Universidad de Chile. It translates to the University of Chile in English, for those who aren’t cultured, and if their brand of football could be classified into a degree then it’d be first-class. You could be excused for not knowing who they are. Not only are they located outside Europe but Chile is a mountainous country, so it is possible peoples’ vision has been blocked. Not being seen doesn’t stop something from existing, however. Universidad de Chile have been strutting their stuff not only domestically but all over South America in devastating fashion, reaching the final of the Copa Sudamericana (South America’s equivalent of the Europa League).

It’s 31 games since they last tasted defeat, a Chilean record broken for consecutive wins (9 in a row), a Chilean record broken for consecutive minutes without conceding and a 4-0 thrashing of a Flamengo side with Ronaldinho and Thiago Neves on their own turf.

La U's best XI

These performances haven’t come out of nowhere. Last year La U reached the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores, losing to Chivas de Guadalajara over two legs. But that was last season. The success of that Copa Libertadores run saw key players such as Walter Montillo, Mauricio Victorino, Miguel Pinto, Edson Puch and Felipe Seymour snapped up by other clubs. When teams lose the core of their team, not much is expected of them. La U promoted a host of young players –  including Eduardo Vargas, Charles Aranguiz, Marcelo Diaz, Eugenio Mena – to the starting XI and the results have been astonishing.

Similarities between Chile NT and Universidad de Chile

Jorge Sampaoli: Argentina's answer to Tony Pulis?

The man who has masterminded it all is Jorge Sampaoli, their Argentine coach, who was hired in 2011. Sampaoli belongs to the Marcelo Bielsa school of thought and is a keen advocate of his compatriot’s philosophies, perceiving him as a mentor, regularly calling him to discuss the progress of his managerial career.

Universidad de Chile's 3-man defence, reminiscent of the Chile NT, their 'Plan B'

The team Sampaoli has assembled for La U certainly shares parallels with Bielsa’s Chile teams. Firstly, they possess diminutive, energetic players, transitioning between 3-4-3 and a 4-3-3 system, depending on the opposition. Secondly, they play with thrusting full-backs for width, value the ball and administer  intense pressing on opponents.  Thirdly, the aim is always to attack, even relentlessly, there is nothing cautious about this Universidad de Chile team. All of these characteristics have become synonymous with the Chile National Team.

What makes this all the more interesting, though, is the change in personnel between the systems. While the Chile National Team boasts more individual talent, Universidad de Chile don’t have as much talent and therefore have to rely on work ethic and cohesiveness as a unit. The Chile National Team, for all its talent, couldn’t break any sort of defensive record associated with rigidity, with their defending often leaving a lot to be desired for. With Universidad de Chile, however, there is a real work ethic and teamwork behind the system and defending as indicated by their clean sheet record.

Eduardo Vargas – Man On Fire

The outstanding player that sprinkles it all together for Universidad is Eduardo Vargas. The 22-year-old has been attracting attention from the likes of Arsenal, Inter and CSKA Moscow recently. Sharp, diminutive and blessed with blistering pace he has scored 16 goals in 32 games at the point of writing. La U have scored 12 goals in their Copa Sudamericana campaign and 7 (58%) of those goals have been scored by Vargas. His turn of pace always leaves defenders on the turf and, as his record suggests, he has the calmness in front of goal to finish even when he’s running at pace.

Eduardo Vargas

His rich vein of form has seen him start for the Chile National Team, albeit in a role where he plays as a winger. Vargas was voted the best winger at the 2008 Milk Cup and played an integral part in Chile’s 2009 Toulon Tournament winning team, finishing the tournament with 3 goals. Vargas doesn’t play as an orthodox forward, tending to drift to the wings, a position he has regularly played in the past, where he uses his pace. He is serviced by Gustavo Lorenzetti who operates in the hole between the forward pair and midfield three, drifting around and playing clever balls for the players ahead of him.

Pressing

Example of how UDC press an opponent

The three midfielders who support Lorenzetti – Charles Aranguiz, Eugenio Mena and Marcelo Diaz – are all of a Gary Medel (‘The Chilean Gatusso’, if you don’t know) mould – diminutive and energetic. The pressing is for a large part a team effort, with lot of it carried out by the midfield threesome.

Vargas does very little pressing, often lurking in the wings and on the shoulders of defenders to intimidate them with his searing pace as La U deliberately deliver balls in behind defences. Lorenzetti also does very little pressing, aiming to find pockets of space and a way out for the midfielders to produce a moment of magic. In fact, the only of the attacking players that does any pressing is Castro who drops very deep into his own half at times to help the midfled press aggressively in packs.

Final Thoughts

This brief look into Universidad de Chile illustrates the flexibility of their side. The flexibility of their attacking players and defenders mean they can change systems even during the course of games. Sampaoli has created a very exciting, enthusiastic team that has youthful exuberance, akin to University freshers, in attacking areas and mature students in the backline; a team that able to change their playing style whoever the opposition.

The plan is to write a more comprehensive piece on Universidad de Chile including screenshots, more diagrams, etc. So look out for that in the coming weeks!