The History of Soccer-
Originally brought to Chile by the British, soccer, or fútbol, is now the most popular sport. The original team was the Valparaiso Football Club, followed by today's best know clubs Colo-Colo (founded April 19, 1925) and the Universidad de Chile (founded May 24,1927). However, the national team of Chile is La Roja which won runner up in Copa America in 1955, 1956, 1979, and 1987, as well as bronze in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In 1962, Chile hosted its first World Cup, exploding the soccer fever, and taking home third place.
The Federación de Fútbol de Chile was established in 1895 and is a member of both FIFA and CONEMBOL. It was a founding member of the first South American international championship, which is now known as Copa America, as well as a participant of the first world cup in 1930.
Today's team is ranked #12 in the world and coached by Claudio Borghi. Linoel Sanches has the largest number of games played (84), and Marcelo Salas is the best goal-scorer (37). (To view the whole team roster, visit http://www.footballtop.com/countries/chile/players#section-2.) Chile is also know for its incredible fans. Games average around 60,000 people, ranking them 21st of 203 teams.
Rivalries-
In Chile, there are two main fútbol rivalries. One between club teams, and one between countries. The first of these is between the Colo-Colo team and the Universidad de Chile. It is said to have started on May 12, 1940 when a member of Colo-colo punched a Universidad de Chile player for a particularly nasty foul. Now, both Santiago teams frequently play intense and highly contested derbies.
The second one is between the national teams of Chile vs. Peru. Caused by historical feuds and lingering bitterness, this rivalry is ranked the top 9th football rivalry in the world by CNN. Every year these two nations duke it out in the Clásico del Pacífico (“Pacific Derby”). These matches are notoriously rough, competitive and exiting; with players frequently being sent off. To make matters worse, the two countries traditionally fight for the #4 spot in South America (behind Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay).
However, although the football matches between both teams are extremely intense, it is mostly for show. Chile recently began a new club team for people of Peruvian descent. On the other hand, these rivalries do make for exiting games for fans!
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