Curicó Unido

Curicó Unido
Full name	Club de Deportes Provincial Curicó Unido
Nickname(s)	Curi; Albirrojos (The red & white); Torteros (The Cake-makers); La Banda Sangre (The Blood Stripe)
Founded	26 February 1973; 51 years ago
Ground	Estadio La Granja
Capacity	8,016
Chairman	Patricio Romero
Coach	Héctor Almandoz
League	Primera B de Chile
2023	Primera División, 16th of 16 (relegated)
Home colours	Away colours

Curicó Unido is a football club based in Curicó, Maule Region, Chile. They currently play in the Primera B de Chile, the second level of the Chilean football system. They are currently managed by Héctor Almandoz.

History

Curicó Unido was founded on 26 February 1973, with Edmundo Rojas as the first President of the club. They became the fourth football team from the Curicó city to play at the professional level, after Alianza de Curicó, Luis Cruz Martínez and Bádminton de Curicó.

Curicó Unido played since the season 1974 at the Primera B, but after seven poor seasons they gained relegation to the third level to the season 1981, returning to Primera B two years later, in 1983.

1984 and 1985 were the best seasons of Curicó Unido history, disputing the promotion until the last week, but with bad luck at the final matches.

The next campaigns were average, with the exception of the season 1990, when they lose the category after the final match with Deportes Valdivia, when they won 4–1, two goals short what they needed to stay at Primera B.

Since then, they stayed at the Tercera División without real chances to return to the Primera B, until the 2003 season. But at the next year that changed.

In 2004 the albirrojos were really close to return to the Primera B. At the last week of the season, in Chillán, they arrived as leaders, to face Ñublense who was three points behind at the table; however the Chillanejos won that game 2–1, forcing a tie breaker match in Linares, where Ñublense won 2–0, taking the title and the promotion.

However, the year 2005 Curicó Unido had his revenge. They disputed the title with Trasandino until the last week. While Trasandino tied with Municipal Iquique, Curicó crushed Iberia 4–0, and in this way, after 15 years of suffering, Provincial Curicó Unido returned to the Chilean professional football.

In 2006, in their return to the Primera B, Curicó Unido finished in fifth place.

The next year, Curico avoided relegation only at the end of the season; Deportes Temuco finished last and fell down to the third level of national football for the upcoming season.

Curicó won promotion to the Primera Division after a 1–0 win over Deportes Puerto Montt on the last home game of the 2008 season, which was enough to securing 1st place of the Primera B and automatic promotion. Only to return to Primera B the next season, after losing a promotion play-off against San Luis.

They returned to the top-tier in 2017, after winning the 2016–17 Primera B tournament.

Honours

Primera B: 2

2008, 2016–17

Tercera División: 1

2005

Others

Copa Confraternidad (Tercera Div.): 1

1991

8 seasons in Primera División (2009, 2017– )
26 seasons in Primera B (1974–1980, 1983–1990, 2006–2008, 2010–2016/17)
17 seasons in Tercera División (1981–1982, 1991–2005)
1 participation in Copa Libertadores (2023)

Records

Record victory (overall) – 14–0 v. Rengo Unido (Tercera División 2004)
Record Primera División victory – 5–0 v. O'Higgins (2022)
Record defeat (overall) – 0–7 v. Universidad Católica (Primera División 2009-C)
Record Copa Chile victory – 9–0 v. Lister Rossel (1974)
Most appearances (overall) – 271, Franco Bechtholdt (2012–2022)
Most goals scored (overall) – 69, Luis Martínez (1983–88)
Most goals scored (Primera División matches) – 16, Federico Castro (2020, 2022)
Most Primera División appearances – 124, Franco Bechtholdt (2017–2022)
Primera División Best Position – 3rd (2022)
Copa Chile Best Season – Quarter-finals (2009, 2010, 2017)
Highest home attendance – 8,981 v. Universidad de Chile (14 Jan 1990)

South American cups history

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2023	Copa Libertadores	Second stage		Cerro Porteño	0–1	0–1	0–2

Team colours

Curicó Unido's official kit is a white shirt with a diagonal red stripe that crosses the chest from the right shoulder to the left side of the hip. The shorts are black and socks are white.

Kit evolution

1982

1985

1986

1987

2001

2004

2007

2013

Sponsorship

The club are currently sponsored by Multihogar and their technical sponsors are Dalponte.

Shirt Sponsors

1976: Buses Galgo Azul
1977–78: Cecinas Soler
1981–82: Multifrut
1983–95: Fideos Suazo
1996–: Multihogar

Stadiums

Curicó Unido's traditional home-ground is the Estadio La Granja, located in Curicó city; an 8,000 football stadium with an athletic track around the pitch, located in the "La Granja sports complex", leased from Curicó city hall.

Curicó Unido have also used other grounds during their history.

The Estadio Carabineros de Curicó, was Curicó Unido's home in 1976 and 1977.

They also played their Tercera Division league home games of the season 1992, at the Estadio ANFA Luis H. Alvarez.

And recently, during the 2010 season, the Estadio Municipal Jorge Silva de San Fernando, was their temporary home ground due to the reconstruction of the Estadio La Granja.

Supporters

Curicó Unido fans traditionally come from Curicó itself; and from the rest of the Curicó Province, but in smaller numbers.

The largest supporters' group is the Marginales, created in 1997.

Curicó Unido supporters' current main rivals are Rangers de Talca, and Ñublense.

Current squad

Current squad of Curicó Unido as of 28 February 2023 (edit)
Sources: ANFP Official Web Site

No.		Position	Player
1	CHI	GK	Thomas Vergara
2	ARG	DF	Omar Merlo
3	ARG	DF	Matías Cahais
4	CHI	MF	Darko Fiamengo
5	URU	MF	Agustín Nadruz
6	CHI	MF	Diego Urzúa
7	CHI	FW	Felipe Fritz
8	CHI	MF	Mario Sandoval
9	ARG	FW	Tobías Figueroa
10	CHI	MF	Yerko Leiva
11	CHI	FW	Jason Flores
12	CHI	GK	Fabián Cerda
14	CHI	FW	Joaquín González
15	CHI	FW	Cristián Zavala
16	ARG	DF	Franco Bechtholdt
17	CHI	MF	Jorge Henríquez

No.		Position	Player
18	CHI	MF	Felipe Ortiz
19	CHI	DF	Ronald de la Fuente
20	ARG	FW	Federico Castro
21	CHI	MF	Matías Ormazábal
22	CHI	GK	Juan Ruz
23	CHI	DF	Kennet Lara
24	CHI	DF	Augusto Barrios
25	CHI	MF	Rony Albornoz
26	CHI	FW	Benjamín Ortiz
27	URU	FW	Diego Coelho
28	CHI	DF	Sebastián Cabrera
30	CHI	GK	Luis Santelices
31	CHI	MF	Nicolás Barrios
33	CHI	DF	Diego Muñoz
34	CHI	FW	Cristián Bustamante
35	CHI	DF	Jorge Alarcón

2023 Summer transfers

In

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	ARG	Omar Merlo (from Sporting Cristal)
—	DF	CHI	Augusto Barrios (from Unión Española)
—	DF	CHI	Sebastián Cabrera (from Coquimbo Unido)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	CHI	Cristopher Barrera (from Palestino)
—	FW	CHI	Jason Flores (from Antofagasta)
—	FW	ARG	Tobías Figueroa (from Antofagasta)

Out