Jaime Andrés Valdés Zapata ( born 11 January 1981) 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 le ...

who plays for

Primera B de Chile Campeonato Primera B ( en, Chilean First B Division) is the second tier in the Chilean football league system, and is organized by the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional. It was established in 1952 as ''Segunda División'', and later renam ...

side

Santiago Wanderers Club de Deportes Santiago Wanderers is a football club based in Valparaíso, a founding member of the Chilean Football Federation. Their home ground, Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, is in the north-west of the city. Wanderers have played their ...

. He usually plays as

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 ...

. Valdés was member of his national under-20 national team in the

2001 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Argentina between 17 June and 8 July 2001. The 2001 championship was the 13th contested. The tournament took part in six cities, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza, Rosario, Salta, and Mar de ...

and has represented three times the senior team between 2001 and 2010. Product of

Palestino Club Deportivo Palestino is a professional football club based in the city of Santiago, Chile. The club was founded in 1920 and plays in the Primera División de Chile. They play their home games at the Estadio Municipal de La Cisterna stadium ...

prolific youth ranks, he has played more than ten years in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, where netted 38 goals in clubs like

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...

and

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

, being

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...

the only one club where he failed to score. After years spending in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, in 2014, Valdés returned to

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 ...

and reached the Torneo Clausura title, as well as was awarded as the

Chilean Footballer of the Year Chilean Footballer of the Year is an award that the Circulo de Periodistas de Chile annually grants, to those Chilean soccer players who during the season of Primera División de Chile have obtained the greater number of points, in agreement with th ...

in December of that year. Having played fourteen seasons at Italy, is the Chilean with most consecutive season in it, being over

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 Figueroa ...

who has a season less.

Club career

Beginnings and move to Italy

Valdés started his career at

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

-based

. In December 1999, he was signed by then Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

side

along with countryman Pascual de Gregorio. He made his Serie A debut in the next season, on 15 October 2000. He replaced

Rachid Neqrouz Rachid Neqrouz ( ar, راشد نقروز) (born 10 April 1972) is a former Moroccan former football defender, who played for Young Boys Bern in Switzerland and A.S. Bari in Italy. He retired in 2003, after being released for free by Bari. ...

in the 84th minute when the team was a goal down to

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

. The matched ended in 2–0. Valdés followed the team down to Serie B after the club's June 2001 relegation and became a first-team regular in the team, replacing

Antonio Cassano Antonio Cassano (; born 12 July 1982) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A talented and technically gifted player, he was usually deployed as a supporting forward, but could also play as an attacking midfield ...

. In August 2004, he was signed by

side

ACF Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...

in a co-ownership deal. As part of the deal,

Massimiliano Scaglia Massimiliano Scaglia (born 21 May 1977) is a former Italian defender. Career Scaglia started his professional football career as an 18-year-old with Salernitana. Failing to break into the first team, he joined U.S. Alessandria Calcio 1912, sp ...

moved in the opposite direction, also in a co-ownership deal. Valdés played his first league game for ''La Viola'' on 19 December 2004, a 2–0 victory over

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

. He replaced Javier Portillo in the 76th minute, six minutes after Portillo scored the 2nd goal. He only played 5 Serie A matches for Fiorentina in the first half of the season.

Spells at Lecce and Atalanta

In January 2005,

Valeri Bojinov Valeri Emilov Bojinov ( bg, Валери Емилов Божинов, ; born 15 February 1986) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a striker. Throughout his career, Bojinov has played for seventeen different clubs during his ...

was transferred to

from Lecce and Fiorentina sold its 50% registration rights to

as part of the deal. Lecce then bought the remain 50% rights from Bari in June 2005. He followed Lecce relegated to Serie B in June 2006. He was a regular starter in 2006–07 season, but in 2007-08 just made 14 starts in 36 Serie B appearances. After Lecce won promotion back to Serie A, he left for fellow Serie A team

on free transfer in July 2008, which the deal already agreed in January. At first he was a substitute player but gained a regular place in November 2008. He scored 7 league goals for Atalanta in 2009–10 season.

Sporting CP

On 6 July 2010, Valdés joined Portuguese side

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

from relegated

for a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

2,992,500 transfer fee, signing a three-year contract with a

25 million release clause. He debuted for the club on 14 July in a 4–2 loss against

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

Parc des Princes Parc des Princes () is an all-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin ...

, and scored his first goal on 25 July in a 2–1 exhibition match away win over

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

, where his side's goals were scored by him and his compatriot Matías Fernández for the victory at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

. His league debut came on 14 August in a 1–0 away loss against

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

, where was used as left midfielder by his manager Paulo Sérgio, who usually occupied Valdés as central midfielder. On 31 October, Valdés netted a twice in a 2–1 win over União Leiria at

Leiria Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own distr ...

, scoring their first two goals in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and being praised by the press. On 27 November, Valdés scored his side's goal during the

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

against

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

in a 1–1 draw, having previously scored a penalty goal the last matchday in a 2–1 win over Académica at

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...

. Then he continued his streak in the league's first round end on 8 January 2011 in a 2–1 home win over

Sporting Braga Sporting Clube de Braga () (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese ...

. However, after two losses, two draws and one victory, his coach Paulo Sérgio was sacked, and with

José Couceiro José Júlio de Carvalho Peyroteo Martins Couceiro (born 4 October 1962) is a Portuguese football manager, currently the national technical director of the Portuguese Football Federation. Managerial career As a manager, Couceiro's career is marke ...

arrival Valdés was relegated to the bench. After an unsuccessful spell with Couceiro, on 6 July 2011, it was reported that Valdés would return to

to join

on loan with a purchase option worth of

1,8 million in an exchange operation for

Parma

Parma exercised their option to buy the player in July 2012 after Valdés' well season.

International career

Valdés capped for Chile under-20 team at

. He made his senior debut in the same year, on 24 April 2001 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 replaced

Ítalo Díaz Ítalo Andrés Díaz Muñoz (, born 21 June 1971) is a Chilean former footballer and current manager. His last team coached was Deportes Santa Cruz. His oldest son Paulo plays as centre back for Argentine Primera División club San Lorenzo. ...

in the 57th minute. In the same year, he made an appearance for Chile B in the friendly match against

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

on 28 December. He was included in Chile's 30-men provisional

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 ...

squad, but later dropped after he played the warm-up match against

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 Guatema ...

on 16 May 2010. Valdés and

Roberto Cereceda Roberto Andrés Cereceda Guajardo (born 10 October 1984) is a Chilean footballer, who currently plays for Chilean club Audax Italiano. Club career Audax Italiano Cereceda started in the youth ranks of Colo-Colo before moving to another Santiago ...

were substituted at half time by Jean Beausejour and Gonzalo Jara. He also capped once in 2006, a match that Chile against

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

qualifier

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 ...

on 30 May 2006. He was replaced by

Jorge Francisco Vargas Jorge Vargas (born 8 February 1976 in Santiago de Chile) is a Chilean football manager and former football defender, currently in charge as head coach of Pro Patria. Club career Vargas debuted in his country's first division in 1995, while pla ...

in the 60th minute. He was also called up to the senior

squad for a friendly 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 territorie ...

in January 2015.

Outside professional football

Charity matches

In September 2014, he was invited to play the "Match for the Peace" at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

organized by the

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

and

Javier Zanetti Javier Adelmar Zanetti (; born 10 August 1973) is an Argentine former professional footballer. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation, and is especially well known for his role in Inter Milan's treble-winning 2009–10 seas ...

's foundation, where played alongside legends like

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...

Paolo Maldini Paolo Cesare Maldini (; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left back and centre back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of a ...

Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pre ...

Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko, or Andrii Mykolaiovych Shevchenko ( uk, Андрій Миколайович Шевченко, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian football manager, a former professional football player and a former politici ...

, among others.

Honours

Club

;Colo-Colo * Torneo Clausura: 2014–C, 2015–A, Transición 2017 *

Copa Chile The Copa Chile (''Chile Cup'') is an annual cup competition for Chilean football teams. Due to time constraints and club pressure, the trophy was cancelled in 2000, but returned in 2008. Its precursor was the Campeonato de Apertura (''Opening Ch ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Supercopa de Chile The Supercopa de Chile (''Supercup of Chile'') is an annual one-match football (soccer), football official competition in Chile organised by the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (ANFP). This competition serves as the season opener and ...

(2):

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2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Individual

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 ...

References

External links

* *
Profile at La Gazzetta dello Sport (2006–07)

Profile at La Gazzetta dello Sport (2007–08)

Profile at La Gazzetta dello Sport (2009–10)

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valdes, Jaime 1981 births Living people Footballers from Santiago Chilean footballers Chilean expatriate footballers Chile international footballers Chile under-20 international footballers Serie A players Serie B players Primeira Liga players Chilean Primera División players Primera B de Chile players Segunda División Profesional de Chile players Club Deportivo Palestino footballers S.S.C. Bari players ACF Fiorentina players U.S. Lecce players Atalanta B.C. players Sporting CP footballers Parma Calcio 1913 players Colo-Colo footballers Deportes La Serena footballers San Antonio Unido footballers Santiago Wanderers footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Portugal Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Association football midfielders