Chile national football team
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| Chile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname | La Roja (The Red One) |
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| Association | Federación de Fútbol de Chile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Confederation | CONMEBOL (South America) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach |  Nelson Acosta, 2005- |
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| Captain | Jorge Vargas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most caps | Leonel Sánchez (84) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top scorer | Marcelo Salas (35) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home stadium | Estadio Nacional | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA code | CHI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA ranking | 32 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 6 (April 1998) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 84 (December 2002) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elo ranking | 39 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest Elo ranking | 9 (February 1956) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lowest Elo ranking | 60 (2003) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First international Argentina 3 - 1 Chile (Buenos Aires, Argentina; 27 May 1910) |
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Biggest win Chile 7 - 0 Venezuela  (Santiago, Chile; 29 August 1979) Chile 7 - 0 Armenia  (Santiago, Chile; 5 January 1997) |
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Biggest defeat Brazil 7 - 0 Chile (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 17 September 1959) |
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| World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 7 (First in 1930) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Third place, 1962 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copa América | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 34 (First in 1916) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Second place, 1955, 1956, 1979, 1987 |
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| Olympic medal record | |||
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| Bronze | 2000 Sydney | Team | |
The Chile national football team represents Chile in all major international football competitions. The team is controlled by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile and is a founding member of CONMEBOL. They have appeared in seven World Cup tournaments.
Chile participated in the first World Cup in 1930. They started off well beating Mexico and France without conceding a goal. A 3-1 loss to Argentina in their final game left them in second place in their group, eliminating them from the tournament. In the 1950 World Cup, Chile was eliminated in the first round but beat the US 5-2.
Their best World Cup result was a third place finish in 1962, when Chile was the host nation. Chile lost 4-2 to eventual champions Brazil in a semifinals match, but beat Yugoslavia 1-0 in the third place match.
In Copa America play, Chile has reached four finals but has lost in each appearance. Along with Ecuador and Venezuela, they are one of three South American nations who have never won the competition.
In Olympic play, Chile's best result was the Bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, with striker Ivan Zamorano the competition's top scorer.
[edit] Chile at the 1962 World Cup
Chile was the host nation of this World Cup tournament. They won their first match against Switzerland by 3-1. The second match against Italy (2-0) became known as the Battle of Santiago. Although only two players were sent off by the overly weak English referee Ken Aston, the match saw repeated, deliberate attempts from players on both sides to harm opponents, and the teams needed police protection to leave the field in safety.
Later surprisingly, Chile defeated European champions USSR to land themselves a semi-final game against the World Champions Brazil but a capacity crowd of 76,600 watched Brazil beat the hosts 4-2. This game saw Garrincha sent off for Brazil and Landa sent off for Chile. Chile eventually went on to take third place in a 1-0 victory over Yugoslavia in the playoff.
The team is said to have eaten Swiss cheese before beating Switzerland, spaghetti before beating Italy, and drank vodka before beating the USSR. They also drank coffee before the match against Brazil, although they did not win that match.[1]
[edit] Chile at the 1974 World Cup
Chile qualified for the Deutschland 74 after a controversial play-off with the USSR. Following a drawn first leg in Moscow, the Soviets refused to play the second leg at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, which had been used as a concentration camp by the disliked dictatorship of the Pinochet regime. However, FIFA refused to switch the match to a neutral venue, and the Soviets refused to fly to Santiago. The Chilean players kicked off on an otherwise empty pitch, scored into the unguarded USSR net, and because there was no opposition to restart the game, the referee awarded the match to Chile, ensuring they qualified for the 1974 finals.
At the tournament itself, Chile lost their opening game 1-0 to West Germany in Berlin, thanks to a long-range shot from Paul Breitner. Striker Carlos Caszely was controversially sent off in the second half.
Guided by coach Luis Alamos, Chile then fought out a 1-1 draw with East Germany, again in Berlin. Martin Hoffmann put the GDR ahead, but Sergio Ahumada equalised with 20 minutes left. Finally, they got another draw, this time a goalless one, against Australia, which eliminated both teams.
[edit] Chile at the 1982 World Cup
At España 82, the Chileans performed poorly with an ageing team in which Carlos Caszely and the 35-year-old central defender Elias Figueroa were still the main men. Guided by coach Luis Santibañez they lost their first game 1-0 to Austria in Oviedo, Walter Schachner scoring the only goal midway through the first half. Caszely missed a penalty soon afterwards.
Chile were then beaten 4-1 in Gijón by a Karl-Heinz Rummenigge-inspired West Germany, with goalkeeper Mario Osbén making a couple of costly errors; Gustavo Moscoso grabbed a late consolation goal. Finally, against Algeria, Chile were overrun in the first half and went in at half-time 3-0 behind, but managed to save some face with second-half goals from Miguel Neira and Juan Carlos Letelier.
[edit] The Roberto Rojas scandal
La Roja's most infamous moment came on September 3, 1989. During a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying match at Rio De Janeiro's Maracanã stadium, Brazil led Chile 1-0. A defeat for Chile would eliminate them from the tournament. Around the 67-minute mark, Chilean goalkeeper Roberto "Cóndor" Rojas fell to the pitch with an apparent injury to his forehead. A firework, thrown from the stands by a Brazilian fan named Rosemary de Mello, was smouldering about a yard away. After carrying Rojas off the pitch, the Chilean players and coaches refused to return claiming conditions were not safe. The match went unfinished.
After studying video footage of the match showing that the firework had not made contact with Rojas, FIFA awarded Brazil a 2-0 win (eliminating Chile from the 1990 World Cup). The team was banned from the qualifiers of the 1994 Football World Cup, and Rojas was banned for life (although an amnesty was granted in 2001).
[edit] Chile at the 1998 World Cup
Chile qualified for the World Cup in France in 1998 having been banned from entering the 1994 tournament. They were drawn in Group B, along with Italy, Cameroon and Austria. With much expected of their strike partnership of Marcelo Salas and Iván Zamorano, Chile drew impressively with Italy in Bordeaux in their opening match, 2-2, with Salas scoring both goals in reply to Christian Vieri's opener. The game was most noted for Roberto Baggio's late equalizer for Italy with a controversial penalty, banishing memories of his fatal miss in the 1994 final against Brazil in Los Angeles. Due to bad performance, the Nigerian referee Lucien Bouchardeau was dismissed from further matches during the WC.
Chile drew their next two matches 1-1. The first was a dreadful game with Austria in St-Étienne. Salas opened the scoring with a disputed goal scored from close range (the Austrians protested his shot never crossed the line), but Austria, as they had in their first match against Cameroon, equalised in the last minute, Ivica Vastic scoring a spectacular long-range effort.
Against Cameroon in Nantes five days later, José Luis Sierra's excellent free-kick gave Chile the lead, but the Africans fought back strongly and equalised with a header from Patrick Mboma. Despite having Rigobert Song and Lauren Etame Mayer sent off, Cameroon played a good second half, and were only denied a victory when Hungarian referee László Vagner disallowed a goal by François Omam-Biyik.
Italy had been the only team to win in the group, so Chile's unbeaten record took them into the last 16, and a tie with South American rivals Brazil at the Parc des Princes in Paris. The Brazilians took Chile to pieces in the first half, despite Zamorano's superb performance (the footage of him passionately singing the national anthem prior to kick-off was one of the most enduring images of the tournament). César Sampaio scored twice early on, and a Ronaldo penalty made it 3-0 before half-time. Chile courageously kept fighting, and Salas got his fourth goal of the competition, heading in a rebound after Claudio Taffarel had saved from Zamorano, but Ronaldo scored again quickly and Chile were out of the tournament.
[edit] Current Chile National Football Team
The team is currently coached by Nelson Acosta. The team had an impressive return to the international stage in 2006. They ended it with 4 wins, 2 ties, and 2 losses. It all started with the friendlies preparing teams for the 2006 World Cup. Their so-called European tour was very positive. The tour excluded many of the players who will start in the Copa America 2007 as well as the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers. They beat the Republic of Ireland 1-0 in Dublin, tied the qualified Cote d'Ivoire 1-1 in Paris, France and tied the qualified Sweden 1-1 in the Rasunda Stadium Stockholm, Sweden. Chile lost to Colombia 2-1 in Santiago de Chile but beat Peru twice, 3-2 in a home game in Viña del Mar and 1-0 in an away game in Tacna, Peru, a few days later. The team then beat Paraguay 3-2 in Viña del Mar, Chile. The year ended with a 1-0 loss to Aragón in Zaragoza, Spain with Elías Figueroa as a guest coach and a "B" team due to most of the main players being just starting their vacation or disallowed by their clubs to fly to the game. In 2007 Chile is expected to be extremely strong with an excellent mix of youngsters and experienced players in most positions. The team's currently best known player is Matias Fernandez who played impressively for Colo Colo winning the Chilean Apertura 2006 and Clausura 2006 tournaments and ending as finalists in the Copa Sudamericana 2006. He now plays in Spain's Villarreal.
[edit] Attendance and Atmosphere in Home Games
The Chilean attendance and atmosphere in home games is impressive. The attendance was the second highest in the world during the 2006 World Cup Qualifiers, beating all countries from Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. Northern, Central, and Southern America.
[edit] 2007 Players
[edit] World Cup record
- 1930 - Round 1
- 1934 - Withdrew
- 1938 - Did not enter
- 1950 - Round 1
- 1954 - Did not qualify
- 1958 - Did not qualify
- 1962 - Third place
- 1966 - Round 1
- 1970 - Did not qualify
- 1974 - Round 1
- 1978 - Did not qualify
- 1982 - Round 1
- 1986 - Did not qualify
- 1990 - Disqualified
- 1994 - Banned
- 1998 - Round 2
- 2002 - Did not qualify
- 2006 - Did not qualify
[edit] Copa América record
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[edit] Pan American Games record
- 1951 - Bronze Medal
- 1955 to 1959 - Did not compete
- 1963 - Bronze Medal
- 1967 to 1979 - Did not compete
- 1983 - Round 1
- 1987 - Silver Medal
- 1991 - Did not compete
- 1995 - Quarterfinals
- 1999 to 2003 - Did not compete
[edit] External links
- The official chilean football association
- RSSSF archive of results 1910-2003
- RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
- Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup
- Planet World Cup archive of squads in the World Cup
- Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup qualifiers
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International football
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