Colo-Colo was founded on 19 April 1925 in Santiago, Chile. On 19 April 2027 "El Cacique" turns 102. It was born from a group of young footballers who dared to leave their club.

The Magallanes "revolution"

David Arellano was captain and a champion with Magallanes. Together with younger teammates he asked for changes in the management, regular payments and fairer criteria for picking the team. When the demands were rejected, the "rebels" walked out.

According to Spanish Wikipedia, they met at the "Quitapenas" bar and decided to form their own team. The club was founded on 19 April 1925 at the El Llano ground. Arellano is credited with the line "Let's go, Quiñones, let the old men play!", although sources give it in different versions.

The name of a Mapuche chief

The name was chosen by Luis Contreras. Colocolo was a legendary Mapuche chief who fought the Spanish in the Arauco War. Before settling on it, names such as Arturo Prat and Independiente had been discussed.

That is also where the nickname "El Cacique", the Chief, comes from. The crest originally used the colours of the Chilean flag, and in 1950 it gained the figure of a Mapuche warrior.

White for purity, black for seriousness

The kit was set from day one: white shirt and black shorts, following Arellano's ideas. His teammate Juan Quiñones shaped the uniform. Its basis has never changed since.

According to Spanish Wikipedia, the white shirt stands for purity and the black shorts for seriousness. The white also gave the club its second nickname, "Los Albos", the Whites.

Away from home Colo-Colo wore green from 1927, red from the mid-1970s and black, officially from 1988.

The black band for the founder

In 1927 the team toured Spain, the first international tour by a Chilean club. On 2 May, in a match against Real Unión Deportiva in Valladolid, Arellano was injured in a collision. He died the next day of peritonitis, aged just 25.

Since then Colo-Colo has worn a black mourning band. At first it was on the left sleeve, and in 1974 it was moved above the crest.

Arellano is also credited with making the bicycle kick, known in Chile as the "chilena", famous in Europe. The move, however, was already known in South America.

The night of 1991 and the legends

On 5 June 1991, at the Estadio Monumental, Colo-Colo beat Paraguay's Olimpia 3-0 in the final. Luis Pérez scored twice and Leonel Herrera once. It became the first Chilean club to lift the Copa Libertadores.

The same year it lost the Intercontinental Cup final 3-0 to Red Star Belgrade. In 1992, however, it added the Recopa Sudamericana and the Copa Interamericana, and it also holds the record for the most league titles in Chilean history.

The Monumental is in Macul and its pitch bears Arellano's name. It opened for good on 30 September 1989 with a 2-1 win over Peñarol.

The all-time top scorer is Carlos Caszely with 208 goals, while Lizardo Garrido has the most appearances, 560. In more recent generations Arturo Vidal, Claudio Bravo, Matías Fernández and Jorge Valdivia stood out.

Celebrate with us

From a Santiago bar to the top of South America, Colo-Colo keeps the memory of its founder alive on every shirt. Happy 102nd birthday to El Cacique!

See our collectible jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: Estadio Monumental in Santiago – Carlos Figueroa, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.