Team Chile

The early stage

The Federación de Fútbol de Chile is the second oldest South American federation, having been founded in Valparaíso on 19 June 1895. Chile was one of the four founding member nations of CONMEBOL. Together with Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, the four competed in the first South American Championship, later to be renamed the Copa América, in 1916. On 12 October 1926, Chile made the first corner-kick goal in Copa América history in a match against Bolivia. Chile was one of the thirteen national teams that competed in the inaugural World Cup in 1930. The team started off well, beating Mexico and France without conceding a goal. A 3–1 loss to Argentina in the final game left the Chilean team in second place within the group, eliminating it from the tournament. In the 1950 World Cup, Chile defeated the United States, 5–2, but nevertheless was eliminated in the first round.

The best Chilean result in the World Cup was third place in 1962, as the host nation. Chile lost 2–4 to the eventual champion Brazil in a semi-final but went on to defeat Yugoslavia 1–0 to win the third place. Chilean players made two World Cup firsts: the first player to miss a World Cup penalty kick was the Chilean Guillermo Subiabre, in a 1930 FIFA World Cup match against France, and Carlos Caszely of Chile became the first player to be sent off with a red card, during a match against West Germany at the 1974 World Cup.

Maracanazo Scandal and punishment (1989 - 1994)

A scandal known as "El Maracanazo" occurred on 3 September 1989. At a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying match at Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã stadium, Brazil led Chile 1–0 and La Roja needed to win. Chilean goalkeeper Roberto Rojas fell to the pitch with an apparent injury in his forehead. A firework had been thrown from the stands by a Brazilian fan named Rosenery Mello do Nascimento and was smouldering about a yard away. After Rojas was carried off the pitch, the Chilean players and coaches claimed that conditions were unsafe and they refused to resume the game, so the match was abandoned. However, a video footage of the match later showed that the firework had not made any contact to Rojas, and examinations of his injury determined it to be caused by a cut, and not from the impact of any firework, as there were no traces of gunpowder; indeed, Rojas would later confess he had a razor concealed in his glove, and it was part of a plan to cancel the match and prevent Brazil's qualification over Chile. Based on this evidence, FIFA decided to award the victory to Brazil; meanwhile, Chile was banned from the 1990 World Cup and the qualifiers for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and Rojas himself was banned for life, although an amnesty was granted in 2001.

1998 World Cup and 2000 Olympic Games (1996 - 2000)

Chile's qualification for the 1998 World Cup in France marked the national team's return to the tournament after a 16-year absence. Coached by Nelson Acosta, the team had an inconsistent start to the South American qualifiers, but staged a remarkable comeback thanks to their strength at home and the outstanding performance of the attacking duo of Iván Zamorano and Marcelo Salas, who scored 23 of the team's 32 goals. Chile finished fourth, tied on points with Peru but ahead on goal difference, securing their qualification with a convincing 3-0 victory over Bolivia.

At the 1998 World Cup in France, Chile put on a remarkable performance, albeit one marked by frustration. They debuted with a 2-2 draw against Italy after coming from behind with two goals from Marcelo Salas, but just when it seemed they would secure a historic victory, the referee awarded a controversial penalty when the ball struck Ronald Fuentes' hand in the final minutes. Roberto Baggio converted the spot kick to level the score. In their second match, Chile again took the lead thanks to Salas against Austria, but conceded a 93rd-minute equalizer, narrowly missing out on early qualification. In their final group stage match, they drew 1-1 with Cameroon, with an exquisite free-kick goal by José Luis Sierra, securing their place in the round of 16 with three draws. There, they faced the powerful Brazil, the reigning champions, and were defeated 4-1 despite another goal from Salas.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Chile had one of the most memorable campaigns in its history. After topping the group stage with victories over Morocco (4-1) and Spain (3-1), despite a loss to South Korea (0-1), Chile eliminated Nigeria 2-1 in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, they lost 1-0 to Cameroon in a hard-fought match, but recovered with a resounding 2-0 victory over the United States in the third-place game, thanks to two goals from Iván Zamorano, securing the bronze medal—the first Olympic medal in the history of Chilean football and one of the most outstanding performances by the national team in international competitions. Zamorano also was the top goal scorer of the tournament.

Crisis and scandals (2001 - 2007)

After years of strong performance, the national team experienced a marked decline. They finished last in the qualifiers for the 2002 Korea Japan World Cup. Nelson Acosta continued as coach, but was replaced by Pedro García and then Jorge Garcés. In the 2001 Copa América, they achieved victories against Ecuador and Venezuela, but lost to Mexico in the quarterfinals. Juvenal Olmos was the coach for the new cycle, but the poor results continued. In the 2004 Copa América, they failed to advance beyond the group stage, and they also failed to qualify for the 2006 Germany World Cup finishing in 7th place.

Acosta returned as coach, however, in 2006 during a friendly tour of Dublin, Ireland, a scandal erupted within the national team when the coach overheard women at the team's training camp at night during off-hours. Supposedly, they were fans, but Acosta subsequently dismissed Reinaldo Navia and Mark González from the team.