Club Universidad de Chile
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| Full name | Club Universidad de Chile | ||
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| Nickname(s) | La U (The U) Los Azules (The Blues) El Chuncho (The Owl) El Bulla (The Noise) El Romántico Viajero (The Romantic Traveler) El León (The Lion) |
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| Founded | May 24, 1927 | ||
| Ground | Estadio Nacional Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile (Capacity: 49,000 [1]) |
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| President | Federico Valdés [2] | ||
| Manager | Jorge Sampaoli [3] | ||
| League | Primera División | ||
| 2011 Clausura | 1st Place Playoffs Champions |
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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 one of the most successful and popular football clubs in Chile, having won the league title 15 times.[4] In the last 10 years, the team has been crowned champion four 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 Guadalajara of Mexico during the 2010 Copa Libertadores Semifinals.
In december of 2011, Universidad de Chile won the Copa Sudamericana (2011), achieving the first international title of its history. In the tournament, the club had an excellent performance: wasn't defeated, won all their matches in Chile and had the top scorer of the tournament's history (Eduardo Vargas).
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 also has a women’s team that plays in the first division of women's football in Chile.
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[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Colours and logo
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 since 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.
[edit] Rivalries
Universidad de Chile's rivalry with Colo Colo Chilean clubs. Another rivalry which is dubbed the Clásico Universitario puts the Universidad de Chile against their historical rivals Universidad Católica.
[edit] Popularity
The club has made a name for itself, becoming one of top-two teams in Chile with 15 national league 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.
[edit] 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.
On December 14, 2011 they defeated Liga De Quito from Ecuador 3-0 (4-0 on aggregate) to win the Copa Sudamericana, becoming the third chilean team to win a South American tournament, behind Colo Colo's 1991 Copa Libertadores and Universidad Catolica's 1994¨Copa Interamericana. In the tournament, the club had an excellent performance (undefeated, and winning all their matches in Chile), and was nicknamed the "South America's FC Barcelona".[6]
[edit] Records
- 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)
[edit] All-time Top scorers in Primera División
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[edit] Managers
[edit] Players
As of 15 February 2011[8] Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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[edit] 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.
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[edit] 2012 Summer Transfers
[edit] In
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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[edit] Out
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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[edit] Player Records
[edit] Individual Honours
[edit] 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)
[edit] Copa Chile top scorers
Luis Alberto Ramos: 12 goals (1979)- Marcelo Salas: 12 goals (1994)
[edit] Chilean Footballer of the Year
- Sergio Navarro: 1961
- Pedro Araya: 1966
- Alberto Quintano: 1967
- Adolfo Nef: 1969
- Héctor Hoffens: 1989
- Patricio Mardones: 1994
- Pedro González: 1999
- Sergio Vargas: 2000
- Eduardo Vargas: 2011
[edit] Primera División Footballer of the Year
- Juan Rodríguez: 1969
- Cristian Traverso: 1995
- Pedro González: 1999
- Sergio Vargas: 2000
- Miguel Pinto: 2009
- Eduardo Vargas: 2011
[edit] America's Ideal Team
- Miguel Pinto: 2009
- Mauricio Victorino: 2010
- Eduardo Vargas, Jhonny Herrera & Marcos González: 2011
[edit] Notable Players
[edit] Honours
- Primera División: 15
- Copa Chile: 3
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- 1979, 1998, 2000
- Primera B: 1
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- 1989
- Liguilla Pre-Libertadores: 2
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- 1976, 1980
- 17 Participations in Copa Libertadores
- 5 Participations in Copa Sudamericana
- 2 Participations in Copa Conmebol
- 71 seasons in Primera División
- 1 season in Primera B
[edit] Official sponsors
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Inauguran remodelado Estadio Nacional
- ^ Saludo del Presidente
- ^ Cuerpo Técnico
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Francis Fields. "Brazilian media praise visiting Universidad de Chile as "South America's Barcelona team"" (Socceranchor ed.). http://socceranchor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3177:brazilian-media-praise-visiting-universidad-de-chile-as-qsouth-americas-barcelona-teamq&catid=57:latest-news&Itemid=168. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
- ^ Los Goleadores Azules - Los Nombres del Gol
- ^ Plantel Profesional
[edit] External links
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