Universidad de Chile, "La U" to its fans, officially celebrates its birthday on 24 May 1927. On 24 May 2027 it turns 100, a full century. Its roots, however, go back even further, to a school pitch in Santiago.

From the Internado to "Universitario"

It all begins at the Internado Nacional, a state boarding school in Santiago. That is where Internado FC was born, and in 1911 it became the football section of Club Atlético Internado. In 1912 it joined the capital's football association.

On 24 May 1927, at the team's general meeting, the members decided to rename it "Universitario". This is the date officially recognised today by Azul Azul, the company that runs the club. Sources disagree, though: some describe a simple renaming of the same team, others a merger with Club Universitario de Deportes.

In 1934 the university officially took over the team, which became Club Deportivo de la Universidad de Chile. Until 1980 it was the institution's sporting arm, with students in its ranks.

A little owl on the chest

The club's symbol is the chuncho, a small South American owl. It came from Club Náutico Universitario, a student nautical club that joined the new team. The owl was chosen because it stands for wisdom and the harmony of body and mind.

The chuncho was first worn on the chest on 15 July 1928, in a match against Unión Condell. The crest was officially adopted in 1943 and gave the club the nickname "Chuncho". On the shirt, however, a letter usually takes centre stage: the "U".

From white to blue

In the early years the team played in a white shirt and black shorts. In the early 1930s it switched to blue, with a white "U" on the chest, although some sources say 1933 and others 1934. A few years later the "U" turned red, and today the red "U" with a white outline is the club's trademark.

On 3 November 1957 the team wore an all-blue kit for the first time. Experiments followed, such as the red sleeves of 2001-02, before the classic blue returned in 2006. Since 2009 a gold star on the sleeve has counted every league title.

The "Blue Ballet"

The golden era came between 1959 and 1969. The team played such beautiful football that the press called it the "Ballet Azul", the Blue Ballet, borrowing the name from Colombia's Millonarios. In those years it won league titles in 1959, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967 and 1969.

At the 1962 World Cup, held in Chile, the national team finished third with many "U" players in the line-up. Among them were Leonel Sánchez, who holds the club's league appearance record, and Carlos Campos, its all-time top scorer.

Fall, comeback and the night of 2011

After the split from the university in 1980, hard years followed, and in 1988 came relegation. The team bounced straight back, winning the second-division title in 1989. In the 1990s a young Marcelo Salas led "La U" to back-to-back league titles in 1994 and 1995.

The finest moment came on 14 December 2011. Under coach Jorge Sampaoli, the team beat LDU Quito 3-0 and lifted the Copa Sudamericana unbeaten, its first international trophy. The star was Eduardo Vargas, the tournament's top scorer.

"La U" has no ground of its own and plays at the Estadio Nacional in Ñuñoa. Its big derby is the Superclásico against Colo-Colo, while against Universidad Católica it plays the "university derby".

Celebrate with us

From a Santiago boarding school to the top of South America, "La U" has worn its blue with pride for a century. Happy 100th birthday to the Chuncho!

See our collectible jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: The Estadio Nacional in Santiago – Jaime Soto Ceura, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.