Deportes Melipilla
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Caballos
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| Full name | Corporacion de Deportes Melipilla | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Potros Caballos | ||
| Founded | January 24, 1992 | ||
| Ground | Estadio Municipal Roberto Bravo Santibáñez Melipilla, Chile | ||
| Capacity | 6,000 | ||
| Chairman | Leonardo Zúñiga | ||
| Manager | Cristián Arán | ||
| League | Segunda División Profesional de Chile | ||
| 2025 | 12th (Relegated) | ||
| Website | clubdeportesmelipilla | ||
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Deportes Melipilla is a Chilean football club, based on Melipilla, a comune in the Santiago Metropolitan Region. It was founded on January 24, 1992, as a successor of Club Deportivo Soinca Bata. The club has its classic rival, San Antonio Unido match known as "Clásico del Maipo" or "The Maipo Derbi".
Deportes Melipilla has its own stadium called Estadio Municipal Roberto Bravo Santibáñez situated in its city with a capacity of 6,000.
Deportes Melipilla were expelled from the ANFP on 27 December 2021 due to irregularities with the contracts of footballers.[1]
Early years
Deportes Melipilla became the successor to Club Deportivo Soinca Bata — founded on 1 July 1963 —,[2] assuming its federative rights on 24 January 1992 after the Bata footwear company determined it could no longer sustain the financial demands of operating a professional football club. The Club de Deportes Melipilla subsequently inherited Soinca Bata's squad and its place in the Segunda División.
In its first season, Deportes Melipilla earned promotion to the Primera División via the Liguilla de Promoción. However, the club was relegated the following year through the same playoff system.
The team competed in the Segunda División from 1994 to 2004. During this period, its performances were inconsistent: in some seasons it struggled near the relegation zone to the Tercera División, while in others it came close to securing promotion to the Primera División. In 2000, for instance, the club was in a tight promotion race with Unión San Felipe and Rangers de Talca, both of whom ultimately secured promotion that season.
Among the most notable players to represent the club during this era were Mario Araya, Luis Cueto, Rodrigo Romero, Aníbal Pinto, Ronny Fernández, Alejandro Tello, Iván Arenas and Juan Carlos Ibáñez.
In 2004, under head coach Juan Ubilla, the club won its first professional title by claiming the Primera B championship, finishing unbeaten in the final stage of the tournament. Melipilla lifted the trophy in Talcahuano at Estadio El Morro after defeating Naval de Talcahuano, and later sealed promotion with a 3–0 victory over O'Higgins. The promotion-winning squad featured Argentine goalkeeper Christian Traverso, who served as team captain.[3]
21st century
In 2004, Deportes Melipilla won its first professional title by claiming the Primera B championship under coach Juan Ubilla. The team went unbeaten in the final stage and lifted the trophy in Talcahuano at the Estadio El Morro after defeating Naval. Promotion to the top flight was confirmed with a 3–0 win over O'Higgins. Goalkeeper Christian Traverso captained the squad.[4]
Melipilla’s 2005 spell in the Chilean Primera División was short-lived. After an uneven campaign that included a 5–0 defeat to Universidad Católica in the club’s top-flight debut of the season,[5] the team was relegated after losing the promotion/relegation play-off (Liguilla de Promoción) to O'Higgins 4–3 on aggregate.[6] Ubilla was replaced during the season by Guillermo Páez, and despite reinforcements such as Alan Monegat, Maximiliano Zanello, Freddy Ferragut, Ricardo Queraltó, Roberto Gutiérrez and Rodrigo Barrera, the club could not avoid relegation.
In 2006, led by first-time head coach Luis Musrri, Melipilla won the Primera B title again and returned to the Primera División, securing promotion in the final phase of the championship.[7]
The club remained in the top flight in 2007–08. In 2007, Musrri guided Melipilla to its best-ever top-tier finish (ninth overall), before departing during the Clausura and being replaced by Ronald Fuentes. In 2008, after finishing last in the Apertura and undergoing further coaching changes—Ricardo Dabrowski and later José Díaz—the club was relegated to Primera B.
The 2009 season was marked by a severe financial crisis. After a poor run under Dutch coach Jorrit Smink, former player Emiliano Astorga took charge and improved results on the pitch. Nevertheless, the ANFP imposed sporting penalties for non-compliance with salary and social-security obligations. On 22 June 2009, the ANFP’s financial control body ordered Melipilla’s administrative relegation to the Tercera División A due to repeated failures to provide proof of payments and payroll documentation.[8]
Melipilla competed in Tercera A in 2010–11 under coaches including Luis Abarca, Hernán Godoy and Guillermo Páez, and remained in the division. In 2012, the club was invited to join the newly created Segunda División Profesional —a third-tier league organized by the ANFP— as one of its founding members, with the place framed as compensation linked to the 2009 administrative relegation.
In the 2016–17 campaign, managed by Carlos Encinas, Melipilla narrowly missed promotion, finishing behind Barnechea.[9] Later in 2017, the club contested a promotion play-off against Deportes Vallenar. Following a refereeing controversy in the penalty shoot-out and an ANFP-ordered retake, Melipilla was ultimately declared the winner and promoted to Primera B.[10]
On 7 February 2021, Melipilla returned to the Primera División after defeating Unión San Felipe on penalties under coach John Armijo. After the 2021 season, the club faced complaints alleging contractual and payment irregularities. On 27 December 2021, the ANFP Tribunal’s First Chamber ordered the club’s expulsion from professional football,[11] but the Second Chamber overturned the expulsion and instead imposed a six-point deduction, which relegated Melipilla to the Primera B.[12]
In 2022, after a season that featured three different head coaches, Melipilla was relegated again —this time to the Segunda División Profesional— after a defeat to Deportes Santa Cruz.[13]
Titles
Squad
Current squad of Deportes Melipilla as of 7 September 2021
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Sources: ANFP Official Web Site
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