Chile

As Far As You Can See

By Where Is Football

In the past decade, Chile’s golden generation has taken the national team from football footnote to tournament favorites.

While Chile has been on the global football radar since the late 19th century—with a storied domestic club scene and a culture of famously thunderous fan support—the country has rarely impressed on the pitch for much of that time.

Though they hosted the World Cup in 1962, where they finished third, and had a series of runners-up finishes at Copa América to their name, La Roja had never before triumphed at a major tournament—until this generation came along.

Following a standout performance under Marcelo Bielsa at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and another one under Jorge Sampaoli four years later in Brazil, Chile grew considerably in the estimation of the global football community. A sense of self-belief emerged unlike ever before, and in the past three summers, the nation has celebrated two Copa América victories—including one on home soil—and finished second at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.

As a new footballing power on the rise and in the spotlight, we took some time to get to know the grassroots game in Chile. Though the likes of Alexis Sánchez and Arturo Vidal are now carving up the pristine pitches of Europe, their journeys began on the dirt fields of Tocopilla and futsal courts of Santiago.

After a century primarily defined by a sense of resignation in the long shadows cast by Brazilian and Argentine triumphs, Chileans now have a national team winning honours befitting the country’s football-mad heritage.

In less than a decade, Chile has gone from a country happy to just make the World Cup field to a team that has a legitimate chance—outside as it may be—of winning it all.

And while that journey will play out in front of the eyes of over a billion people in Russia, it started on these fields, when nobody was watching.

Where Is Football contributing photographer Sabino Aguad—born in Chile, currently living in France, and crazy about the beautiful game—took a trip back around his home country to capture its football heartlands. The photos below are a love letter to his own sporting heritage and the soul of La Roja.