 9 FW Ángelo Henríquez 12 GK Carlos Alfaro 13 DF José Manuel Rojas (captain) 14 MF Alejandro Márquez 15 MF Guillermo Marino 16 FW Francisco Castro

No. Position Player 17 FW Eduardo Vargas 18 MF Nelson Rebolledo 19 FW Gustavo Canales 20 MF Charles Aránguiz 21 MF Marcelo Díaz 22 MF Gustavo Lorenzetti 23 DF Juan Abarca 24 MF Nicolás Maturana 25 GK Jhonny Herrera (4th captain) 26 MF Sebastián Leyton 27 MF Paulo Magalhaes 28 FW Felipe Gallegos 29 MF Sebastián Martínez 31 DF Igor Lichnovsky

2011 Copa Sudamericana squad

As of 9 August 2011 ^[8] Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Esteban Conde 2 DF Marcos González (3rd captain) 3 DF Eugenio Mena 4 DF Osvaldo González 5 DF Albert Acevedo 6 DF Matías Rodríguez 7 FW Diego Rivarola (vice-captain) 8 FW Gabriel Vargas 9 MF Alejandro Márquez 10 MF Sebastián Leyton 11 FW Felipe Gallegos 12 GK Carlos Alfaro 13 DF José Manuel Rojas (captain)

No. Position Player 14 MF Paulo Magalhaes 15 MF Guillermo Marino 16 FW Francisco Castro 17 FW Eduardo Vargas 18 MF Nelson Rebolledo 19 FW Gustavo Canales 20 MF Charles Aránguiz 21 MF Marcelo Díaz 22 MF Gustavo Lorenzetti 23 DF Juan Abarca 24 MF Nicolás Maturana 25 GK Jhonny Herrera

Out on Loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — GK Paulo Garcés (at Unión La Calera) — MF Mauricio Arias (at O'Higgins) — MF Gonzalo Novoa (at Deportes Copiapó) — MF Matías Pérez García (at All Boys)

No. Position Player — MF José Luis Silva (at Everton) — MF Manuel Iturra (at Real Murcia) — FW Adrián Faúndez (at Ñublense) — FW Mauricio Gómez (at Santiago Morning)

2011 Winter Transfers

In

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 4 DF Osvaldo González (from Toluca) 14 MF Alejandro Márquez (loaned from U. Temuco) 18 MF Nelson Rebolledo (from Huachipato)

No. Position Player 22 MF Gustavo Lorenzetti (from U. de Concepción) 27 MF Paulo Magalhaes (from Colo-Colo) — GK Paulo Garcés (from Universidad Católica)

Out

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 10 MF Matías Pérez García (loaned to All Boys) 12 DF Carlos Escobar (Unattached) 14 MF Felipe Seymour (to Genoa) 18 FW Edson Puch (to Al-Wasl) 22 MF José Contreras (to Huachipato) 27 FW Yamil Cortés (to Magallanes)

No. Position Player 32 MF José Luis Silva (loaned to Everton) — GK Miguel Pinto (to Atlas) — GK Paulo Garcés (loaned to Unión La Calera) — GK Christopher Casaretto (Unattached) — DF Rodrigo Jara (to Deportes Naval) — MF Manuel Iturra (loaned to Real Murcia)

Player Records

Individual Honours

Primera Division top scorers

• Víctor Alonso: 20 goals (1940)
• Ubaldo Cruche: 17 goals (1945), 25 goals (1946)
• Carlos Campos: 24 goals (1961), 34 goals (1962), 21 goals (1966)
• Eladio Zárate: 25 goals (1971)
• Richart Báez: 10 goals (Clausura 1997)
• Pedro González: 23 goals (1998), 26 goals (2000)

Copa Chile top scorers

• Luis Alberto Ramos: 12 goals (1979)
• Marcelo Salas: 12 goals (1994)

Chilean Footballer of the Year

• Juan Rodríguez: 1969
• Cristian Traverso: 1995
• Pedro González: 1999
• Sergio Vargas: 2000
• Miguel Pinto: 2009

America's Ideal Team

• Miguel Pinto: 2009

Notable Players

Argentina Raúl Aredes Sergio Gioino Walter Montillo Diego Rivarola Leonardo Rodríguez Matías Rodríguez Juan Carlos Sarnari Alejandro Scopelli Cristian Traverso Héctor Veira Brazil Arílson Chile Clarence Acuña Luis Álamos Víctor Alonso Ernesto Álvarez Pedro Araya Mauricio Aros Manuel Astorga José Balbuena Rodrigo Barrera Vladimir Bigorra

Carlos Campos Gustavo Canales Cristián Castañeda Víctor Hugo Castañeda Sandrino Castec Eduardo Gino Cofré Carlos Contreras Humberto Donoso Hugo Droguett Fabián Estay Luis Eyzaguirre Luis Pedro Figueroa Ronald Fuentes Pablo Galdames Rodrigo Goldberg Marcos González Pedro González Jhonny Herrera Roberto Hodge Héctor Hoffens Manuel Ibarra Manuel Iturra Rubén Marcos Patricio Mardones Luis Musrri

Braulio Musso Sergio Navarro Adolfo Nef Rafael Olarra Manuel Pellegrini Miguel Pinto Nelson Pinto David Pizarro Miguel Ponce Waldo Ponce Mariano Puyol Alberto Quintano Jaime Ramírez José Manuel Rojas Ricardo Rojas Arturo Salah Marcelo Salas Leonel Sánchez Felipe Seymour Eduardo Simián Jorge Socías Jorge Spedaletti Rodrigo Tello Esteban Valencia Eduardo Vargas

Sergio Vargas Alex Von Schwedler Oscar Wirth Patricio Yáñez Guillermo Yávar Colombia Herly Alcázar Faustino Asprilla Mayer Candelo Edison Mafla Paraguay Richart Báez Nelson Cuevas Rogelio Delgado Arnaldo Espínola Eladio Zárate Perú Flavio Maestri Uruguay Carlos Bueno Ubaldo Cruche Juan Manuel Olivera Mauricio Victorino

Honours

• Primera División: 14

1940, 1959, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2004-A, 2009-A, 2011-A

• Copa Chile: 3

1979, 1998, 2000

• Primera B: 1

1989

• Serie B: 2

1936, 1937

• Liguilla Pre-Libertadores: 2

1976, 1980

• Pre-Liguilla Libertadores: 1

1993

• 16 Participations in Copa Libertadores
• 2 Participations in Copa Conmebol
• 2 Participations in Copa Sudamericana
• 71 seasons in Primera División
• 1 season in Primera B

Official sponsors

• Adidas
• Claro
• Homecenter Sodimac

See also

• Universidad de Chile
• Los de Abajo
• Ballet Azul

References

1. ^ Inauguran remodelado Estadio Nacional
2. ^ Saludo del Presidente
3. ^ Cuerpo Técnico
4. ^ Juan Pablo Andrés and Eric Boesenberg. "Chile – List of Champions and Runners Up" (Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) ed.). http://www.rsssf.com/tablesc/chilechamp.html. Retrieved 2009-10-23. 
5. ^ Switch, Image (2009-10-17). "Universidad de Chile 2009/10 team kits". http://www.switchimageproject.com/2009/10/universidad-de-chile-200910-team-kits.html. Retrieved 2009-10-19. 
6. ^ Portal Equipo: Universidad de Chile
7. ^ Plantel Profesional
8. ^ Listas de Jugadores – Copa Bridgestone Sudamericana 2011

External links

• Official site