Diego Iván Rubio Köstner (born 15 May 1993) is a Chilean

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 striker for Major League Soccer club

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

Club career

Early career

Rubio began his football career with Universidad Católica. However, when he was 14, he took the decision to move to his favorite team

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 ...

. After one year in the bench with Colo-Colo, in the next season Diego was consecrated in the youth team. After many seasons in the youth ranks, he was promoted to the first professional team in January 2011.

Colo-Colo

Rubio made his professional debut for Colo-Colo in a pre-season friendly against

Deportes La Serena Club de Deportes La Serena S.A.D.P., is a Chilean football club based in the city of La Serena, Coquimbo Region. The club was founded 9 December 1955 and plays in the first division of the Chilean football league. Their home games are played ...

as a starter. In other pre-season game, Diego scored his first unofficial goals for the club, in a 3–1 win against

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 competes ...

, in where he scored two goals for his team, being named the man of the match. His Chilean Primera División came on 14 February 2011 against

Unión San Felipe Unión San Felipe is a Chilean Football club, their hometown is San Felipe in the V Región of Valparaíso. They play in the second level of the Chilean football league, the Primera B. They were the Copa Chile champions, and played the 2010 C ...

, as an 84th-minute substitution in a 2–0 away defeat. In a Copa Libertadores game played against Santos in Brazil, he scored his first professional goal, but the match finished in a 3–2 loss. On 19 April, Rubio scored his first two goals in the Primera División against La Serena, at 30th and 62nd minute, being named the man of match, in a 4–1 home win. He finally was consecrated in the club in an international game for the Libertadores against

Táchira Táchira State ( es, Estado Táchira, ) is one of the 24 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal. Táchira State covers a total surface area of and as of the 2011 census, had a population of 1,168,908. At the end of the 19t ...

, Rubio gave the 2–1 victory to the club, scoring the two goals of Colo-Colo, after an early goal of Edgar Pérez Greco at 4th minute. After his club's performances, was rumored that

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...

are interested in Rubio. He played his first derby game against his former youth club Universidad Católica, participating in the equalizer goal of Colo-Colo giving an assistance to Ezequiel Miralles at 81st minute, putting the 1–1 draw. The coach

Américo Gallego Américo Rubén "El Tolo" Gallego (born 25 April 1955) is an Argentine football coach and former player. As a midfielder, he played 73 times for the Argentina national team during his playing career. Playing career As a player, Gallego debuted ...

nominated to Rubio for play the major derby of the Chilean football against

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.

, however, he only playing 30 minutes in a 2–1 loss.

Sporting CP

On 5 July 2011, Rubio joined Portuguese club Sporting Clube de Portugal for €1.5 million, signing a five-year contract with a €30 million minimum fee release clause.

Loan to Pandurii

On 2 September 2013, Romanian

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently Sponsor (commercial), sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It ...

club

Pandurii Târgu Jiu The uprising of 1821 was a social and political rebellion in Wallachia, which was at the time a tributary state of the Ottoman Empire. It originated as a movement against the Phanariote administration, with backing from the more conservative ...

confirmed Rubio was signed on a loan from Sporting, with an option to buy. He debuted in Liga I in the match against

Dinamo Bucharest A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterin ...

, won by Pandurii 2–1.

Loan to Sandnes Ulf

On 3 February 2014, Rubio joined

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

side

Sandnes Ulf Sandnes Ulf is a Norwegian association football club from Sandnes, Rogaland, currently playing in the 1. divisjon, the second highest division in the Norwegian football league system. The club play their home matches at Øster Hus Arena. The cl ...

on a season-long loan.

Valladolid

On 31 August 2015, aged 22, signed a four-year contract with Spanish club

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club c ...

Sporting Kansas City

On 8 March 2016, Rubio signed a season-long loan with Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City as a

Designated Player The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee ...

. He signed with the club on a permanent deal on 1 September 2016.

Colorado Rapids

Ahead of the 2019 season, Rubio was traded to

in exchange for Kelyn Rowe, $200,000 of General Allocation Money and $100,000 of Target Allocation Money. On Feb. 20, 2019, Rubio signed a three-year contract extension through the 2022 season. Rubio enjoyed a career year with Colorado in 2019. He was the club's second leading scorer with 11 goals in 25 starts among 26 appearances—all MLS career highs. In 2020, Rubio appeared in 17 matches, starting 13, in the regular season and playoffs. Rubio scored three goals, including game-winning goals on Sept. 12 against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...

and Nov. 8 at Houston Dynamo. He also added four assists, including game-winning assists on Opening Day against

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

and on Nov. 4 to clinch a playoff berth at Portland Timbers. Rubio was named to the MLS Team of the Week in Weeks 11 and 24.

International career

On 31 May 2011, Rubio was called up by Chile national team manager Claudio Borghi to take part in the 28-man pre-list preparatory process for the upcoming

2011 Copa America Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''E ...

. He officially debuted with Chile national team on 23 June 2011, in a match against

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, the last match of Chile before the Copa América. Rubio returned to the national team and appeared in a 0-0 friendly draw against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

on Sept. 11, 2018. Rubio was a substitute in a 1-1 friendly draw against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

on March 26, 2019. Rubio picked up an assist on Alfonso Parat's goal in a 2-1 friendly loss to Honduras on Sept. 10, 2019, Rubio's first 90-minute performance on the senior international stage. On Nov. 6, 2020, Rubio was called up for Chile's

2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualificationAlso the "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers". was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Parallel tour ...

against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

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 th ...

, but was later released from the squad out of precautions over COVID-19.

Personal life

Diego is the grandson of Ildefonso Rubio, a historical goalkeeper of

Rangers de Talca Club Social de Deportes Rangers is a Chilean football club based in the city of Talca. The club was founded November 2, 1902 and plays in the second level of the Chilean football system. Their home games are played at the Fiscal stadium, which h ...

, and the son of

Hugo Rubio Hugo Eduardo Rubio Montecinos (born 5 July 1960) is a former Chilean football forward. Rubio's nickname is "Pájaro," which in Spanish is "bird." He was known for his speed and finishing. He played in Chile, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland. Toda ...

. Currently working at the Passball company as a football agent, Hugo was a successful football player, having spent most of his extensive career in his country with a short spell in

European football UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur asso ...

, specifically in Italy and Switzerland. Hugo also was a member of the

Chile 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 east a ...

squad at the Copa América of 1987 and 1991. Diego has two footballer brothers,

Eduardo Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and sports commentator * Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese footba ...

, who was a Chile international at senior level, and Matías, who was a Chile international at under-20 level. Diego Rubio is also godchild of the Chilean football legend

Iván Zamorano Iván Luis Zamorano Zamora (; born 18 January 1967) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is regarded as one of Chile's most recognized footballers, along with Marcelo Salas, Leonel Sánchez and Elias Figuer ...

. On 15 May 2011, was reported that Rubio was on a list of most popular Chilean players on Twitter with 1,247 fans, in the 12th place of 14 players. The list was led by Jorge Valdivia, in the 1st place with more of 50,000 fans. On 24 May 2013, Diego got married with Rocío Navarro in Seville and on 6 June 2014 his first son Thiago was born. Rubio earned his U.S. green card in September 2017. This status also qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

Club

;Sporting Kansas City *

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Op ...

: Winner

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

References

External links

* *
Diego Rubio
at Football-Lineups * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubio, Diego Living people 1993 births Chilean people of German descent Chilean footballers Footballers from Santiago Association football forwards Colo-Colo footballers Sporting CP footballers Sporting CP B players CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu players Sandnes Ulf players Real Valladolid players Sporting Kansas City players Sporting Kansas City II players Colorado Rapids players Colorado Rapids 2 players Chilean Primera División players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Liga I players Eliteserien players Segunda División players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players MLS Next Pro players Chile under-20 international footballers Chile international footballers Designated Players (MLS) Chilean expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Romania Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Romania Expatriate footballers in Norway Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate footballers in Spain Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate soccer players in the United States Chilean expatriate sportspeople in the United States