This weekend, two of the more popular Chilean soccer teams squared off for the annual game titled the “Classico Universitario.” This name has been given to any games between Universidad de Chile and Universidad Catolica, two teams that for many fans represent the divide between the upper and lower classes. Universidad Catolica represents the portion of the population who have plenty of money.
You can see it simply through the location of their stadiums. Universidad Catolica’s stadium is in Los Condes, which is a more ritzy neighborhood and the people who live there are of the upper class. The Universidad de Chile stadium is located in Nunoa, which is a nice neighborhood in Santiago, but not quite as nice as Los Condes. Most of the families who live in Nunoa are of the middle or upper middle class. Historically, this game has resulted in violence between fans and the tickets usually sell out early. For this reason, I was not able to attend the game, but it seemed to be a good game.
The final score of the game this year was 3-1 in favor of Universidad Catolica. Universidad Catolica has won five out of the past eight games the two teams have played. Last year, the teams played multiple times in the Copa Chile, or the Chilean Cup.
The game on Oct. 24 ended in a tie 3-3, with neither team being able to pull ahead. A week before that game, in another cup game, Universidad Catolica beat Universidad de Chile, 2-0. A month before that, Catolica also won 2-1 in a game in the Supercopa Chile. In a game on Aug. 27, 2016, Catolica won once again, 3-0, even though Universidad de Chile was noted as having possession for 60 percent of the game. At their first game of 2016, Catolica started off the season with a 2-1 win. Before that in November of 2015, there was a tie game, with both teams netting two goals.
Finally, the last win for Universidad de Chile against Universidad Catolica was at their game on March 5, 2015. With it being so long since Universidad de Chile had won a game, there is no doubt that the fans and the team hoped this would be the game where they could make their comeback.
Unfortunately for them, Universidad Catolica had different plans for the game. This is the the aspect that can make the games dangerous to attend. The fans get so into the teams and feel so strongly about their teams that win or lose, it is completely possible for the fans to get rowdy both during and after the game.
There will be more games when the teams meet next year. Although neither team has any on the schedule for this season, there will be at least one game next year for Universidad de Chile to break the streak of Universidad Catolica and get a win in the books. Fans on both teams will be patiently waiting for the next game, while the fans of Catolica enjoy the win that they gained this past weekend.
