When a group of young players, of the 1925 Chilean Football Club Magallanes, wanted to turn their club into a professional entity, they were met with strong opposition from veteran teammates, club directors and even die hard fans. To avoid any dissention with the administration, this group of players, led by David Arellano, decided to start their own professional club. Co-Founder Luis Contreras came up with the team name Colo-Colo, which he named after a Chilean Mapuche Chief.
The club was met with instant success by winning the Primera Division de la Liga Metropolitana by going unbeaten. However, during a European friendly tour in 1927 founder and team captain Arellano was critically injured in a collision with a player from Spanish side Real Valladolid. The blow caused an inflammation of the peritoneum – a serious membrane which lines the abdominal cavity – and as a result of this injury, he died the following day. Despite the setback, Colo-Colo went on to win the Primera Division de la Liga Central de Football from 1928 to 1930.
In 1933, with the support of many Santiago clubs, Colo-Colo led the way in creating the first professional football league within Chile. Ironically, Colo-Colo and Magallanes were tied after the end of the first inaugural season. A one game final was scheduled were Magallanes were victorious 2-1. Colo-Colo would finally win the coveted national title in 1937 – going unbeaten that season – and would proceed to win it 27 more times over the course of the next 70 years. In fact, since the league’s inception, Colo-Colo is the only club to have never been relegated from the top division and is ranked among the top 30 world football clubs of all time (ranking by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics). Along the way, they have also placed first in the Copa Libertadores de America (1991), Recopa Sudamericana (1992) and the Copa Interamericana (1991). Notable players include: Humberto Suazo (Chile), Marco Etcheverry (Bolivia) and Matias Fernandez (Argentina).
In 1989, in honor of their founding father, Colo-Colo named their stadium after David Arellano. Colo-Colo, which are also known as Los Albos (the Snow Whites), El Indio (the Indian) and El Eterno Campeon (the Eternal Champion), is the largest supported club in Chile.
| Full name | Corporación Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo | |
| Nickname(s) | Los Albos (the Snow Whites), El Cacique, El Indio (the Indian), El Eterno Campeón (the Eternal Champion), El Popular (the Popular) | |
| Founded | April 19, 1925 | |
| Ground | Estadio Monumental David Arellano Santiago, Chile (Capacity: 45,953[1]) | |
| Chairman | Gabriel Ruiz-Tagle | |
| Manager | Gualberto Jara (interim) | |
| League | Primera División de Chile | |