Chilean Primera División
| Countries | Chile |
|---|---|
| Confederation | CONMEBOL |
| Founded | 1933 |
| Number of teams | 18 |
| Levels on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Primera B |
| Domestic cup(s) | Copa Chile |
| International cup(s) | Copa Libertadores Copa Sudamericana |
| Current champions | Colo-Colo (2009 Clausura) |
| Most championships | Colo-Colo (29 titles) |
 2010 season |
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The Primera División del Fútbol Profesional Chileno (English: Chilean First Division of Professional Football) is the top level of Chilean football, and main component of the Chilean football league system. It is organized by the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (English: National Association of Professional Football) and is currently ranked 14th in the IFFHS Best Leagues of the World ranking.[1] The current tournament is 2009 Clausura. In 2010, the league is also known as Campeonato Nacional Petrobras.
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Format
Resembling the Primera División Mexicana league system, the Chilean First Division is currently played by 18 teams, which play two single-round tournaments per season.
First, the Apertura tournament is played (usually held between January and June), and then is followed by the Clausura tournament (between July and December). For each Apertura and Clausura tournament, a single round-robin tournament, called the regular phase, is played first. Afterwards, a post-season play-off begins, where the best eight teams in each single-round tournament eliminate each other in the knockout tournament format in two-leg aggregate-score. In this way, there are two champions per season.
The Chilean League of Football has never been regular in terms of their tournament systems. Traditionally, the League had consisted in one annual, double round-robin tournament, with the addition of a Cup, but the number of contesting teams and League format has varied throughout the years, until the adoption of the Mexican system in 2002.
Relegation and promotion
Very much like the tournament format, the relegation/promotion (to Primera B) has changed throughout the years.
Currently, the three teams with the worst scores in the complete season (including Apertura and Clausura, but excluding the play-off stage), are relegated to Primera B, and replaced by the Champions and Runners-up of this Division, making the number of participating teams for the 2008 season equal to 20. There is also a Relegation Playoff Tournament, played in a home-and-away basis by the team who finishes 18° in the First Division, and the teams who finish 3° and 4° in the Primera B.
Qualification for International competitions
The champions of the Apertura and Clausura of each season are immediately qualified to Copa Libertadores for the next year. The third Chilean spot in that tournament is used by the team with the highest score in the Clausura regular phase (that is, excluding the play-offs).
For the Copa Sudamericana, the qualification system changes every year. For the 2007 season, a small tournament was played by the top four teams in the Apertura. The winners of that tournament (Colo-Colo and Audax Italiano) qualified for Copa Sudamericana 2007.
History
The dawn of football in Chile
Football arrived at Chile during the last decades of the nineteenth century. At first, football was played at some port cities, and with the highest popularity in Valparaiso, Coquimbo, Antofagasta, Iquique and Talcahuano. Originally, football was not so popular in Santiago, the capital of Chile, but soon the popularity was comparable to the aforementioned areas.
On June 19, 1895, the Football Association of Chile (FAC) was established in Valparaiso. It was the first organization trying to co-ordinate the existing clubs of the city to contest in ordinary competitions. Valparaíso F.C., Victoria Rangers, Mac Kay and Sutherland Athletic, Chilean F.C. joined, upon Santiago National Athletic, Santiago Rangers, Valparaíso Wanderers and National F.C. were united quickly.
On May 23, 1906, the Asociación de Fútbol de Santiago (AFS) was set up in Santiago to organize competition in the capital, whereas the FAC changed its name to the Spanish version Asociación de Fútbol de Chile, on September 14, 1912, to unite various regional associations. In the early twenties, there arose the Federación de Football de Chile as the competing organization of Asociación de Fútbol de Chile. The problem between the two bodies caused FIFA to remove Chile's membership in 1925. As a result, the two organizations merged on January 24, 1926, forming the present Federación de Fútbol de Chile (FFCh).
Professionalism
Football was played in different local associations in an amateur manner until the twentieth century, when football started to turn professional in Valparaíso and Santiago, where football competitions were consistently at the prominent level in Chile at that time. Chilean football truly professionalized in the 1930s. At that time, different teams paid salaries to their players, despite being illegal, and this phenomenon occurred even on international level. In 1933, eight big clubs at that time, namely, Unión Española, Badminton, Colo-Colo, Audax Italiano, Green Cross, Morning Star, Magallanes and Santiago National, left the ASF over a dispute on salaries policy, and used the reduced percentage of their income which originally had to submit to the AFS to found the Liga Profesional de Football de Santiago (LPF) on May 31, 1933. The newly formed body was recognized by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile on June 2, 1933.
The first edition of professional competition was contested by the eight founding teams and was won by Magallanes after defeating Colo-Colo in a decisive match. In the following year, according to the disposition of Federación de Fútbol de Chile, Liga Profesional returned to integrate with the AFS. Like part of the negotiations for reunification, four teams from AFS, namely, Ferroviarios, Carlos Walker, Deportivo Alemán, and Santiago F.C., would join the 1934 professional competition. Moreover, it was also decided that the last six teams in the 1934 competition would be eliminated to form the new second division in 1935. The title of the 1934 edition was again clinched by Magallanes, which won 10 out of the 11 matches this year.[2]
Club de Fútbol Universidad de Chile and Club Deportivo Universidad Católica entered to compete in 1938 and 1939, and obtained their first titles in 1940 and 1949, respectively.
The professional competition was confined to teams from Santiago at the first few years. Santiago Wanderers joined the league in 1937 and was the first club in the league coming from other regions. However, its participation in the league was just occasional and it did not contest in the league in the following years, until it rejoined the league with Everton de Viña del Mar, its classic rival, in 1944. Everton de Viña del Mar captured the title in 1950, becoming the first national champions not coming from the capital city. Not until 1953 did a third team from other areas, Rangers de Talca, was admitted to the league, after which had been crowned the runners-up of the second division in 1952.
Diverse formats
The lack of regularity of format has been one of the characteristics of the Chilean football league. Since the first edition, a variable number of teams had taken part in the competition under different formats, so no any single format had been adopted for a long time. One of the major problems in the early years was the small number of competing teams. With merely a few teams, it was difficult to schedule matches throughout the year. In order to tackle this problem, the Torneos de Apertura (Opening Tournament) format was derived. For every year, an Apertura tournament was played before the Campeonato Oficial (Official Competition), so that more matches could be played.
In the following years, the formats kept changing, as well as the number of contesting teams. Initially, there were only seven teams, then it increased to 18 between 1962 and 1980, and 16 between 1987 and 2003, although in 1984 26 teams competed, and in 2008 the competition reduced to 20 teams.
The modern format and controversy
Since 2002, the format of Primera División de México was adopted, with a short single round-robin and play-off to determine the winner, crowning two champions every year. (Apertura and Clausura tournament)
This format has been criticized by some of the teams and fans, who indicate that the champions was not always the best team of the league, since play-offs are considered a tournament on their own.[3]
Nonetheless, the leader of the league indicated that the format has managed to arouse the emotion of the matches, especially in decisive rounds, and the attendance of the matches has been increasing in recent years.
Current teams
There are currently 18 teams playing the Primera División for the 2010 season
| Name | Home city | Foundation | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audax Italiano | Santiago (La Florida) | November 30, 1910 | Municipal de La Florida | 12,000 |
| Cobreloa | Calama | January 7, 1977 | Municipal de Calama | 20,180 |
| Cobresal | El Salvador | May 5, 1979 | El Cobre | 20,752 |
| Colo-Colo | Santiago (Macul) | April 19, 1925 | Monumental David Arellano | 47,017 |
| Deportes La Serena | La Serena | December 9, 1955 | La Portada | 18,000 |
| Everton | Viña del Mar | June 24, 1909 | Sausalito | 18,037 |
| Huachipato | Talcahuano | June 7, 1947 | CAP | 10,500 |
| Ñublense | Chillán | August 20, 1916 | Nelson Oyarzún | 12,000 |
| O'Higgins | Rancagua | April 7, 1955 | El Teniente | 14,450 |
| Palestino | Santiago (La Cisterna) | August 20, 1920 | Municipal de La Cisterna | 12,000 |
| San Luis | Quillota | December 8, 1919 | Lucio Fariña Fernández | 7,500 |
| Santiago Morning | Santiago (La Pintana) | October 16, 1903 | Estadio Municipal de La Pintana | 6,000 |
| Santiago Wanderers | Valparaíso | August 15, 1892 | Regional Chiledeportes | 18,500 |
| Unión Española | Santiago (Independencia) | May 18, 1897 | Santa Laura | 22,000 |
| Unión San Felipe | San Felipe | October 16, 1956 | Municipal de San Felipe | 12,000 |
| Universidad Católica | Santiago (Las Condes) | April 21, 1937 | San Carlos de Apoquindo | 18,000 |
| Universidad de Chile | Santiago (Ñuñoa) | May 24, 1927 | Nacional de Chile | 49,000 |
| Universidad de Concepción | Concepción | August 8, 1994 | Municipal de Concepción | 35,000 |
Champions
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Third Place | Topscorer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Magallanes | Colo Colo | Badminton F.C. | Luis Carvallo (Colo-Colo (9) |
| 1934 | Magallanes | Audax Italiano | Colo Colo | Carlos Giuduce (Audax Italiano) (19) |
| 1935 | Magallanes | Audax Italiano | Badminton F.C. | Aurelio Domínguez (Colo-Colo) (12)
Guillermo Ogaz (Magallanes) (12) |
| 1936 | Audax Italiano | Magallanes | Colo Colo |  Hernán Bolaños (Audax Italiano) (14) |
| 1937 | Colo-Colo | Magallanes | Unión Española | Hernán Bolaños (Audax Italiano) (16) |
| 1938 | Magallanes | Audax Italiano | Colo Colo | Gustavo Pizarro (Badminton) (17) |
| 1939 | Colo-Colo | Santiago Morning | Audax Italiano | Alfonso Domínguez (Colo-Colo) (32) |
| 1940 | Universidad de Chile | Audax Italiano | Santiago National | Victor Alonso (Universidad de Chile) (20)
Pedro Valenzuela (Magallanes) (20) |
| 1941 | Colo-Colo | Santiago Morning | Audax Italiano |  José Profetta (Santiago National) (19) |
| 1942 | Santiago Morning | Magallanes | Colo Colo | Domingo Romo (Santiago Morning) (16) |
| 1943 | Unión Española | Colo-Colo | Magallanes | Luis Machuca (Unión Española) (17)
Victor Mancilla Universidad Católica (17) |
| 1944 | Colo-Colo | Audax Italiano | Magallanes | Juan Alcantara (Audax Italiano) (19)
Alfonso Domínguez (Colo-Colo) (19) |
| 1945 | Green Cross | Unión Española | Universidad de Chile |  Ubaldo Cruche (Universidad de Chile) (17)
Hugo Giorgi (Audax Italiano) (17)
|
| 1946 | Audax Italiano | Magallanes | Universidad de Chile | Ubaldo Cruche Universidad de Chile) (25) |
| 1947 | Colo-Colo | Audax Italiano | Universidad de Chile | Apolonides Vera (Santiago National) (17) |
| 1948 | Audax Italiano | Unión Española | Colo-Colo | Juan Zarate (Audax Italiano) (22) |
| 1949 | Universidad Católica | Santiago Wanderers | Audax Italiano | Mario Lorca (Unión Española) (20) |
| 1950 | Everton | Unión Española | Colo Colo | Félix Díaz (Green Cross (21) |
| 1951 | Unión Española | Audax Italiano | Colo-Colo | Rubén Aguilera (Santiago Morning) (21)
Carlos Tello (Audax Italiano) (21) |
| 1952 | Everton | Colo-Colo | Ferrobadminton | René Meléndez (Everton) (30) |
| 1953 | Colo-Colo | Palestino | Audax Italiano | Jorge Robledo (Colo-Colo) (26) |
| 1954 | Universidad Católica | Colo-Colo | Audax Italiano | Jorge Robledo (Colo-Colo) (25) |
| 1955 | Palestino | Colo-Colo | Universidad de Chile | Nicolas Moreno (Green Cross) (27) |
| 1956 | Colo-Colo | Santiago Wanderers | Rangers | Guillermo Villarroel (O'Higgins) (19) |
| 1957 | Audax Italiano | Universidad de Chile | Palestino | Gustavo Albella (Green Cross) (27) |
| 1958 | Santiago Wanderers | Colo-Colo | Deportes La Serena | Gustavo Albella (Green Cross) (23) Carlos Verdejo (Deportes La Serena) (23) |
| 1959 | Universidad de Chile | Colo-Colo | Santiago Wanderers | José Benito Rios (O'Higgins) (22) |
| 1960 | Colo-Colo | Santiago Wanderers | Universidad de Chile | Juan Falcon (Palestino) (21) |
| 1961 | Universidad Católica | Universidad de Chile | Colo Colo | Carlos Campos (Universidad de Chile (24)
Honorino Landa (Unión Española) (24) |
| 1962 | Universidad de Chile | Universidad Católica | Colo-Colo | Carlos Campos (Universidad de Chile) (34) |
| 1963 | Colo-Colo | Universidad de Chile | Deportes La Serena | Luis Hernán Álvarez (Colo-Colo) (37) |
| 1964 | Universidad de Chile | Universidad Católica | Santiago Wanderers | Daniel Escudero (Everton) (25) |
| 1965 | Universidad de Chile | Universidad Católica | Rangers | Héctor Scandolli (Rangers) (25) |
| 1966 | Universidad Católica | Colo-Colo | Santiago Wanderers | Carlos Campos (Universidad de Chile (21)
|
| 1967 | Universidad de Chile | Universidad Católica | Colo Colo |  Eladio Zarate (Unión Española) (28) |
| 1968 | Santiago Wanderers | Universidad Católica | Universidad de Chile | Carlos Reinoso (Audax Italiano) (21) |
| 1969 | Universidad de Chile | Rangers | Green Cross Temuco | Eladio Zarate (Unión Española) (22) |
| 1970 | Colo-Colo | Unión Española | Universidad de Chile | Osvaldo Castro (Deportes Concepcion) (36) |
| 1971 | Unión San Felipe | Universidad de Chile | Unión Española | Eladio Zarate Universidad de Chile (25) |
| 1972 | Colo-Colo | Unión Española | Universidad de Chile | Fernando Espinoza (Magallanes) (25) |
| 1973 | Unión Española | Colo-Colo | Huachipato | Guillermo Yavar (Unión Española) (21) |
| 1974 | Huachipato | Palestino | Colo-Colo | Julio Crisosto (Colo-Colo) (28) |
| 1975 | Unión Española | Deportes Concepción | Huachipato | Victor Pizarro (Santiago Morning) (27) |
| 1976 | Everton | Unión Española | Universidad de Chile | Oscar Fabbiani (Palestino) (23) |
| 1977 | Unión Española | Everton | Palestino | Oscar Fabbiani (Palestino) (34) |
| 1978 | Palestino | Cobreloa | O'Higgins | Oscar Fabbiani (Palestino) (35) |
| 1979 | Colo-Colo | Cobreloa | Unión Española | Carlos Caszely (Colo-Colo) (20) |
| 1980 | Cobreloa | Universidad de Chile | Colo-Colo | Carlos Caszely (Colo-Colo) (26) |
| 1981 | Colo-Colo | Cobreloa | Universidad de Chile | Victor Cabrera (San Luis) (20)
Carlos Caszely (Colo-Colo) (20) Luis Marcoleta (Magallanes) (20) |
| 1982 | Cobreloa | Colo-Colo | Universidad de Chile | Jorge Luis Siviero (Cobreloa) (18) |
| 1983 | Colo-Colo | Cobreloa | Universidad de Chile | Washington Oliveira (Cobreloa) (29) |
| 1984 | Universidad Católica | Cobresal | Unión Española | Victor Cabrera (Regional Atacama) (18) |
| 1985 | Cobreloa | Everton | Colo-Colo | Ivo Basay (Magallanes) (19) |
| 1986 | Colo-Colo | Palestino | Cobreloa | Sergio Salgado (Cobresal) (18) |
| 1987 | Universidad Católica | Colo-Colo | Cobreloa | Osvaldo Hurtado (Universidad Católica) (21) |
| 1988 | Cobreloa | Cobresal | Deportes Iquique | Gustavo De Luca (Deportes La Serena) (18)
|
| 1989 | Colo-Colo | Universidad Católica | Cobreloa | Rubén Martínez (Cobresal) (25) |
| 1990 | Colo-Colo | Universidad Católica | Unión Española | Rubén Martínez (Colo-Colo) (22) |
| 1991 | Colo-Colo | Coquimbo Unido | Universidad Católica | Rubén Martínez (Colo-Colo) (23) |
| 1992 | Cobreloa | Colo-Colo | Universidad Católica | Aníbal González (Colo-Colo) (24) |
| 1993 | Colo-Colo | Cobreloa | Universidad Católica | Marco Antonio Figueroa (Cobreloa) (18) |
| 1994 | Universidad de Chile | Universidad Católica | O'Higgins | Alberto Acosta (Universidad Católica) (33) |
| 1995 | Universidad de Chile | Universidad Católica | Colo-Colo |  Gabriel Caballero (D. Antofagasta) (18)
Aníbal González (Palestino) (18) |
| 1996 | Colo-Colo | Universidad Católica | Cobreloa | Mario Véner (Santiago Wanderers) (30) |
| 1997[A] | Universidad Católica | Colo-Colo | Universidad de Chile | David Bisconti (Universidad Católica) (15) |
| 1997[C] | Colo Colo | Universidad Católica | Audax Italiano | Richard Báez (Universidad de Chile (10)
Rubén Vallejos (Puerto Montt) (10) |
| 1998 | Colo-Colo | Universidad de Chile | Universidad Católica | Pedro González (Universidad de Chile) (23) |
| 1999 | Universidad de Chile | Universidad Católica | Cobreloa | Mario Núñez (O'Higgins) (34) |
| 2000 | Universidad de Chile | Cobreloa | Colo-Colo | Pedro González (Universidad de Chile) (26) |
| 2001 | Santiago Wanderers | Universidad Católica | Universidad de Chile | Héctor Tapia (Colo-Colo) (24) |
| Season | Apertura champion | Runner-up | Clausura champion | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Universidad Católica | Rangers | Colo Colo | Universidad Católica |
| 2003 | Cobreloa | Colo Colo | Cobreloa | Colo Colo |
| 2004 | Universidad de Chile | Cobreloa | Cobreloa | Unión Española |
| 2005 | Unión Española | Coquimbo Unido | Universidad Católica | Universidad de Chile |
| 2006 | Colo-Colo | Universidad de Chile | Colo-Colo | Audax Italiano |
| 2007 | Colo-Colo | Universidad Católica | Colo-Colo | Universidad de Concepción |
| 2008 | Everton | Colo-Colo | Colo Colo | Palestino |
| 2009 | Universidad de Chile | Unión Española | Colo Colo | Universidad Católica |
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Third Place | Topscorer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 |
Titles by team
| Club | # of Titles | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| Colo-Colo | 29 | 1937; 1939; 1941; 1944; 1947; 1953; 1956; 1960; 1963; 1970; 1972; 1979; 1981; 1983; 1986; 1989; 1990; 1991; 1993; 1996; 1997-C; 1998; 2002-C; 2006-A; 2006-C; 2007-A; 2007-C; 2008-C; 2009-C |
| Universidad de Chile | 13 | 1940; 1959; 1962; 1964; 1965; 1967; 1969; 1994; 1995; 1999; 2000; 2004-A; 2009-A |
| Universidad Católica | 9 | 1949; 1954; 1961; 1966; 1984; 1987; 1997-A; 2002-A; 2005-C |
| Cobreloa | 8 | 1980; 1982; 1985; 1988; 1992; 2003-A; 2003-C; 2004-C |
| Unión Española | 6 | 1943; 1951; 1973; 1975; 1977; 2005-A |
| Audax Italiano | 4 | 1936; 1946; 1948; 1957 |
| Magallanes | 4 | 1933; 1934; 1935; 1938 |
| Everton | 4 | 1950; 1952; 1976; 2008-A |
| Santiago Wanderers | 3 | 1958; 1968; 2001 |
| Palestino | 2 | 1955; 1978 |
| Santiago Morning | 1 | 1942 |
| Huachipato | 1 | 1974 |
| Unión San Felipe | 1 | 1971 |
| Green Cross | 1 | 1945 |
Regions
The following table lists the Chilean football champions by region.
| Region | Titles | Winning Clubs |
|---|---|---|
 Metropolitan |
|
Colo-Colo (29), U. de Chile (13), U. Católica (9), Unión Española (6), Magallanes (4), Audax Italiano (4), Palestino (2), Santiago Morning (1), Green Cross (1) |
 Valparaíso |
|
Everton (4), Santiago Wanderers (3), Unión San Felipe (1) |
 Antofagasta |
|
Cobreloa (8) |
 Biobío |
|
Huachipato (1) |
References
- ↑ IFFHS
- ↑ Chilean League 1934
- ↑ Juan Cristóbal Guarello (2008-02-28). "Las patas y el buche" (in es). http://blogs.elmercurio.com/deportes/2008/02/28/las-patas-y-el-buche.asp. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
External links
- ANFP.cl
- Chile national champions at RSSSF
- Web de Noticias y de Hinchas
- El mejor foro de futbol chileno
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