2026 Club Deportivo Universidad Católica season

Universidad Católica
2026 season
PresidentJuan Tagle
Head coachDaniel Garnero[1]
StadiumClaro Arena[2]
LeagueMatchday 1
Copa ChileGroup stage
Copa de la LigaGroup stage
Supercopa de ChileSemifinals
LibertadoresGroup stage
All statistics correct as of 6 December 2025.

The 2026 Club Deportivo Universidad Católica season is the 86th season and the club's 52th consecutive season in the top flight of Chilean football. In addition to the domestic league, Universidad Católica also competed in the Copa Chile, Copa de la Liga, Supercopa de Chile and the Copa Libertadores.

Squad

As of December 2025[3]
No. Player Nationality Position Date of birth (age) Year signed Signed from
Goalkeepers
1 Vicente Bernedo GK (2001-01-22) 22 January 2001 2026 Cobreloa
24 Martín Contreras GK (2005-05-18) 18 May 2005 2026 Academy
27 Darío Melo GK (1993-03-24) 24 March 1993 2026 Deportes Melipilla
Defenders
2 Daniel González CB (2002-02-20) 20 February 2002 2027 Santiago Wanderers
3 Eugenio Mena LB (1988-07-18) 18 July 1988 2026 Racing Club
4 Ignacio Pérez CB (2006-06-06) 6 June 2006 2027 Academy
6 Sebastián Arancibia RB (2006-06-15) 15 June 2006 2028 Academy
19 Branco Ampuero CB (1993-07-19) 19 July 1993 2027 Deportes Antofagasta
21 Dylan Escobar RB (2000-12-02) 2 December 2000 2025 Coquimbo Unido
7 Tomás Asta-Buruaga CB (1996-10-11) 11 October 1996 2025 Everton
44 José Ignacio Salas LB (2008-02-22) 22 February 2008 2026 Academy
46 Jeffrey Sekgota RB (2006-11-17) 17 November 2006 - Academy
Bernardo Cerezo RB (1995-01-21) 21 January 1995 2026 Ñublense
Midfielders
8 Fernando Zuqui CM (1991-11-27) 27 November 1991 2026 Estudiantes
15 Cristián Cuevas AM / CM / LB (1995-04-02) 2 April 1995 2026 Huachipato
16 Leenhan Romero AM (2006-11-01) 1 November 2006 2027 Academy
17 Gary Medel CB / CM (1987-08-03) 3 August 1987 2027 Boca Juniors
20 Jhojan Valencia CM (1996-07-25) 25 July 1996 2027 Austin
22 Alfred Canales AM / CM (2000-04-27) 27 April 2000 2026 Magallanes
25 Agustín Farías CM (1987-12-25) 25 December 1987 2025 Palestino
33 Nicolás Letelier CM (2005-01-17) 17 January 2005 - Academy
46 Vicente Cárcamo AM (2005-07-17) 17 July 2005 2029 Academy
Jimmy Martínez CM (1997-01-26) 26 January 1997 2026 Huachipato
Matías Palavecino AM (1998-05-23) 23 May 1998 2028 Coquimbo Unido
Forwards
9 Fernando Zampedri (captain)[4] ST (1988-02-14) 14 February 1988 2027 Rosario Central
11 Clemente Montes RW / LW (2001-04-25) 25 April 2001 2025 Academy
14 Juan Francisco Rossel RW / LW (2005-03-17) 17 March 2005 2026 Academy
18 Eduard Bello RW / LW (1995-08-20) 20 August 1995 2025 Barcelona
29 Axel Cerda ST (2006-04-13) 13 April 2006 2027 Academy
30 Diego Valencia ST (2000-01-14) 14 January 2000 2027 Salernitana
31 Bastián Gómez ST (2006-10-20) 20 October 2006 2026 Academy
35 Diego Corral RW / LW (2005-03-09) 9 March 2005 2026 Academy
Justo Giani RW / AM (1999-04-07) 7 April 1999 2026 Aldosivi

Contracts and transfers

New contracts

Date Pos. Name Contract
length 		Contract
ends 		Ref.
5 December 2025 DF Branco Ampuero 2-year 2027 [5][6]
CM Gary Medel 2-year 2027
FW Fernando Zampedri 2-year 2027
18 December 2025 GK Darío Melo 1-year 2026 [7][8]
DF Eugenio Mena 1-year 2026
CM Jhojan Valencia 2-year 2027

Transfers in

Date Pos. Name From Type Ref.
19 December 2025 FW Justo Giani Aldosivi Free transfer [9]
CM Jimmy Martínez Huachipato Free transfer [10]
DF Bernardo Cerezo Ñublense Free transfer [11]
22 December 2025 CM Matías Palavecino Coquimbo Unido Free transfer [12][13]

Transfers out

Date Pos. Name From Type Ref.
3 November 2025 DF Valber Huerta Retired[14] Contract terminated [15]

Loans in

Date Pos. Name From End date Ref.

Loans out

Date Pos. Name From End date Ref.

Kits

Supplier: Puma[16] / Sponsor: Banco BICE[17] / Sleeve sponsor: 1xBet,[18] Sodimac,[19] Samsung[20] and Fortinet.[21]

Kit information

This is Puma's third year supplying Universidad Católica kit, having taken over from Under Armour at the beginning of the 2024 season.[16]

  • Home: The club revealed their new home kit for the 2026 season on 12 December 2025.[22] The kit uses Universidad Católica's traditional colours of blue and white.[23] The shirt has a white body and sleeves and is complemented by blue shorts and white socks.[23]

Competitions

Overview

Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
League January 2026 TBD Matchday 1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
Copa Chile June 2026 TBD Group stage TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
Copa de la Liga March 2026 TBD Group stage TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
Supercopa de Chile 21 January 2026 TBD Semifinals TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
Copa Libertadores March 2026 TBD Group stage TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—

Last updated: December 2025
Source: Soccerway

Primera Division

Main article: 2026 Liga de Primera

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
12 Palestino 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 Unión La Calera 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 Universidad Católica 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 Universidad de Chile 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Relegation to Primera B
16 Universidad de Concepción 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 30 January 2026. Source: Campeonato Chileno
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Playoff game (only if needed to decide championship between two teams), 3) Goal difference, 4) Matches won, 5) Goals for, 6) Away goals for, 7) Red cards, 8) Yellow cards, 9) Drawing of lots.

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
0 0 0 0 0 0  0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Results by round

Round1
Ground
Result
Position
Source: Primera Division
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; F = Free round

Copa Chile

Copa de la Liga

Supercopa de Chile

The tournament feature the winners and runners-up of the 2025 Liga de Primera and 2025 Copa Chile.[24][25]

Semi-finals

21 January 2026 Universidad Católica v Huachipato

Copa Libertadores

Main article: 2026 Copa Libertadores

Universidad Católica will enter the competition in the group stage.[26] The draw was held on March 20256.

References

  1. ^ "Daniel Garnero y su regreso a la UC como DT: "No lo tomo como una revancha"". ESPN Chile (in Spanish). 2025-06-17. Archived from the original on 2025-12-19. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  2. ^ González, Vicente (2025-08-24). "20 mil hinchas, show de luces y lienzos: los detalles de la multitudinaria inauguración del Claro Arena". La Tercera (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-09-11. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  3. ^ "Primer equipo - Club Universidad Católica". Cruzados (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  4. ^ Villarroel, Carlos (2023-07-16). "Comunicado Capitán y grupo de capitanes". Cruzados (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2023-07-16. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  5. ^ Sebastian (2025-12-05). "¡Renovados! Zampedri, Medel y Ampuero continúan junto a la UC". Cruzados (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-12-19. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  6. ^ "Universidad Católica renovó a Zampedri, Medel y Ampuero". Radio Cooperativa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-12-19. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  7. ^ "Universidad Católica oficializó otras tres renovaciones para la temporada 2026". Radio Cooperativa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-12-18. Retrieved 2025-12-18.
  8. ^ "La UC oficializó renovaciones de Darío Melo, Eugenio Mena y Jhojan Valencia". ESPN Chile (in Spanish). 2025-12-18. Archived from the original on 2025-12-18. Retrieved 2025-12-18.
  9. ^ ""Es desequilibrante, decisivo, marca diferencias": Justo Giani, el argentino que se convertiría en nuevo refuerzo de la UC... Mira cómo juega". Emol (in Spanish). 2025-12-18. Archived from the original on 2025-12-19. Retrieved 2025-12-19.
  10. ^ Reyes, Luis (2025-12-19). "La UC da un golpe en el mercado y se queda con un ex jugador de la U: anuncio oficial". AS Chile (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-12-19. Retrieved 2025-12-19.
  11. ^ "Bernardo Cerezo se sumó a los refuerzos oficializados en la UC". Radio Cooperativa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-12-19. Retrieved 2025-12-19.
  12. ^ Lizama, Bastián (2025-12-19). "Matías Palavecino tiene nuevo club en el fútbol chileno: anuncio oficial". ADN Radio Chile (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-12-19. Retrieved 2025-12-19.
  13. ^ "Matías Palavecino se convirtió oficialmente en nuevo refuerzo de la UC". Radio Cooperativa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-12-23. Retrieved 2025-12-23.
  14. ^ Mujica, Lucas (2025-11-03). "Se retira un multicampeón con la UC: Valber Huerta rescinde contrato con los cruzados y deja el fútbol tras dura lesión". La Tercera (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-11-14. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  15. ^ "Valber Huerta pone fin a su etapa en la UC tras 17 meses sin fútbol profesional". AlAireLibre.cl: Noticias de deportes en Chile y el mundo (in Spanish). 2025-11-03. Archived from the original on 2025-12-19. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  16. ^ a b Sebastian (2023-12-15). "PUMA vestirá a la UC en histórico acuerdo de la era Cruzados". Cruzados (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-01-25. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  17. ^ Barrera, Cristian (2020-01-02). "La UC firma millonario acuerdo de patrocinio con Bicecorp". La Tercera (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2020-02-26. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  18. ^ Villarroel, Carlos (2023-03-09). "1xBet se convierte en patrocinador premium de Universidad Católica de Chile". Cruzados (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-01-21. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  19. ^ "EyN: Los factores prioritarios en que se fijan las empresas para auspiciar equipos de fútbol". www.economiaynegocios.cl. Archived from the original on 2025-01-20. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  20. ^ Sebastian (2024-04-24). "Cruzados y Samsung anuncian alianza estratégica". Cruzados (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-01-25. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  21. ^ "Fortinet se suma como patrocinador de Universidad Católica". Cruzados (in Spanish). 2021-05-19. Archived from the original on 2025-01-20. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  22. ^ Vera, Pablo (2025-12-12). "La nueva camiseta de la UC". AS Chile (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-12-19. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  23. ^ a b Sebastian (2025-12-12). "Universidad Católica y PUMA presentan la camiseta local para el 2026: un tributo a la tradición cruzada". Cruzados (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-12-19. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  24. ^ "Supercopa 2026: equipos, sede, fecha, horario, cómo se juega y nuevo formato". Radio Cooperativa (in Spanish). 2025-12-10. Archived from the original on 2025-12-19. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  25. ^ "Las apasionantes llaves de semifinales de la renovada Supercopa 2026". RedGol (in Spanish). 2025-12-11. Archived from the original on 2025-12-19. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  26. ^ "Los equipos chilenos clasificados a la CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026". ESPN Chile (in Spanish). 2025-12-11. Archived from the original on 2025-12-19. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
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