The club's all time top scorer isCarlos Caszely with 208 goals, and the player with most appearances is the former defenderLizardo Garrido with 560 games.Luis Mena, dubbed the "historic one", won eleven titles for the club, a Chilean league record.[7]
Colo-Colo is the most supported team in Chile.[8] According toCONMEBOL, it is considered the most popular sports club in Chile with more than 7 million fans as of April 2016.[9] Colo-Colo holds a long-standing rivalry withUniversidad de Chile. The club also holds a traditional rivalry in matches againstCobreloa andUniversidad Católica. TheIFFHS ranked the team in 14th place in2007.[10] In2009, the IFFHS also named the team as the top club in Chile for the 20th century, and one of the top twenty clubs in South American football history.[11]
David Arellano, the founder of the clubOne of the first Colo-Colo line-ups, 1925
The team was founded in early 1925 byMagallanes' footballerDavid Arellano, who led a group of young players leaving that club after institutional problems.[12][13] Finally, after meetings and negotiations, on 19 April 1925 Arellano and the other youths officially established the club, with Luis Contreras choosing the name "Colo-Colo" for the club, in reference to the legendarycacique (chieftain)Colo Colo of theMapuche people, who fought against the colonial Spaniards in the 16th-centuryArauco War.[14]
Initially the team played friendly games, but in 1926 Colo-Colo took part in their first competition, theMetropolitan League of Honour, where they were proclaimed champions (unbeaten) and earned the nickname of "invincible".[15] The following year, Colo-Colo became the first Chilean football team to participate in a tour across Europe. However, on 2 May, during an exhibition match againstReal Unión Deportiva atValladolid, the team founder and captain David Arellano was critically injured after suffering a collision with an opposing player, which caused himperitonitis.[16] The inflammation led him to his death the next day.[17] Despite the great impact caused by Arellano's death, the club won theCentral League of football tournament – then renamedAsociación de Football de Santiago – in the 1928,[18] 1929[19] and 1930[20] seasons.
In the 1931–32 season, Colo-Colo suffered its first institutional crisis due to financial problems, which led to a salary reduction for first team footballers and board members, with their consequent resistance.[21] That season the team played another tournament final againstAudax Italiano. However, due to a platform collapse at Estadio Italiano and the subsequent fracas between the fans, it was decided that the game would be suspended. In that moment, Colo-Colo were winning 2–1. That day's tragedy resulted in 130 injuries and three deaths.[22] The match was cancelled and the champion position for that year remained vacant.[22] Other authors however declared that bothAudax Italiano and Colo-Colo were declared champions.[23][24]
In 1933, Colo-Colo alongside six clubs fromSantiago decided to create theChilean professional football league.[25] On 23 July, the team won theCampeonato de Apertura (Copa Chile precursor), after defeating 2–1 toUnión Española.[25] However, in the firstPrimera División official tournament, Colo-Colo finished first alongsideMagallanes, which forced the "Cacique" to play a tie-breaker match. That match was lost 2–1 by Colo-Colo.[26] In 1937 the team was undefeated,[27] and reached its first league title.[28] Two seasons later, in 1939, Colo-Colo won the league title for a second time, now under the guidance of the Hungarian coachFrancisco Platko,[29] and withAlfonso Domínguez as goalscorer with 20 goals in 24 matches.[30] After another title in 1941 with Platko as coach,[31] the club went on to win the titles of 1944[32] and 1947.[33] The following year Colo-Colo organized theSouth American Club Championship –Copa Libertadores background – in Santiago,[34] which brought together the 1947 continent's champions. In 1945, the club had the worst season in its history, finishing penultimate in eleventh place only ahead of weakBadminton.[35]
In the early 1950s, club's president Antonio Labán hiredNewcastle United strikerGeorge Robledo, paying£25,000 for its signing.[36] Robledo's performances led the team to the titles of 1953[37] and 1956.[38] During that age, the club acquired a terrain atMacul, where began the construction ofEstadio Monumental.[39] Besides the acquisition, the directive invested in a headquarters located atSantiago Centro (located at Cienfuegos 41) in 1953. The next decade Colo-Colo win the titles of 1960[40] and 1963.[41] The 1963 team broke two top-tier records:Luis Hernán Álvarez scored 37 goals in a single season[42] (the highest number of goals scored by a Colo-Colo footballer during a season)[42] and the netting of the highest number of goals scored by a club in a season (130).[43] The team won its tenth honour in 1970.[44]
In 1972, under the orders of coachLuis Álamos[45] and boasting star players in play makerFrancisco Valdés and goal scorerCarlos Caszely,[46] the club won another championship.[47] It also obtained the country's highest average attendance record of 45,929 people for a single league season.[48] That team was the spine of the aptly-named "Colo-Colo 73" side that captured the nation's heart becoming the first Chilean side to reach a Copa Libertadores final, where it lost toIndependiente of Argentina.[49] After Colo-Colo's brilliant Copa campaign, the club fell into an institutional crisis unable to replicate its success on the pitch failing to win another league title until 1979.[50] That team featured the talented Brazilian midfielderSeverino Vasconcelos alongside Carlos Caszely returning from his stint in Spanish football.[51] Nevertheless, in 1975, the construction of Estadio Monumental was completed and the stadium was inaugurated in a league match againstDeportes Aviación, but due to problems with infrastructure and other basic services the stadium was closed indefinitely.
In the 1980s, the club obtained the league titles of 1981 and 1983[52] with coachPedro García, and the 1986[53] and 1989[54] honours underArturo Salah. The 1987Alianza Lima air disaster claimed the lives of sixteen players and Colo-Colo was the first to help the Peruvian giants, loaning 4 players.[55] Nonetheless, the team won four Copa Chile titles in that decade. During that period, the greatest disappointment was at continental level with the team only reaching the group stage in the1988 Copa Libertadores. On 30 September 1989, the Estadio Monumental was re-inaugurated with an exhibition match againstPeñarol, which Colo-Colo won 2–1[3] with goals byMarcelo Barticciotto andLeonel Herrera, the son of a legendary 1970s former defender of the same name.
The 1990s was the most successful decade in the club's history gaining both domestic and international titles.Eduardo Menichetti was president of the club between 1990–1995[56] and CroatianMirko Jozić arrived as coach, leading the team towards its firstBicampeonato for winning two national championship league titles in a row.[57] On 5 June 1991, after beatingOlimpia 3–0 at the Monumental with two goals scored byLuis Pérez and one byLeonel Herrera, Colo-Colo became the first Chilean team to win aCopa Libertadores. That same season, the "Albos" lost theIntercontinental Cup final 3-0 against Yugoslav giantsRed Star Belgrade, in Tokyo.[58] At local level, the club won the 1991 league season, its third-consecutive title thus achieving its firstTricampeonato.[59] The following season, the club won theRecopa Sudamericana, after beating Brazil'sCruzeiro in a penalty shootout, and also obtained theCopa Interamericana, after winning 3–1 againstPuebla in Mexico. The last title won by Jozić in Colo-Colo was the 1993 league title, thus closing a successful spell in South America.[60]
After Jozić's departure came a brief drought in national league titles, but the team managed to achieve an unforgettable 3–0 win over arch rivals Universidad de Chile in the 1995 season. Colo-Colo lifted the 1994Copa Chile title and reached the1994 Copa Libertadores quarterfinals. The following season saw the arrival of Paraguayan coachGustavo Benítez, who obtained the 1996,[61] 1997-C[62] and 1998[63] league titles. The team advanced to the semifinals of theSupercopa Libertadores in1996, and of the Copa Libertadores in1997, eliminated on both occasions by Cruzeiro. In 1999, Colo-Colo relived its fortunes like in the 1994 season, finishing fourth in the Chilean league and going through three coaches in the same season: BrazilianNelsinho Baptista, caretaker coach Carlos Durán and thenFernando Morena of Uruguay, who remained until 2001.
In 1999, after Benítez's departure, the club entered a serious financial crisis. On 23 January 2002, after years of economic mismanagement under the leadership of Peter Dragicevic as president,[64] the club was declared bankrupt. A court judge named Juan Carlos Saffie as bankruptcy trustee and administrator responsible for the institution not lose its legal status.[64] Despite the bankruptcy, underJaime Pizarro as coach – key player in the obtaining of the1991 Copa Libertadores – "Los Albos" won theTorneo de Clausura, with a playing squad composed almost completely of youth players.[65] Three years later, in 2005, the joint-stock company Blanco y Negro[66] took over the administration, acquiring all club assets for thirty years in exchange for paying all outstanding debts through a concessionaire and undergoing an opening process enlisting at theSantiago Stock Exchange.[64] In the first half of 2006, the judiciary court lifted its bankruptcy.[64]
With the ArgentineClaudio Borghi appointed coach in 2006, and with players likeMatías Fernández andHumberto Suazo, Colo-Colo played scintillating football and obtained theBicampeonato winning theApertura[67] andClausura tournaments.[68] The squad reached another international final, theCopa Sudamericana, losing 2–1 to Mexico'sPachuca. That season,El Cacique was recognized in the month of October by theIFFHS as the world's club of the month.[69] The following season Colo-Colo won two more consecutive tournaments, winning aTetracampeonato for winning four back-to-back championships, being the first Chilean team to achieve the feat.[70]
After Borghi's departure, the club obtained its 28th title defeatingPalestino in the2008 Torneo de Clausura finals under the coaching ofMarcelo Barticciotto, and withLucas Barrios as its top goal scorer, who equaled the goal tally record of Luis Hernán Álvarez scored by a Colo-Colo footballer during a single season with 37 goals.[71] The following season, the club became the first professional team to play in Rapa NuiEaster Island.[72] After a poorTorneo de Apertura 2009 – not reaching the play-offs for the first time – "Los Albos" started the Clausura or Closing Championship very poorly and languishing in the table standings in the relegation spots. The team however reached the tournament play-off finals against Universidad Católica, beating them 4–2 at theSanta Laura, with players likeEsteban Paredes,Macnelly Torres andEzequiel Miralles, coached byHugo Tocalli.[73] Colo-Colo's following championship was in2014 after winning theTorneo de Clausura. It was the team's 30th Chilean League title.
The club's badge representsMapuche chieftainColo Colo, an important Wall Mapu member who fought in theArauco War against theSpanish empire (1536–1818).[74] On 19 April 1925, when the club was established, Luis Contreras – one of the players that founded the club – defined the team's badge, in representation of the chief and the country's indigenous people.
Throughout its history, Colo-Colo's uniform has been a white shirt and black shorts. The uniform was originally designed by Juan Quiñones following the recommendations ofDavid Arellano.
In 1927, after Arellano's death while playing against Real Unión Deportiva (currentlyReal Valladolid), it was decided then that the badge will wear a black horizontal band over it forever, to represent the institution's eternal mourning.
The team's away kits have varied through its history, from green between 1927 and the mid-1970s and to red from 1975 to 1988.
Colo-Colo initially played on a field called Estadio El Llano but in January 1928 moved to theCampos de Sports de Ñuñoa. The team later moved toEstadio Nacional where it played from 1939 to the late 1980s. In 1946 the club bought a stadium fromCarabineros de Chile – then calledFortín Mapocho – which was closed according security reasons. It was intended to build a 30,000-seat stadium at the site. However, a municipal ordinance prohibited construction in the area. For that reason, Colo-Colo sold the stadium in order to raise funds for the futureEstadio Monumental.
In 1956, club's president Antonio Labán acquired a 28 ha terrain atMacul, close to the intersection betweenVicuña Mackenna and Departamental. The new stadium was originally planned with a capacity of 120,000. Due to the work's high cost and lack of a government subsidy the project was halted. In 1960, after Chile's successful proposition to hold theWorld Cup, several congressmen proposed to build a 52,000-seat stadium at Colo-Colo's site. However, the9.5 Valdivia earthquake and a willingness from congress stopped the initiative.
Colo-Colo's brilliant campaigns in 1972 and 1973 allowed the stadium construction to resume. It was inaugurated in a league match 1975 which Colo-Colo win 1–0 overDeportes Aviación withJuan Carlos Orellana, who become the first player to score a goal in Monumental's history.[75] However, the stadium was closed due to lack of basic services and infrastructure. It was not reopened until 1989 thanks toHugo Rubio's transfer toBologna which allowed the club to receiveUS$1 million to repair the problems mentioned. The stadium was calledMonumentalDavid Arellano in honour of its founder and its definitive inauguration was in a match against Uruguay'sPeñarol which Colo-Colo won 2–1.[3]
Monumental's public record attendance was in 1992 for a derby match withUniversidad de Chile which registered an attendance of 70,000 fans approximately.[76] That record was closely followed in August 1993 during a 2–0 exhibition match win overReal Madrid with a 67,543 attendance.[77] Several remodeling works and stricter security brought down the total capacity to 47,347.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Colo-Colo is the club with the largest following in Chile, with approximately 42% of the totalChilean football fans according to research published in August 2012 by Spanish newspaper agencyMarca.[79] The study showed a 4% growth in comparison to 2006 research by Fundación Futuro that ranked the club in first place with the 38% of the preferences, leaving its rival Universidad de Chile in second place.[80]
The Chilean football club with the highest number of followers on social media as of June 2020 was Colo-Colo, with 4.2 million followers. Arch-rivalsClub Universidad de Chile ranked second with 2.1 million followers on social networks.[81]
Since the early 1960s, the club has had organized fan groups, which evolved in the mid-1980s into the so-calledGarra Blanca. They attended Colo-Colo's games and generally rioted, especially in derbies, turningEstadio Monumental surroundings into battlefields against themilitary police. In 2000, the group was declared asBarra brava.
Colo-Colo's traditional rival isUniversidad de Chile, against which it plays the so-called Chilean Classic orChilean 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."
Larraín, Fernando (1940).Club Deportivo Magallanes. Memorias Históricas. Santiago: Tall. de Molina Lackington y Cia.
Jaime, Drapkin S. (1952).Historia de Colo-Colo Club de Deportes 1925–1952. Without editorial indication.
Jaime, Marín, Edgardo y Salviat, Julio (1975).De David a "Chamaco": medio siglo de goles. Santiago: Editorial Nacional Gabriela Mistral.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
Historia del fútbol chileno. Tomo 2. La Nación. 1985.
Salinas Gaete, Sebastián (2004).Por Empuje Y Coraje. Los Albos en la época amateur 1925–1933.Santiago: Central de Estadísticas Deportivas (Cedep).ISBN956-299-125-3.
