Club Universidad de Chile

Club Universidad de Chile (Spanish pronunciation: [kluβuniβeɾsiˈðaððeˈtʃile]) is a professional football club based in Santiago, Chile, that plays in the Primera División.

Founded on 24 May 1927, Universidad de Chile is one of the most successful and popular football clubs in Chile, having won the league title 18 times. In the last 10 years, the team has been crowned champion six times, including their undefeated run to the 2011 Copa Sudamericana title. The team has been associated with the colour blue throughout its history, blue is present on the logo, which was officially adopted in 1943. The club rivalries are with Colo-Colo and Universidad Católica, with whom they regularly contest the Santiago derbies known as Superclásicos.

Despite not owning its stadium, the club usually rents and plays its home games at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, in the commune of Ñuñoa in Santiago.

Universidad de Chile was the champion of the Copa Sudamericana 2011. In this 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 reached semi-finals in the Copa Libertadores four times (years 1970, 1996, 2010 and 2012).

History

The club was founded on 24 May 1927, as Club Deportivo Universitario by the merger of Internado FC and Club Universitario de Deportes. 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 to strengthen the private universities that were founded 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 to 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 many club workers 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 for 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 2001–02 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 2001–02, Universidad de Chile's away kit consisted of a white jersey, shorts and socks, occasionally using blue shorts during the 1990s. In 2001–02, 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. 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.

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

The chuncho logo

The team's logo, a red and white chuncho (Austral pygmy owl), has its origins in the days of the Club Náutico Universitario which gave its emblem to the Club Universitario de Deportes (CUD), when was founded in 1927. The logo was taken from Germany by Pablo Ramírez Rodríguez, who turned into a Minister of Exchequer in 1945. The chuncho 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 chuncho logo was absent from the team's jersey starting in 1979, but made a return during the 1996–97 season. Since 2006–07, a small chuncho logo could be found on the jersey along with the red U.

Achievements

Universidad de Chile's first title was won in 1940, just 3 years after their professional debut. The team won six titles (1959, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1969) between 1959 and 1969 and they became known as the Blue Ballet in reference the beautiful style of football they played. Nine members of that squad were part of the Chilean national team that reached 3rd place in the 1962 FIFA World Cup, the best result ever achieved by Chile in a World Cup.

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 then win back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000.

More recently Universidad de Chile has won the Apertura in 2004, 2009, 2011 and 2014/2015, and Clausura in 2011 and 2016/2017. The 2011, the 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 by a 4–1 score.

On the international stage Universidad de Chile have had a few of good runs in Copa Libertadores, reaching the semi-finals in 1970, 1996, 2010, and 2012.

On 14 December 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".

Also, the team was named the most successful Chilean club of the 2010s, by winning a total of 9 titles in the whole decade. The achievement included 5 Primera División titles (2011 Apertura, 2011 Clausura, 2012 Apertura, 2014 Apertura and 2017 Clausura), 2 Copa Chile titles (2012–13 and 2015), the 2015 Supercopa and the 2011 Copa Sudamericana. Universidad de Chile also went on to win the 2024 Copa Chile and the 2025 Supercopa de Chile.

Records

• Record Primera División victory — 9–1 v. Magallanes (1962)
• Record Primera División defeat — 0–6 v. Colo-Colo (1938)
• Record Copa Chile victory — 10-0 v. Chimbarongo FC (2023)
• Most goals scored in Primera División — 184 Carlos Campos (1956–69)
• 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)
• Record Best Start in Primera Division (National Record) 9 straight wins (2011)
• Highest attendance in Primera Division (National Record) — 85,268 v. Universidad Catolica (29 December 1962)

Honours

• record
• S shared record

Regional

• Copa Unión de la Primera División de la Asociación de Football de Santiago Winners (1): 1923
• Copa Chile de la Primera División de la Asociación de Football de Santiago Winners (3): 1918, 1921, 1923
• Sección Uruguay de la Copa Chile de la Primera División de la Asociación de Football de Santiago Winners (1): 1923
• Serie B de la Copa Unión de la Asociación de Football de Santiago Winners (2): 1916, 1917
• Copa Independencia de la Segunda División de la Asociación de Football de Santiago Winners (2): Serie B 1916, Serie B 1917
• Copa El Diario Ilustrado del Campeonato Atlético de la Asociación de Football de Santiago Winners (1): 1916
• División de Honor de la Sección Amateur de la Asociación de Football de Santiago Winners (1): 1934
• Torneo Metropolitano de Chile Winners (2): 1968, 1969

Supporters and rivalries

Universidad de Chile is the second largest following club in the country, with appromiximately 21% of the total Chilean football fans according to research and surveys from 2018, published in September 2021 by Spanish newspaper agency AS.com.

Created on March 24, 1988 from the split and subsequent re-foundation of the Imperio Azul barra, it occupies the south gallery of the Estadio Nacional where the team plays its home games. Its name is inspired by the initial location (below) of the young members of the former barra. It is considered one of the biggest barras in football, in Chile it is known as "La Número Uno" (Number One), as well as having great recognition in Latin-America. They feud with other barra brava groups, most notably Garra Blanca of Colo-Colo and Los Cruzados of Universidad Católica.

Chilean Superclásico

Universidad de Chile's traditional rival is Colo-Colo, against which it plays the so-called Chilean Classic or Chilean Superclásico. Although the first confrontation between the two clubs dates back to 1935, the rivalry began to develop in the 1940s and 1950s, with the match played on 11 November 1959 being the climax of a series of disagreements between the two institutions. That match, valid for the definition of that year's title, ended with a 2-1 victory for Universidad de Chile, which was the first of a series of good results for the "Azules" over Colo-Colo. This, added to the dominance of Universidad de Chile in the national championship, only increased the rivalry. In recent years the rivalry between these teams has diminished, leaving Colo-Colo as superior to Universidad de Chile, and because of that, it has been considered as the "most unequal rivalry in the world."

Clásico Universitario

There is often a rivalry between the two clubs from academic roots, where the game between Universidad de Chile and Universidad Católica is known as "Clásico Universitario". It is the oldest confrontation between two clubs from academic roots, as the first confrontation goes back to the University Classic of 1909. Rivalry, both in sports and in academic issues, made these matches between the universities become more and more important, eventually reaching the national status of "Universities' Derby".

This clásico has been recognized by FIFA as the most traditional of Chile. They met for the first time on 13 June 1937 in matchday three of the first Serie B at the Estadio Militar. These two teams have played 21 head-to-head definitions against each other, Universidad Católica has won 14 and Universidad de Chile 7.

Players

Current Squad

As of 24 January 2026

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Youth Academy

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

2026 Summer transfers

In

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Player records

Individual honours

Primera Division top scorers

• Chile Víctor Alonso: 20 goals (1940)
• Uruguay Ubaldo Cruche: 17 goals (1945), 25 goals (1946)
• Chile Carlos Campos: 24 goals (1961), 34 goals (1962), 21 goals (1966)
• Paraguay Eladio Zárate: 25 goals (1971)
• Paraguay Richart Báez: 10 goals (Clausura 1997)
• Chile Pedro González: 23 goals (1998), 26 goals (2000)
• Chile Felipe Mora: 13 goals (Clausura 2017)

Copa Chile top scorers

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

Copa Sudamericana top scorers

• Chile Eduardo Vargas: 11 goals (2011)

Chilean Footballer of the Year

• Chile Sergio Navarro: 1961
• Chile Pedro Araya: 1966
• Chile Alberto Quintano: 1967
• Chile Adolfo Nef: 1969
• Chile Héctor Hoffens: 1989
• Chile Patricio Mardones: 1994
• Chile Pedro González: 1999
• Chile Sergio Vargas: 2000
• Chile Eduardo Vargas: 2011
• Chile Charles Aránguiz: 2012

Primera División Footballer of the Year

• Chile Juan Rodríguez: 1969
• Argentina Cristian Traverso: 1995
• Chile Pedro González: 1999
• Chile Sergio Vargas: 2000
• Chile Miguel Pinto: 2009
• Chile Eduardo Vargas: 2011
• Chile José Rojas: 2012

America's ideal team

• Chile Marcelo Salas: 1996
• Chile Miguel Pinto: 2009
• Uruguay Mauricio Victorino: 2010
• Chile Eduardo Vargas, Johnny Herrera & Marcos González: 2011
• Argentina Matías Rodríguez & Chile Charles Aránguiz: 2012

Most appearances

Top scorers

Managers

Current coaching staff

List of managers

• Chile Luis Tirado (1938-1941)
• Argentina Alejandro Scopelli (1941-1945)
• Chile Luis Tirado (1946-1949)
• Argentina Salvador Nocetti (1950)
• Argentina Alejandro Scopelli (1950-1952)
• Chile Miguel Busquets (1952)
• Hungary Jorge Ormos (1953-1954)
• Chile Luis Álamos (1954)
• Chile Luis Tirado (1955)
• Chile Luis Álamos (1956-1966)
• Chile Washington Urrutia (1966)
• Argentina Alejandro Scopelli (1967-1968)
• Chile Washington Urrutia (1968)
• Chile Ulises Ramos (1969-1974)
• Chile Braulio Musso (1974)
• Chile Hugo Tassara (1975)
• Chile Luis Ibarra (1975-1977)
• Chile Nelson Oyarzún (1978)
• Chile Ulises Ramos (1978)
• Chile Fernando Riera (1978-1980)
• Chile Manuel Rodríguez Vega (1981)
• Chile Ulises Ramos (1981)
• Chile Fernando Riera (1981-1982)
• Chile Luis Santibáñez (1983)
• Chile Ulises Ramos (1983-1984)
• Chile Hernán Carrasco (1984)
• Chile Luis Ibarra (1985)
• Chile Leonel Sánchez (1985-1986)
• Chile Fernando Riera (1987)
• Chile Leonel Sánchez (1987)
• Chile Alberto Quintano (1987)
• Chile Manuel Pellegrini (1988-1989)
• Chile Luis Ibarra (1989)
• Chile Manuel Rodríguez Vega (1990)
• Chile Pedro Morales (1990-1991)
• Chile Alberto Quintano (1991)
• Chile Arturo Salah (1992-1994)
• Chile Jorge Socias (1994-1995)
• Argentina Miguel Ángel Russo (1996)
• Chile Roberto Hernández (1997-1998)
• Chile César Vaccia (1999-2001)
• Chile Víctor Hugo Castañeda (2002-2003)
• Chile Héctor Pinto (2004-2005)
• Chile Gustavo Huerta (2006)
• Argentina Salvador Capitano (2007)
• Chile Jorge Socias (2007)
• Chile Arturo Salah (2007-2008)
• Uruguay Sergio Markarián (2009)
• Argentina José Basualdo (2009)
• Uruguay Gerardo Pelusso (2010)
• Argentina Jorge Sampaoli (2011-2012)
• Argentina Darío Franco (2013)
• Chile Marco Antonio Figueroa (2013-2014)
• Chile Cristián Romero (2014)
• Uruguay Martín Lasarte (2014-2015)
• Argentina Sebastian Beccacece (2016)
• Chile Víctor Hugo Castañeda (2016)
• Argentina Ángel Guillermo Hoyos (2017-2018)
• Chile Esteban Valencia (2018)
• Argentina Frank Darío Kudelka (2018-2019)
• Uruguay Alfredo Arias (2019)
• Argentina Chile Hernán Caputto (2019-2020)
• Chile Marcelo Jara (2020)
• Venezuela Rafael Dudamel (2020-2021)
• Chile Esteban Valencia (2021)
• Chile Cristián Romero (2021)
• Colombia Santiago Escobar (2022)
• Chile Sebastián Miranda (2022)
• Uruguay Diego López (2022)
• Chile Sebastián Miranda (2022)
• Argentina Mauricio Pellegrino (2023)
• Argentina Gustavo Álvarez (2024-2025)
• Argentina Francisco Meneghini (2026-)

Average home attendances of Universidad de Chile

2016–17 Clausura: 33,466

2016–17 Apertura: 30,041

2015–16 Clausura: 19,641

2015–16 Apertura: 12,901

See also

• Universidad de Chile
• Los de Abajo
• Ballet Azul

External links

• on FIFA.com (archived 22 October 2011)