“Se mira y se toca” – Copa Sudamericana glory for Universidad de Chile

Just Football’s man in Chile, Santiago Irribarra reports on an historic continental cup triumph for Universidad de Chile:

In June, when Universidad de Chile lost the first leg of the Apertura final to bitter rivals Universidad Católica 2-0, everybody expected Católica, Copa Libertadores quarter-finalist and building on last year’s title-winning form, would have no trouble sealing the win in the second leg, especially when they’d have to lose the second leg by three goals to not win the tournament, in accordance with new rules favouring the higher play-off seed.

Everybody expected it except La U, that is, and with a warrior’s heart (and a Gustavo Canales hat-trick) they defeated Los Cruzados 4-1 in a truly unbelievable comeback. The fans were over the moon, emotional like they hadn’t been since Marcelo Salas ended their 25-year title drought in 1994.

But all that is nothing compared to what they felt on the night of the December 14, 2011. After 84 years of existence, Universidad de Chile played the second leg of their first ever international final, the Copa Sudamericana, having beaten the formidable LDU Quito by a single goal in the away match. Just three minutes in Eduardo Vargas, top scorer of the 2011 Sudamericana (and the competition’s all-time, for that matter) brought the aggregate score to 2-0. From there, it was a walk in the park for what is now one of the strongest sides in South America against an Ecuadorian giant who came off as feeble.

All Chilean teams live in the shadow of Colo-Colo, the only club in the nation who has won the prestigious Copa Libertadores and who boast a massive 29 league titles to its name. None moreso than Universidad de Chile, their eternal rivals and second most successful team with 14 domestic titles. Colo-Colo has a Libertadores – until this year and despite having the second-largest fanbase in the country La U had never even reached an international final, unlike Universidad Católica and modest outfits Unión Española and Cobreloa, all Copa Libertadores runners-up. Colo-Colo has always played in the top tier; La U spent a quarter of a century in winless misery, even dropping down to the second tier in 1989, something Colo-Colo never let them forget. To add insult to injury, the derby between these two teams, the Chilean Superclásico, stands at a wholly uneven 93-62-59 in favour of Los Albos.

In short, life is not easy for Universidad de Chile, and this year they vented all their frustrations. Snatching the Apertura title from Católica was only the start, as Jorge Sampaoli’s men went into the Clausura tournament with a daring 3-4-3 formation very reminiscent of Marcelo Bielsa’s style. They swept away all who faced them, finishing top of the table with 39 points in 17 matches (an 11-6-0 record).

The Copa runneth over

Where they set the world alight, though, was in the Copa Sudamericana. Sweeping, attacking football created by quality players across all lines earned them a place in the competition after winning a play-off tie against Copa Chile runners-up Deportes Concepción, before narrowly overcoming Fénix of Uruguay in the First Preliminary Stage, the winner coming from young and unstoppable striker Eduardo Vargas.

In the Second Preliminary Stage, they faced a more substantial Uruguayan team in Nacional, a goal by Vargas putting them in the lead in the home leg; La U were winning the second leg 2-0 at the iconic Estadio Centenario when a projectile thrown from the stands injured a linesman early in the second half, prompting the match’s suspension and securing an early passage to the Round of 16 for the Chileans.

In the first leg of the Round of 16 is when people started to take notice. Away to none other than Brazil’s Flamengo, Los Azules thrashed the home team 4-0 before ending the tie with a comfortable 1-0 win in Santiago. This was Flamengo’s biggest-ever home loss in international competition, and La U continued making history as they earned their first win on Argentine soil by beating Arsenal de Sarandí 2-1. The opener coming from Eduardo Vargas, of course. It could’ve gone either way in the second leg, but Vargas, Francisco Castro (with a wonderful assist from Vargas) and Gustavo Canales made it 3-0 by the time the clock marked 60 minutes gone.

In the semis, Vasco da Gama came closer than anyone to eliminating La U as Bernardo put the Brazilian team in front with an excellent volley, but a late header from Osvaldo González meant it all came down the match in Santiago. Vasco’s box was bombarded with crosses and shots until Canales finally put them in front on the thirtieth minute and Vargas sealed it after a play that was all speed, precise passing and the striker’s top-notch positioning.

The final

Then came the final against Liga Deportiva Universitaria (LDU), the Ecuadorian side renowned for their home form in the heights of Quito. La U deviated slightly from Sampaoli’s usual schematic, due to fitness concerns for Castro, and lined up with what is probably best described as a 3-5-2: the controversial but highly talented Jhonny Herrera in goal; captain José Rojas, Marcos González and Osvaldo González in defense; Albert Acevedo as defensive midfielder, Eugenio Mena down the left wing, Marcelo Díaz and Charles Aránguiz pulling the strings in midfield and Matías Rodríguez gunning down the right flank; target man Gustavo Canales and golden boy Eduardo Vargas up front.

The match was an even affair throughout the first half, either side controlling each other expertly and the ground’s height manifesting itself in the high and long trajectory of the ball. Universidad de Chile did suffer on its left flank, as Eugenio Mena tended to push up too much and leave space behind him; LDU didn’t make good on these chances however, strikers Hernán Barcos and Claudio Bieler putting in below-average performances.

On the brink of half-time, when it looked like it would be scoreless, Marcelo Díaz made good on his comparisons to Xavi and split open the defense with a pass that Vargas latched onto, skipped past the keeper and buried into the net. The teams inexplicably came out to fireworks for the second half, but the game itself would not be as explosive, La U contenting itself with putting in a disciplined performance that nevertheless still gave LDU chances that were duly wasted.

The Estadio Nacional, Chile’s largest venue and Universidad de Chile’s nominal home, sold-out completely for the second-leg as fans flocked to see a Chilean team finally win an international title on its pitch; the national team fell at the final hurdle against Argentina in the 1955 Copa América, as did Universidad Católica (1993), Unión Española (1975), Colo-Colo (1973) and Cobreloa (1981 and 1982) in their respective Copa Libertadores finals, Colo-Colo also losing the 2006 Sudamericana.

A day before the match, both team captains were called in to take a picture with the trophy. When invited to lift it, José Rojas, captain of Los Azules, declined stating that “you touch it when you win it”. A shout-out to the chants pelted by fans of more successful teams: “La copa se mira pero no se toca”, something like “You can look at the cup, but not touch”. A favourite of Colo-Colo, of course, as they bring up the subject of their Libertadores at every chance.

For the second leg La U returned to Sampaoli’s favourite 3-4-3: Herrera; Rojas, M. González, O. González; Mena, Díaz, Aránguiz, Rodríguez; Francisco Castro, Canales, Vargas. While Aránguiz and Díaz dominated the centre of the pitch, winning and dealing the ball, Mena and Rodríguez had a field day down their respective wings, carving up an LDU side who could never react to the onslaught.

In the third minute, Vargas started and finished the play for his opener, a cross from Rodríguez falling to him after bouncing off a defender. Pressing and passing was Universidad de Chile’s game for the better part of the match, practically reducing their opponent’s chances to zero. In the second half LDU improved their control of possession, but Sampaoli brought on Gustavo Lorenzetti for Castro, altering La U’s formation and allowing for more effective counter-attacking in response. Soon, LDU defender Jorge Guagua was sent off for hitting Lorenzetti in the face during a jump, further sealing their downward spiral.

Canales then wasted a couple of chances before Lorenzetti pounced on a Vargas rebound to put it well beyond doubt on the 79^th minute. Matías Rodríguez earned an unnecessary red card for a second bookable offense soon after, but all was forgotten when Eduardo Vargas stepped up again to race down the pitch, leave three defenders trailing and compound LDU’s misery with a clean finish. His celebratory “it’s over” gesture was redundant.

As “Pepe” Rojas lifted the long-awaited Copa Sudamericana alongside fan favourite Diego Rivarola, who played a few minutes despite being 35 and well out of the first team, the celebrations included a chant new to them, the same one Colo-Colo had sung when they won the Copa Libertadores twenty years ago. La copa se mira y se toca. “The cup is looked at and touched”.

(photo credit: alcanzado las estrellas on Flickr)

Chile, Copa Sudamericana, Football in Latin America, Primera Division de Chile, Universidad de Chile