On November 30, 1910, in a sombrero — a hat shop — owned by a certain Alberto Caffi, a group of Italian immigrants in Santiago, Chile, met with a simple idea: to found a club. They called it Audax Italian Cycling Club, because at the time, in Chile, cycling was the passion. It seems like a folkloristic detail: in reality, it is the beginning of one of the most fascinating stories in South American football.
Today, 115 years later, that small tricolor club still exists. It's called Audax Italiano, plays in the Chilean Primera División and is qualified for the 2026 Copa Sudamericana — the second most important continental tournament, after the Libertadores.
From cycling club to Chilean football legend
In 1917 the club began playing football, and in 1922 — when football took over in Chile — it changed its name to Audax Italian Sports ClubSince then, fans have affectionately called him “Los Tanos” — “The Italians” in South American slang.
The club's colors recall its roots: green and white, two of the three colors of the Italian flag. A statement of identity that has endured two world wars, two dictatorships, and over a century of Chilean football.
Audax counts in his palmarès four national titles, the first in 1936, the others in the golden years between 1946 and 1957, and appeared three times in the Copa Libertadores e four times in the Copa Sudamericana.
The “Clásico de Colonias”: When Diasporas Face Off on the Field
In Santiago, the Audax Italiano is part of a small universe of clubs born from migrant communities: theSpanish Union, founded by the Spanish, and the Palestino, founded by Palestinian immigrants. Three clubs, three identities, three stories of roots that crossed oceans to meet in one city. When they face each other on the pitch, the game has a name all its own: “Classic of Colonias” — the diaspora derby.
Audax plays at theEstadio Bicentenario de La Florida, in the municipality from which the club took its full official name Club Deportivo Audax Italiano La Florida since 2007. The capacity is modest (12.000 seats), but the atmosphere when you enter the field Los Tanos it is that of a community that gathers around its origins.
A twenty-first region that plays football
For the thousands of Italian-Chileans, descendants of those who crossed the Atlantic a century ago in search of a better life, Audax is more than just a team: it's a piece of their identity that has never been lost. And it's one of the most beautiful examples of how deeply Italy has taken root in South America. Even in the ninety minutes of a soccer match.
