After Club Universidad de Chile or La U lost to relative minnows River Plate of Uruguay, Chile have only two clubs competing in the Copa Libertadores 2016 this year.
Colo-Colo
Undoubtedly the bigger and far more well known of the two Chilean club, Colo-Colo enter the tournament as Chile’s most decorated club with 30 league titles and as the only Chilean team to have won the competition. They should progress from a relatively weak group and have picked up 4 points in the opening games while are top of the domestic league and recently convincingly beat local rivals Catolica 3-0. Scoring goals may be a worry as in both the 1-0 win against Melgar and the 1-1 draw with Independiente del Valle they were by far the dominant team but could only convert one chance in both games. The responsibility of scoring goals falls predominantly on Esteban Paredes while flying full backs Jean Beausejour and Gonzalo Fierro look to get forward as much as possible to service the veteran striker. The other veteran in the team, Jaime Valdes, adds creativity and has the ability to dictate the tempo of the game when on form.
Key Player – Jaime Valdes
Cobresal
The story of Cobresal is truly a remarkable one and deserves perhaps more than merely a few lines. The club hails from a small mining town in the Atacama Desert with a population so small it would struggle to fit in even the smallest of the stadiums that will host games in this years competition. The 7000 inhabitants that live in the town do so solely because of the copper mining industry and yet this unlikely place for even an amateur football team provided a team that won the Chilean championship last year. Sadly the team has been picked apart since and the current crop are struggling to even compete in the domestic championship. Star striker Matías Donoso was one of many players that have departed the club since the teams heroics in winning the primera title. Their struggle to compete in Chilean division this season suggests life in the Copa Libertadores 2016 could be even more difficult which has been reflected by losing both their opening games.
Key player – Johan Fuentes
