Charles Mariano Aránguiz Sandoval (; born 17 April 1989) is a Chilean professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...

club Bayer Leverkusen and the

Chile national team Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

. With his former club

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

, Aránguiz was considered one of the best midfielders in the

Chilean Primera División The Chilean Primera División (English: First Division) is the top-tier league of the Chilean football league system. It is organized by the '' ANFP''. The league is known as the Campeonato AFP PlanVital for sponsorship reasons. Format As of the ...

, with a good sense of tactics, impressive stamina and intelligent playmaking, marking and passing abilities. He can play as a defensive, center or even as a right wing midfielder. He is described by FIFA's official website as "a crafty, tigerish midfielder of the highest order, notable for his ability to win and distribute the ball, pick out passes and hit the back of the net".

Club career

Early life

Aránguiz was born in

Puente Alto Puente, a word meaning '' bridge'' in Spanish language, may refer to: People * Puente (surname) Places * La Puente, California, USA * Puente Alto, city and commune of Chile * Puente de Ixtla, city in Mexico * Puente Genil, village in the Spanish ...

in Diego Portales neighborhood. His mother, Mariana Sandoval, is a football coach. He started to play football in

before leaving the club to join

Cobreloa Club de Deportes Cobreloa S.A.D.P. (), commonly referred to as Cobreloa, is a Chilean football professional club based in Calama, Región de Antofagasta, Chile. That competes in the Primera B. The club's home ground is the Estadio Zorros del ...

Academy when he was 13 years old.

Early career

Aránguiz made his professional debut in 2006, for Cobreloa against

Cobresal Club de Deportes Cobresal or simply Cobresal, is a Chilean football club based in El Salvador, Atacama, a Chilean mining camp, and participates in Campeonato Nacional. The team was founded on 5 May 1979, and the name of the club comes from the ...

. His first goal in the Primera División was against O'Higgins in the same year. After a spell on loan at Cobresal, Aránguiz joined

Colo-Colo Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo () is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano they play in the Chilean Primera División, from which they have never been relegated. The team has pla ...

, where he won the

Clausura The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is div ...

championship in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. In 2010, Aránguiz had a short spell at

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines ...

club

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the south east of the Greater Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and it is the seat of the eponymous county. With a population of 230,810, it is located south of th ...

, before joining Colo-Colo's historic rivals

for a fee of £616,000 on 1 January 2011. He immediately became an integral part of the squad, helping "U" to win the

2011 Copa Sudamericana The 2011 Copa Sudamericana de Clubes (officially the 2011 Copa Bridgestone Sudamericana de Clubes for sponsorship reasons) was the 10th edition of the Copa Sudamericana, South America's secondary international club football tournament organized ...

, where the Chilean team remained unbeaten for the entire tournament. By defeating

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

ian side Liga de Quito 4–0 on aggregate in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

, Universidad de Chile became the first Chilean side to win a continental competition in twenty years. Having drawn 3–3 on aggregate with

Unión Española Club Unión Española S.A.D.P. is a professional football club based in the Independencia neighborhood, commune of Santiago, Chile. They currently participate in the Primera División de Chile. It has a branch of women's football, and compete ...

in the semi-finals of the Copa Chile, Aránguiz led his team to the final, netting the "U"'s first kick in a 5–4

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

victory on 17 April 2013. In the

, he played the full ninety minutes as Universidad secured a 2–1 win over Universidad Católica thanks to a stoppage-time goal from

Juan Ignacio Duma Juan Ignacio Duma (born 8 December 1993) is an Argentinian-born Chilean footballer who plays for Deportes Melipilla as a winger. Career He debuted on 9 September 2012 in a match against Santiago Wanderers during the 2012 Copa Chile. He played h ...

Internacional

On 11 January 2014, it was announced that Aránguiz was signed by

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian club Internacional on loan until 15 August 2014 from

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

, after its owner Giampaolo Pozzo, who also owns Udinese and

Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

, had bought half of his rights from

. Although he never played for the Spanish club, as he was quickly loaned to the Brazilian club and later sold. He was named the MVP of the

2014 Campeonato Gaúcho The 2014 Campeonato da Primeira Divisão de Futebol Profissional da FGF (2014 FGF First Division Professional Football Championship), better known as the 2014 Campeonato Gaúcho or Gaúcho, was the 94th edition of the top flight football league ...

as Internacional won the tournament for a record 43rd time. On 11 June 2014, Charles Aránguiz's purchase was announced by Internacional's board in a joint transaction with investor Delcir Sonda for an undisclosed fee. Aránguiz signed a new contract which expires in June 2018.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 13 August 2015, Bayer Leverkusen announced that they had signed Aránguiz from Internacional for an undisclosed fee thought to be around £8.6m. He was given the number 20 shirt. Aranguiz was the subject of a fierce transfer battle between Bayer and

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

and despite the latter offering him a significantly higher salary, Aranguiz opted to move to Bayer Leverkusen. Aranguiz stated that Leicester was a small club and that he wanted to play in the Champions League. Aránguiz was appointed as club captain ahead of the 2020–21 season, after Lars Bender abdicated the role due to ongoing injury issues.

International career

Charles Aránguiz en la Copa Mundial de Fútbol de 2014

He participated in Milk Cup in 2007. In 2008, he participated in

Toulon Tournament The Toulon Tournament (officially the Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a football (training match) tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams composed of youth players from U-17 to U-23 level. ...

, Milk Cup, and the Talents Cup. Along with Chile youth team he won the 2008 João Havelange Tournament. He participated for the U-20 Chile team in

2009 South American Youth Championship The 2009 South American Youth Championship (Sudamericano sub-20) was a football competition for national teams U-20 who are associated with the football federation CONMEBOL. It was the 24th time the tournament was held and took place in Venezuela ...

; there he scored one goal in the championship from a free kick. Aránguiz made his debut for the

in 2009, but was not selected for the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

or the

2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South Americ ...

. He established himself in the Chile team during its successful

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by ...

campaign, making seven appearances and scoring in wins against

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

. On 1 June 2014, Aránguiz was named to Chile's final 23-man roster for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting rig ...

in Brazil. In Chile's second group match against defending champions

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

at the Estádio do Maracanã, he provided the assist for Eduardo Vargas's goal before scoring himself as Chile eliminated Spain and secured qualification to the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

. At the

2015 Copa América The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, ...

, held in Chile, Aránguiz scored twice during a 5–0 defeat of

which ensured that ''La Roja'' would progress to the

knockout stage A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...

winners. The following year, Aránguiz was once again a key player for Chile in their 2016 Copa América Centenario triumph. Aránguiz scored the crucial opening goal against Colombia in Chile's 2–0 semi-final victory over them. He then also played great in the

against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

and he converted a vital penalty in the

which gave Chile victory once again against Argentina. Chile raised the Copa America trophy with this triumph and Aránguiz was a key player for them throughout the tournament.

Personal life

His mother, Mariana Sandoval, was a football coach and leader at amateur level for over 30 years in

and was highlighted by CONMEBOL due to these contributions. His brother, Gilberto, is a football coach working for club Municipal Puente Alto in the Chilean Tercera B during 2022. His cousin, Mario Sandoval, is a professional football player too.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Chile's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Aránguiz goal.''

Honours

Colo-Colo *

Primera División de Chile Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera The is a large family car which was produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1990 to 2007, for the markets in Japan and Europe. In Japan, it replaced the Auster/Stanza, and was exclusive to '' N ...

: 2009 Clausura Universidad de Chile *

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American fo ...

: 2011 *Primera División de Chile: 2011 Apertura, 2011 Clausura, 2012 Apertura * Copa Chile:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana ( pt, CONMEBOL Recopa Sul-Americana), known also as the Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as the Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club football competition organized by CO ...

runner-up:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

* Supercopa de Chile runner-up:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

Internacional *

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho Série A1 (Gaúcho Championship A1 Series or Série A1), officially named as Campeonato da Primeira Divisão de Futebol Profissional da FGF - Divisão Especial - Série A1 and commonly known as Campeonato Gaúcho or Gauchã ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

Chile *

Copa del Pacífico Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Asso ...

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

, 2016 Individual * Copa Sudamericana's Ideal Team:

* America's Ideal Team:

* Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2016

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aranguiz, Charles 1989 births Living people People from Puente Alto Chilean people of Basque descent Chilean footballers Chilean expatriate footballers Chile international footballers Chile under-20 international footballers Chile youth international footballers Cobreloa footballers Cobresal footballers Udinese Calcio players Colo-Colo footballers Quilmes Atlético Club footballers Universidad de Chile footballers Sport Club Internacional players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players Chilean Primera División players Serie A players Argentine Primera División players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Bundesliga players Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Argentina Expatriate footballers in Brazil Expatriate footballers in Germany Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Italy Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Germany 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 Copa América players Copa América Centenario players 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2019 Copa América players 2021 Copa América players Copa América-winning players Association football midfielders