Just a year ago, Colo Colo was experiencing one of the most painful seasons in its history. The club was reaching its centenary, the milestone that should have crowned 100 years of glory, and instead of celebrating, it was sinking in the middle of the table, without a sporting direction and with the departure of Jorge Almirón as a symbol of a crisis that seemed bottomless. It had suffered the death of three fans in its stadium and a very poor international campaign. Twelve months later, the contrast could not be more brutal: the Cacique is one step away from lifting its thirty-fifth star, after defeating Universidad de Chile 2-1 at the National Stadium, in the 200th edition of the Superclásico. A victory that not only resolved the most important duel in Chilean football but also extended the lead over its archrival to 13 points, with only 10 matches left to play.
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The architect of this turnaround is Fernando Ortiz, the Argentine coach who just a year ago arrived in Macul battered by a disastrous semester in Mexico and who, months later, was on the verge of being dismissed due to the poor results inherited by the club itself. Today, “el Tano” is in a position to win the first title of a career that had been marked by lost semifinals and finals that never came, both in América and Monterrey. That this first trophy comes precisely with Colo Colo, and also by defeating La U in a match that will go down in the books, gives his story an almost cinematic ending.
On the field, the other great figure of this hegemony continues to be Arturo Vidal. The captain, who returned to the club of his loves seeking to close his career with glory and not with nostalgia, is about to add the 28th title of his career, a figure that confirms him as the most decorated Chilean footballer in history, with stints in Italy, Germany, Spain, Brazil, and the national team itself. That this achievement comes after a discreet 2025, as the last man and masking his mistakes, reinforces the symbolism of a season that seems written to settle pending scores.
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Off the field, the club also closed a chapter. Aníbal Mosa, president of Blanco y Negro, finally consolidated himself as the absolute controller of the concessionaire after years of struggles with the bloc led by Leonidas Vial, a dispute that lasted more than a decade and marked much of the club’s institutional life. With administrative control resolved and the sporting title practically in the pocket, Colo Colo closes an unusual cycle: it went from hitting rock bottom in its most symbolic year to building, just twelve months later, one of the most dominant campaigns in its recent history, which could include a record for points earned and unstoppable performance. When it already seemed impossible.
