Club de Deportes Cobreloa

Club founded to represent the state copper mining company Chuquicamata, it quickly became one of the greatest teams in Chilean football history. It is the club not based in Santiago with the most national titles in the country.

History

Cobreloa was founded on April 4, 1977 in the city of Calama, in the Atacama Desert, with the support of the National Copper Corporation (Codelco) to provide a professional team for the mining region. In just a few years, the club surprised Chilean football by winning its first national title in 1980, just three years after its foundation. The 1980s was the most glorious decade in the club's history: in addition to the 1980 title, the team was again Chilean champion in 1982, 1985, and 1988, as well as playing in two consecutive Copa Libertadores finals in 1981 and 1982, finishing as runner-up in both to Flamengo and Peñarol, respectively. In the 1990s, Cobreloa added another national title in 1992, consolidating itself as the main rival of Santiago's major clubs. In the 2000s, the club experienced another period of strength, winning the Apertura and Clausura tournaments in 2003 and the Clausura in 2004, in addition to lifting the Copa Chile in 1986. After the 2000s, the club faced financial difficulties and even suffered relegation to Primera B, returning to the Chilean elite on various occasions, including winning the second division title in 2023. Nevertheless, Cobreloa maintains the status of one of Chile's historically most successful clubs.