Diego Chará

Diego Chará

Personal information
Full name	Diego Ferney Chará Zamora
Date of birth	April 5, 1986 (1986-04-05) (age 25)
Place of birth	Valle del Cauca, Colombia
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Portland Timbers
Number	21
Youth career
	Deportes Quindío
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2008	Deportes Quindío	124	(2)
2009	América de Cali	31	(1)
2010–2011	Deportes Tolima	51	(5)
2011–	Portland Timbers	28	(2)
National team‡
2010–	Colombia	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 26, 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of October 12, 2011

Diego Ferney Chará Zamora (born April 5, 1986 in Valle del Cauca) is a Colombian footballer who currently plays for Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer. Chará plays as a holding midfielder, and is known for his creativity in the attack.

Career

Club

Chará began his career in the youth ranks of Deportes Quindío. In 2004 he moved up to the senior side and became an important player for Quindío. The talented midfielder made 124 league appearances and scored 2 goals while with Quindío. As a result of his play he began to draw the attention of the top clubs in Colombia and in 2009 joined América de Cali. In one year with America Chará made 31 league appearances and scored 1 goal. The following season he joined Deportes Tolima and was a key player in his club's run to the quarterfinal of the 2010 Copa Sudamericana. The following season he helped Tolima qualify to the 2011 Copa Libertadores. During the 2011 Copa Libertadores Chará appeared in seven games, and provided an assist in a 2-0 win over Brazilian power Corinthians in the early stages of the tournament.

As a result of his play during the Copa Libertadores run Chará started to receive interest from Major League Soccer side Portland Timbers. In April 2011, Chará signed with Portland and became the club's first ever Designated Player.^[1]

On August 20, he scored his first goal in Major League Soccer after just 78 seconds of the home match with Vancouver Whitecaps.^[2] It broke the record for the fastest MLS goal for the club.

International

Chará has been capped twice for the Colombian national team.

See also

• List of current MLS players

References

1. ^ http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2011/04/timbers-sign-diego-char%C3%A1-first-designated-player-club-history
2. ^ http://www.prostamerika.com/2011/08/20/portland-timbers-vancouver-whitecaps-47726/

External links

• Diego Chará at National-Football-Teams.com
• Transfermarkt profile
• ESPN profile

Persondata
Name	Chará, Diego
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	5 April 1986
Place of birth	Colombia
Date of death
Place of death