C.D. Universidad de Concepción
Chilean football club
Club Deportivo Universidad de Concepción is a Chilean professional association football club based in Concepción, Biobío Region. It is the football branch of the Club Deportivo Universidad de Concepción, a sports organisation associated with the University of Concepción. The club was founded on 8 August 1994 and currently competes in the Chilean Primera División, the top tier of the country.
Universidad de Concepción entered the Tercera División in 1994 and won the competition in 1997, earning promotion to professional football. After five seasons in the Primera B, the club was promoted to the Primera División for the first time in 2002. It finished as runner-up in the 2007 Clausura and again in the 2018 Primera División. The club has won the Copa Chile twice, in 2008-09 and 2014-15.
Internationally, Universidad de Concepción has participated in both the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana, making its debut in continental competition in 2004.
01History
Foundation and rise
The football branch of Club Deportivo Universidad de Concepción was established on 8 August 1994 as part of the sports organisation associated with the University of Concepción. The team entered the Tercera División the same year, initially competing with a squad that included university students and players combining football with other activities.
After finishing as runner-up in the Tercera División in 1996, Universidad de Concepción won the competition in 1997 under coach Mario Osbén, earning promotion to the Primera B and entering professional football.
The club spent five seasons in Primera B. In 2002, Universidad de Concepción finished among the promotion places and secured its first promotion to the Primera División. The promotion was effectively assured after a 0-0 draw with Deportes Antofagasta on 30 November 2002.
International competitions
Universidad de Concepción made its Primera División debut in 2003. During its first season in the top flight, the club qualified for the play-offs and reached the semi-finals of the Apertura tournament. Later that year, a 1-0 victory over Coquimbo Unido secured qualification for the 2004 Copa Libertadores, making Universidad de Concepción one of the Chilean representatives in the competition during its first year in the Primera División.
The club made its international debut in February 2004 against Mexican side Santos Laguna in the Copa Libertadores. Universidad de Concepción was drawn in a group with Santos Laguna, Cruzeiro and Caracas, and was eliminated in the group stage. Later in 2004, it also participated in the 2004 Copa Sudamericana, eliminating Santiago Wanderers before being eliminated by Bolívar in the round of 16.
2007 Clausura and first Copa Chile title
Under coach Marcelo Barticciotto, Universidad de Concepción reached its first Primera División championship final in the 2007 Clausura. The club eliminated Universidad Católica in the quarter-finals and Audax Italiano in the semi-finals before facing Colo-Colo in the final. Universidad de Concepción lost both legs, 1-0 in Concepción and 3-0 in Santiago, and finished as tournament runner-up.
The club won its first professional title in the 2008-09 Copa Chile. Universidad de Concepción reached the final after eliminating Cobreloa and Unión Española, and defeated third-tier side Deportes Ovalle 2-1 at the Estadio Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso on 17 February 2009. Gabriel Vargas and Fernando Solís scored for Universidad de Concepción.
Ups and downs: 2012-2020
Universidad de Concepción remained in the Primera División until the 2012 season. After finishing in the promotion play-off positions, the club faced Everton. Everton won the first leg 1-0 and the second leg 3-1, resulting in Universidad de Concepción's first relegation from the top division.
The club returned to the Primera División after one tournament in the second tier. Universidad de Concepción won the 2013 Primera B transition tournament, defeating Curicó Unido over the championship play-off. A 1-1 draw in the second leg on 26 May 2013 secured both the title and promotion.
Universidad de Concepción won its second Copa Chile in the 2014-15 edition. In the final, played at the Estadio Fiscal de Talca on 28 March 2015, the club defeated Palestino 3-2. The result gave Universidad de Concepción its second Copa Chile title and qualification for the 2015 Copa Sudamericana.
In the 2018 Primera División, Universidad de Concepción remained in contention for the championship during the season and eventually finished second behind Universidad Católica. The result constituted the club's second runner-up finish in the Chilean top division and qualified it for the 2019 Copa Libertadores.
Second relegation and 2025 promotion
During the 2020 season, which was completed in early 2021 following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Universidad de Concepción was required to play a relegation decider against Colo-Colo. The match took place at the Estadio Fiscal de Talca on 17 February 2021. Colo-Colo won 1-0, resulting in Universidad de Concepción's second relegation to Primera B.
Universidad de Concepción remained in the second tier for the following five seasons. In 2025, the club won the Liga de Ascenso championship after defeating Deportes Copiapó 3-0 on the final matchday. The result gave Universidad de Concepción 55 points, three ahead of Copiapó, and secured direct promotion to the Primera División for the 2026 season.
02Players
Current squad
Current squad of C.D. Universidad de Concepción as of 13 August 2026
(edit)
Sources: ANFP Official Web Site
Manager: Cristián Muñoz
2026 winter transfers
In
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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03Coaches
Interim coaches appear in italics.
- Luis Vera (1994)
- Óscar Zambrano (1995)
- Mario Osbén (1996-1999)
- Luis Marcoleta (2000)
- Yuri Fernández (2001-2002)
- Fernando Díaz (2003)
- Óscar Meneses (2004)
- Edgardo Avilés (2005)
- Gualberto Jara (2005-2006)
- Yuri Fernández (2006-2007)
- Marcelo Barticciotto (2007-2008)
- Yuri Fernández (2008)
- Jorge Pellicer (2008-2010)
- Yuri Fernández (2010)
- Jaime Vera (2011)
- Mauricio Riffo (2011)
- Víctor Hugo Castañeda (2011-2012)
- Yuri Fernández (2012)
- Fernando Díaz (2012)
- Pablo Sánchez (2013-2014)
- Ronald Fuentes (2015-2016)
- Francisco Bozán (2016-2019)
- Eduardo Acevedo (2020)
- Hugo Balladares (2020-2021)
- Fernando Vergara (2021-2022)
- Bastián Straussmann (2022)
- Miguel Ramírez (2022-2023)
- Darío Lema (2024)
- Javier Torrente (2024)
- Cristián Muñoz (2025)
- Juan Cruz Real (2026)
- Facundo Gareca (2026-Present)
04Honours
05South American cups history
| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Copa Libertadores | Group 3 | Santos Laguna | 2-2 | 2-2 | 4th Place | |
| Cruzeiro | 1-3 | 0-5 | |||||
| Caracas | 2-3 | 0-1 | |||||
| 2004 | Copa Sudamericana | First Round | Santiago Wanderers | 2-1 | 1-0 | 3-1 | |
| Second Round | Bolívar | 0-0 | 2-4 | 2-4 | |||
| 2015 | Copa Sudamericana | First Round | Nacional | 1-3 | 1-2 | 2-5 | |
| 2016 | Copa Sudamericana | First Round | Bolívar | 2-0 | 0-3 | 2-3 | |
| 2018 | Copa Libertadores | Prel. Second stage | Vasco da Gama | 0-4 | 0-2 | 0-6 | |
| 2019 | Copa Libertadores | Group C | Godoy Cruz | 0-0 | 0-1 | 4th Place | |
| Olimpia | 3-3 | 1-1 | |||||
| Sporting Cristal | 5-4 | 0-2 |
06Stats
- Seasons in Campeonato Nacional: 17 (2003-12, 2013/14-)
- Seasons in Primera B (II): 6 (1998-02, 2013)
- Seasons in Tercera División (III): 4 (1994-97)
- Best finish in Campeonato Nacional: Runner-up (2007 C, 2018)
- Copa Libertadores appearances: 2 (2004, 2018)
- Copa Sudamericana appearances: 3 (2004, 2015, 2016)
- Largest Primera División victory: 8-2 (v Palestino in 2003 A)
- Largest Primera División defeat: 0-5 (v Deportes Antofagasta in 2017 C)
- Largest Copa Chile victory: 5-2 (v Huachipato in 2011)
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “C.D. Universidad de Concepción”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Universidad concepcion.png by Club Deportivo Universidad de Concepción, Fair use
- Universidad de Concepcion 2.GIF by Juan Carlos Santa Cruz, Public domain
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