Gonzalo Alejandro Jara Reyes (; born 29 August 1985) 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 currently plays for

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 ...

club

Coquimbo Unido Coquimbo Unido is a Chilean football club based in the city of Coquimbo. The club was founded August 30, 1958 and will play in the Chilean Primera División on 2022. Their home games are played at the Estadio Municipal Francisco Sánchez Rumoros ...

. He is a versatile defender and can play in either a full-back role or as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Formed at

Huachipato Club Deportivo Huachipato is a Chilean football club based in Talcahuano that is a current member of the Chilean Primera División. The club was founded 7 June 1947 and plays its home games at the Estadio CAP, which has a capacity of 10,500 p ...

, he later won three league titles at

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 ...

. In 2009, he moved to England, where he represented

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

and

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

, joining Mainz in 2014. Jara has played for 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 ...

since 2006, earning over 100 caps. He played in two

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the ...

s (

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

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 ...

), and four

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 ...

, being part of the team that won the title in

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 ...

and in 2016, in the

Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario ( pt, Copa América Centenário, french: Coupe Amerique Centennaire, en, Centennial Cup America; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's association football tournament that was hosted by the ...

Club career

Born in Hualpén, Jara made his professional debut in 2003 for

, where he played until his 2007 transfer to

. Colo-Colo agreed to transfer him to English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

team

for a fee of $3 million in August 2009, but the buying club chose not to proceed with the deal. However, they later resurrected the deal and Jara signed for Albion for a fee of £1.4 million on a three-year contract on 25 August 2009. He scored his first goal for West Brom in a 2–1 away win against

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 ...

on 7 November 2009. His second came against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

on 25 September 2010, scoring in a 3–2 victory for West Brom at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacit ...

. On 21 October 2011, Jara joined

side

on a loan deal initially lasting until January 2012. However, on 20 December 2011, West Brom recalled him and two other players also on loan at other clubs due to an injury crisis. Jara returned to

on a loan deal lasting until the end of the season on 31 January 2012. He joined another Championship side,

, on loan until the end of the season on 10 January 2013. On 19 June, after his release from West Bromwich, he joined Forest on a permanent one-year deal. He was one of seven players released from the club on 27 May 2014. On 16 July 2014, he was given a two-year contract with an option for a third year by

1. FSV Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top ...

. On 16 January 2016, he agreed to terminate his contract with them.

International career

Youth teams

In 2005, Jara represented Chile at the

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Wor ...

in the Netherlands, scoring a goal in Chile's 7–0 victory over Honduras. Jara was Chile's captain in the prestigious 2008 Under-23

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. ...

, where he has played in the 5–3 victory against France, as well as the 2–0 victories against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and Japan. He missed the semi-final match versus Ivory Coast due to yellow cards.

Senior team

Brazil & Chile match at World Cup 2010-06-28 4

He was chosen by coach

Nelson Acosta Nelson Bonifacio Acosta López, nicknamed ''Pelado Acosta'' (''Bald'' Acosta), (born 12 June 1944 in Paso de los Toros, Uruguay) is a former Uruguayan-born Chilean football manager and footballer. He became a naturalized Chilean citizen in 1 ...

to play for Chile during their 2006 tour through Europe where they played the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

in Dublin,

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label=Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is the ...

and Sweden in Stockholm. He also played for Chile in the

2007 Copa América The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The c ...

against

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. He scored his first international goal for Chile against

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 ...

during the CONMEBOL 2010 World Cup qualifiers, and also played at the

final tournament 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 cont ...

. In 2013, during a

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 ...

qualifier In linguistics, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure which ''modifies'' the meaning of another element in the structure. For instance, the adjective "red" acts as a modifier in the noun phrase "red ball", provi ...

he provoked Uruguayan

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Uruguayan Primera División club Nacional and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is ...

by holding and pinching him around the waist with one hand and grabbing his crotch with the other. Suárez subsequently punched Jara, but both parties went unpunished. At the final tournament, he was the fifth and final Chilean player used in a

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 ...

against Brazil in the Round of 16 in Belo Horizonte. His shot missed, rebounding off the right-hand goal post, which eliminated his team from the competition. In the 2015 Copa América quarter-finals match against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

he provoked Uruguayan

Edinson Cavani Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Valencia and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Matador'' ('The Bullfighter'), being known for his i ...

into a second yellow card and expulsion by slapping Cavani and, according to replays, appeared to insert his finger into Cavani's anus. Jara then faked a fall to the ground. The incident received almost immediate and prominent international coverage from newspapers and the internet, mostly condemning Jara. Massive coverage included articles, columns, blogs, memes, and cartoons accusing Jara of inappropriately touching Cavani and then diving theatrically. Press in Australia likened the incident to the infamous on-field, anus-poking tactics of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

player

John Hopoate John Hopoate (born 16 January 1974 in Tonga) is a former professional rugby league player and boxer who was involved in numerous sport controversies and subsequently convicted for violent crimes. He played rugby league in the Tonga national r ...

in 2001. Although unpunished during the match, Jara was suspended for two games, the remainder of the tournament, which Chile eventually won. Mainz criticised Jara for the incident and stated that he would be sold.

Career statistics

International

International goals

''Scores and results list Chile's goal tally first.''

Other works

Still a player of

, in November 2022, Jara joined TNT Sports Chile as a football commentator for the program ''Todos somos técnicos'' (We are all coaches) in the context of the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wo ...

, alongside

Gustavo Quinteros Gustavo Domingo Quinteros Desabato (born 15 February 1965) is a football manager and former professional player who played as a defender. He is the current manager of Chilean club Colo-Colo. Born in Argentina, he played for the Bolivia nat ...

, Gissella Gallardo and

Roberto Tobar Roberto Andrés Tobar Vargas (born 13 April 1978) is a Chilean association football referee, who has been a FIFA international referee since 2011. He has officiated at the Copa Sudamericana, South American U-17 Championship, FIFA U-17 World ...

Honours

Club

;Colo-Colo * Primera División (3): 2007 Apertura, 2007 Clausura, 2008 Clausura ;Universidad de Chile * Primera División (1): 2017 Clausura

International

;Chile *

, 2016

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jara, Gonzalo 1985 births Living people People from Concepción Province, Chile Chilean footballers Chilean expatriate footballers Chile international footballers Chile under-20 international footballers Association football defenders C.D. Huachipato footballers Colo-Colo footballers West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players 1. FSV Mainz 05 players Universidad de Chile footballers Estudiantes de La Plata footballers Atlético Morelia players Mazatlán F.C. footballers Club Tijuana footballers Unión La Calera footballers Coquimbo Unido footballers Chilean Primera División players Premier League players English Football League players Bundesliga players Argentine Primera División players Liga MX players 2007 Copa América players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 Copa América players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 Copa América players Copa América Centenario players 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2019 Copa América players Copa América-winning players Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Argentina Expatriate footballers in Mexico Chilean expatriate sportspeople in England Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Germany Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Mexico FIFA Century Club Chilean association football commentators

Club career

International career

Youth teams

Senior team

Career statistics

International

International goals

Other works

Honours

Club

International

See also

References

External links