Arturo Vidal

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Vidal and the second or maternal family name is Pardo.

Arturo Vidal

Personal information
Full name	Arturo Erasmo Vidal Pardo
Date of birth	22 May 1987 (1987-05-22) (age 24)
Place of birth	Santiago, Chile
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Juventus
Number	22
Youth career
	Melipilla
	Colo-Colo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2007	Colo-Colo	36	(2)
2007–2011	Bayer Leverkusen	117	(15)
2011–	Juventus	8	(1)
National team‡
2007	Chile U-20	13	(8)
2007–	Chile	37	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 October 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 September 2011

Arturo Erasmo Vidal Pardo (born 22 May 1987) is a Chilean footballer who plays as defensive midfielder for Juventus and Chile.

Early life

Vidal was born in San Joaquín, a working class commune in the capital Santiago. He joined the youth squads of Primera División giants Colo-Colo.^[1]

Club career

Colo-Colo

Vidal's professional debut came in the first leg of the 2006 Apertura Tournament final. The match was between Colo-Colo and arch rivals Universidad de Chile. Vidal was called into action with less than ten minutes left in the match for Gonzalo Fierro. Colo-Colo would go on to win the game 2–1 and win the championship as well. In the following season (2006 Clausura Tournament) Vidal would become a more intricate piece of the squad and would lead Colo-Colo to their second championship win in a row. He has appeared in over thirty league matches for Colo-Colo. Vidal scored goals in all types of matches.^{[citation needed]} He always had a strong relation with the net during the local league as well as the international scene where Vidal scored three goals in Colo-Colo's Copa Sudamericana 2006 campaign. During this campaign Vidal caught the eye of visiting scouts.^{[citation needed]}

Bayer Leverkusen

The 2007 Apertura Tournament was Vidal's last with Colo-Colo, after being transferred to German club Bayer Leverkusen. Bayer had tracked his progress for some time and his good showing at the U-20 World Cup that year convinced Bayer' Director of Football Rudi Völler to make the trip all the way to Chile in order to convince the twenty-year-old to sign.^[2] The two clubs then agreed on a fee of $11 million with Bayer Leverkusen paying $7.7 million for seventy percent ownership of his contract. His transfer broke the previous record of Matías Fernández's $9 million transfer to Villarreal.^[3]

Vidal missed the first game of the season through injury but was soon thrust into the starting line-up and made his debut on 19 August 2007 in the away loss at Hamburg. He started in half the season's games and scored his first goal for the club just three games into his Bayer career. He was ever present for the 2008–09 season and played a vital role in Bayer's run to the German Cup final. On 8 March, he suffered a concussion during the game against VfL Bochum and was out for a month. Upon his return, he scored a goal to break the deadlock in the 4–1 semifinal win over Mainz but Bayer eventually lost to Werder Bremen in the final.

Juventus

On 22 July 2011, Juventus confirmed the signing of Arturo Vidal on a 5 year deal for a fee up to € 12.5 million.^[4] He made his competitive debut in the opening league game of the season against Parma, coming on as a second-half substitute for Alessandro Del Piero; he marked his first appearance with a goal six minutes after his introduction in Juventus' 4–1 win.^[5]

International career

Arturo Vidal with Brazil's Kaká, in the 2010 FIFA World Cup

Vidal represented Chile at the Under-20 level at the 2007 South American Youth Championship in Paraguay where he was the tournament's second top scorer with six goals. During the tournament he played central midfield and helped the team to qualify for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup where Chile finished in third place with Vidal scoring two goals in the tournament, including the match winner against Portugal in the Round of 16.^[6] Vidal made his senior debut in a friendly against Venezuela where Chile won 1–0. He became a regular under Marcelo Bielsa when fit during 2010 World Cup qualifying, playing in 11 matches and scoring a goal.^[7] He was then named in the final 23-man squad for the tournament.

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	5 September 2009	Monumental David Arellano, Santiago, Chile	Venezuela	1–0	2–2	2010 WCQ
2.	17 November 2010	Monumental David Arellano, Santiago, Chile	Uruguay	2–0	2–0	Friendly
3.	4 July 2011	Estadio del Bicentenario, San Juan, Argentina	Mexico	2–1	2–1	2011 Copa América

Honours

Season	Club	Title
Apertura 2006	Colo-Colo	Primera Division Chile Champion
Clausura 2006	Colo-Colo	Primera Division Chile Champion
Apertura 2007	Colo-Colo	Primera Division Chile Champion

References

1. ^ "Warrior With a World Cup Dream". Bundesliga. 21 August 2010. http://www.bundesliga.de/en/liga/news/2009/index.php?f=151710.php. Retrieved 17 January 2011. 
2. ^ "Vidal eyes Bayer and Chile glory". fifa.com. 2 April 2008. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=730779.html. Retrieved 17 January 2011. 
3. ^ "Bayern Leverkusen signse Chilean defender Vidal". iht.com. 28 April 2007. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/28/sports/LA-SPT-SOC-Bayern-Leverkusen-Vidal.php. Retrieved 14 March 2008. 
4. ^ "Agreement with Bayer 04 Leverkusen for the acquisition of the player Arturo Vidal". Juventus. 22 July 2011. http://www.juventus.com/wps/wcm/connect/20a03ce3-7857-424c-9889-4e7546a628ea/comunicato+22072011+vidal+eng.pdf?MOD=AJPERES. Retrieved 22 July 2011. 
5. ^ "Juventus open with stylish win". Eurosport. 11 September 2011. http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/11092011/58/serie-juventus-open-stylish-win.html. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
6. ^ "Chile grab bronze". fifa.com. 22 July 2007. http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/u20worldcup/canada2007/news/newsid=557018.html. Retrieved 17 January 2011. 
7. ^ "Venezuela sorprendió a Chile en Santiago y obtuvo un punto de oro (2-2)" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 6 September 2009. http://www.conmebol.com/conmebol/mainMedia.html?id=9194. Retrieved 17 January 2011. 

External links

• Arturo Vidal at fussballdaten.de (German)

Persondata
Name	Vidal, Arturo
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	22 May 1987
Place of birth	Santiago, Chile
Date of death
Place of death