page_title: O'Higgins F.C.
section_title: The Instability: 1996–2004
hierarchical_section_title: O'Higgins F.C. / History / The Instability: 1996–2004
caption_attribution_description: Trinchera Celeste
context_page_description: O'Higgins Fútbol Club also known as O'Higgins de Rancagua, is a Chilean football club based in Rancagua, that is a current member of the Campeonato Nacional. The club's home stadium is the Estadio El Teniente, opened in 1945 and renovated for the 2015 Copa América, which was hosted by Chile.
  Founded in 1955, the club was named in honour of the country's founding father and supreme director Bernardo O'Higgins, after the merger of the clubs O'Higgins Braden and América de Rancagua. O'Higgins has won two Primera B titles, and in 2013 they won their first top-flight championship against Universidad Católica, coached by Eduardo Berizzo; they later won the 2014 Supercopa de Chile on penalty kicks against Deportes Iquique. The team has competed four times in the Copa Libertadores, once in the Copa Sudamericana in 2012, and once in the Copa CONMEBOL in 1992.
  The club emblem is a phoenix standing upon the club's colours. The club has a long-standing rivalry with regional neighbours Rangers de Talca and Curicó Unido, as well as with clubs from Santiago.
context_section_description: In the 1996 season, the club signed great players, having a great team with Clarence Acuña as central midfielder, in the creation the Argentine playmaker Gerardo Martino, a footballer from Argentine Primera División side Newell's Old Boys, whilst were released as strikers: Carlos Poblete and Ariel Cozzoni. However, the team lost the category, relegating to the Primera B, after a finish under Regional Atacama in the table's bottom. Two years later, under the orders of René Serrano, the team achieved promotion to the First Division (Primera División). In 1999, the club of Rancagua finished in tenth place, in which Mario Núñez and Jaime González also became the most successful goalscorer pair in the Chilean football with 57 goals between both strikers. In the 2001 season, with financial problems and a poor season, the team lost the category, returning to the Primera B with the coach Guillermo Páez in the charge.
  In 2002, under Luis Droguett's orders, the club nearly achieved the Primera División return with a successful season of Rodrigo Ramírez, talented player that earned the nickname of Garrincha, making reference to the Brazilian footballer that played in the 1962 World Cup. In the 2003 season, the club failed via the promotion play-offs to promote to the first tier, after of loss 2–0 with Everton at Parque El Teniente in Rancagua, making a similar season in the 2004 year, again failed his Primera División's promotion after of be defeated by Deportes Melipilla, under the orders of the Paraguayan head coach or manager Sergio Nichiporuk, who was fired then.
  Despite the sports failure, the club crossed hard financial problems, because Codelco did not take care of that and also of the irregularities in the board, of several years ago. However, in December 2004, it was reported that the ANFP's former president and entrepreneur Ricardo Abumohor would buy the team to fix the situation.
caption: Trinchera Celeste, the barra brava of the club, was founded in 2002.
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