Club Universidad de Chile
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| Full name | Club de Fútbol Universidad de Chile | ||
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| Nickname(s) | La U, El Chuncho, El Bulla, El Romántico Viajero, El León | ||
| Founded | May 24, 1927 | ||
| Ground | Estadio Nacional de Santiago | ||
| Capacity | 77,500 | ||
| Chairman | Federico Valdés | ||
| Manager |  Arturo Salah | ||
| League | Primera División | ||
| 2007 Apertura | 13th | ||
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Club de Fútbol Universidad de Chile found in Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile is one of the most popular football clubs in Chile. The club is best known by their nickname "La U" (The U).
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, that was until 1980 when the unversity's rector and president of the club at the time (both of them appointed by the Pinochet regime) decided to separate the club from the university and created the CORFUCH to manage the football team. This move was a part of the autonomization of the Universidad de Chile that was made by the military dictatorship in order to strength the private universities that were born in that time and reduce the state power. This was a major blow to the club, because it was left with nothing but a loyal fan base. From then the club started to decline in the results and the economy as the other major clubs were helped by main powers as the government, the catholic church and Codelco. This led to the team's relegation to second division in 1988 and the threats of dissolve the club by the university if the team didn't come back to the first division in one year, but La "U" get the 2nd division championship of 1989 and then started a return to the greatness that suppressed all the previous penuries.
Some ties to the university remain: the club logo is the same as the university's sport logo, an owl, used in the university as a symbol of wisdom. The uniform colors are, like the university's colors, the same. And instead of the logo, the shirt has a big red U. Administratively, there were minor ties, for example, the previous university's rector said that the club must change the name if the directive want to make it a private property, also the best students to enter to the university receive a member card of the club.
In 2006 the club was declared in bankruptcy and received a law-imposed administration that was very criticized by the supporters, as the new chairman inmediately 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 businessman.
The new university's rector make a turn in the relationship with the club after the bankruptcy and allowed the use of the university's name and symbols in a private club in exchange of a royalty.
Popularity
The club has made a name for itself, not only through its victories (it is one of two teams in Chile with 12 national cups). The official supporters group of the club is Los de Abajo, a barra brava (ultras, but South American style).
Achievements
The team has achievements to match the adoration they receive and they won their first title in 1940, just 3 years after their professional debut. The team won six (59, 62, 64, 65, 67, 69) between 1959 and 1969 and the becamse known as the Blue Ballet in reference the beautiful style of football they played. Nine members of that team were part of the national team that reached 3rd place in the 1962 World Cup, the best result ever achieved by Chile.
After the golden age of the Blue Ballet, the club did not win another cup for 25 years, and in 1988 were relegated to the second division (they won that division and returned to the first division the following year). The team finally won another cup in 1994 after a spectacular final match for which 25,000 fans of "La U" arrived in El Salvador, a mining town populated by 5,000 people.
The following year "La U" won the cup again in the last match, this time in front of 80.000 people in the Estadio Nacional. After that the team won back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000 and then won the Apertura in 2004.
On the international stage "La U" have had a pair of good runs in Copa Libertadores, most notably in 1970 and 1996 when they reached the semifinals.
Honours
- Primera División
- Winners (12): 1940, 1959, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2004 (Apertura)
- Copa Chile
- Winners (3): 1979, 1998, 2000
- Primera B
- Winners (1): 1989
- 14 Participation in Copa Libertadores
- 2 Participation in Copa Conmebol
- 1 Participation in Copa Sudamericana
- 69 seasons in Primera División
- 1 seasons in Primera B
Records
- Record Primera División victory — 9-1 v. Magallanes (1962)
- Record Primera División defeat — 0-6 v. Colo Colo (1938)
- Most Primera División appearances — 451 Manuel Pellegrini(1973-1986)
- Record Unbeaten Matches in Primera Division (National Record) — 33 (1999)
- Record Straight Wins in Primera Division (National Record) — 16 (1963-1964)
- Highest attendance in Primera Division (National Record) — 85,268 v. Universidad Catolica (December 29, 1962)
All time top-5 scorers
(Primera Division games only)
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Current first team squad
As of June 27, 2007 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Future transfers for 2007/2008
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable players
Notable Coaches
Official sponsors
See also
External links |