Colo-Colo Femenino, Chilean women’s football and the Copa Libertadores Femenina are at the center of this episode of Why We Love This Club.

Chris Horwedel tells the story of the women’s side of Colo-Colo, from its launch in 2007 to becoming the dominant force in Chile. Las Albas won ten consecutive domestic championships beginning in 2010, establishing a standard few clubs in South America could match.

The centerpiece is the 2012 Copa Libertadores Femenina, when 21-year-old goalkeeper Christiane Endler helped Colo-Colo defeat Brazil’s Foz Cataratas on penalties and become the first club from outside Brazil to win the competition. That victory also made Colo-Colo one of the rare South American institutions to win the continent’s biggest club competition in both men’s and women’s football.

The episode also explores Colo-Colo’s continued domestic success, the rise of rivals such as Universidad de Chile and Santiago Morning, the professionalization of women’s football in Chile and the campaign to ensure the women’s 2012 Libertadores is remembered alongside the men’s famous 1991 triumph.

Chile has two Libertadores. Colo-Colo’s women won one of them.

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If you enjoyed this show, you may like these other soccer podcasts by Chris.

The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered

The Underdog Football Show

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