Estadio El Morro, Football stadium in Talcahuano, Chile.
Estadio El Morro Ramón Unzaga Asla is a football ground on Jordán Valdivieso street in Talcahuano, holding 7,200 spectators. Its stands are built into the slope of the Cerro El Morro that gives it its name, and the old structures have kept their aged, heritage look. A second pitch lies beside the main field.
The ground began around 1900 as a pitch where spectators watched from the slope of the Cerro El Morro; the stadium itself was built in 1949, the year Naval de Talcahuano was founded. In 1962, for the World Cup held in Chile, a grass pitch, perimeter fencing and new stands were inaugurated. The 27 February 2010 earthquake and tsunami burned the pitch with salt water and swept away fencing and a goal; after remodelling, it reopened on 19 August 2012 with Naval against San Marcos de Arica.
The stadium's name comes from the hill beside it, whose slope once served as natural terracing for spectators. The ground is linked to the "chilena", the overhead back-heel volley attributed to Ramón Unzaga, whose name the venue also carries. Naval de Talcahuano plays its home matches here, and since 2022 Huachipato Femenino of the Primera B Femenina also uses the ground.
The ground sits at Jordán Valdivieso 909, on the slope of the hill that gives it its name; the hillside itself serves as standing room, so spectators watch from the cerro as well as from the tribunes. The second pitch beside the main field has not been well maintained. Access is via the streets of Talcahuano, in the Gran Concepción area.
In 1963 the Brazilian club Santos, then world club champion, played a friendly at El Morro against Naval de Talcahuano, with Pelé in the side. The crowd filled the hillside and the match ended 0-5.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,735 contributors worldwide.