Rodrigo Javier Millar Carvajal (born 3 November 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 ...

who last played 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 Primera B de Chile 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 Rumoroso ...

. He played for

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 ...

in 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 ...

. He also holds Mexican citizenship.

Club career

Huachipato

Millar started his career 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 ...

in 1999. He made his Chilean Primera División debut, aged 20, against

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 thei ...

on 30 April 2000. Millar scored his first goal for Huachipato against

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 ...

in a 1–1 draw. In the 2003 season, Millar scored 12 goals in 32 games and caught the eye of several European teams. On 6 March 2004, it was reported that Millar was invited to train with the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

side Hertha BSC. After training with the club, it was revealed that they wanted to sign him due to his good performances for Huachipato and his nomination for the

2004 Copa América The 2004 Copa América was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held i ...

in Peru. However, his move to Germany failed to materialise and he remained with Huachipato where his performance improved considerably, scoring 14 goals in 39 games. In July 2006, after a very good Torneo de Apertura, Millar was nearly transferred to

CD Tenerife Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1912, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez Lóp ...

and was also linked with

FC Terek Grozny Republican Football Club Akhmat ( ce, футболан клуб Ахмат Соьлжа-ГӀала; russian: Республиканский футбольный клуб Ахмат Грозный), commonly known as Akhmat Grozny, is a Russian ...

, but later rejected the offer for personal reasons. Millar then had a poor Torneo de Clausura performance because of a series of injuries, scoring only 3 goals in 8 games.

Colo-Colo

On 14 December 2006, it was reported that Millar had come to an agreement with

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 ...

. He signed a three-year deal, which was officially announced on 16 December. He joined the club in February 2007, but suffered a training injury that prevented him from playing for three months. Once he recovered, he made his debut on 20 March 2007 against the Venezuelan side

Caracas FC Caracas Fútbol Club is a Venezuelan football team based in Caracas. The club has won twelve First Division titles making it the most successful in Venezuelan football history. They are nicknamed ''Los Rojos del Ávila'', or the "Reds from � ...

at the Copa Libertadores and scored his club's first goal in a 4–0 win over

LDU Quito Liga Deportiva Universitaria (), often referred to as Liga de Quito, LDU, is an Ecuadorian professional football club based in Quito. They play in the Serie A, the highest level of the Ecuadorian professional football league. They play their ho ...

. In his league debut against O'Higgins, he scored twice, and was voted man of the match. After a good start to the season, his form declined due to off field problems, and he ended up being relegated to the substitutes bench. At the end of the season, Millar was nearly transferred to the Israeli club Ashdod, but the transfer fell through. He attempted to return to Chile, but was shunned by Colo-Colo's coach Claudio Borghi and shortly after loaned to

Once Caldas Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Palogrande stadium. They were the surprise winne ...

. After his loan with Once Caldas had finished, he returned to Colo-Colo in June 2008, despite

Fernando Astengo Fernando Enrique Astengo Sánchez (born 8 January 1960) is a former footballer and current manager. Career During his years as footballer he played as centre back, position which was well considered after being featured in 1988's America Idea ...

not planning on featuring him in the team,. Millar made his first start 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.

in a Copa Gato match that ended in a 2–1 victory at Tierra de Campeones Stadium in

Iquique Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191, ...

. Despite several starts, he found it difficult to break into the first team, with Astengo preferring to use him as a substitute.. With the arrival of Marcelo Barticciotto as coach, he was given a more permanent position in the first team, providing consistently good performances as a result. On 8 November 2008, Millar scored his first goal in the Barticciotto era 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 ...

in a 1–1 home draw. In the Championship playoffs second leg final, Millar was proclaimed a champion for third time in his career, after he scored the goal of the championship in the 3–1 victory against

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 stadi ...

, by eluding the goalkeeper Felipe Núñez and playing masterfully. On 14 February 2009, Millar scored his first goal of the season in an Apertura tournament match that ended in a 2–0 victory over

Universidad de Concepción Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

at Estadio Monumental, where he scored the first goal of the game. On 22 April, he scored a goal in a Copa Libertadores match that ended in a 2–1 loss against

Sport Recife Sport Club do Recife, (; known as Sport Recife or Sport, is a Brazilian sports club, located in the city of Recife, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Founded in 1905, the club currently plays in Série B. In football, the club has w ...

in Brazil. He also scored the first goal at Colo-Colo's 5–2 win over Cobresal. At the end of season, Millar become the first footballer to contract

swine flu Swine influenza is an infection caused by any of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (SIV) or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) refers to any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As ...

on 16 June. He made a full recovery for the start of the Torneo Clausura. During the 2010 season he performed consistently well with Colo-Colo, and was selected for Chile's

FIFA World Cup 2010 , 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 ...

team and voted the Chilean Footballer of the Year in the Anfp awards. His club lost the championship, finishing three points behind Universidad Católica. Millar was approached by

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in Mexico. The city f ...

who were impressed by his consistently good performances. However he never moved to Mexico and remained in Chile. In the 2011 season Millar was promoted to captain, due to the departure of

Arturo Sanhueza Héctor Arturo Sanhueza Medel (born 11 March 1979), known as Arturo Sanhueza, is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the assistant coach in Deportes La Serena. Club career Born in Concepción, ...

Deportes Iquique Club de Deportes Iquique S.A.D.P. is a Chilean football club based in Iquique that is a current member of the Primera B. Founded in 1978, the club's home stadium is the Estadio Tierra de Campeones, which has a 13,171 capacity. Iquique has spent ...

, but was stripped of the captaincy because of the departure of coach Diego Cagna and the arrival of

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 ...

Atlas

In 2013, he was signed by

Club Atlas Atlas Fútbol Club () is a Mexican professional football club based in Guadalajara, Jalisco that currently plays in Liga MX. It plays home matches at the Estadio Jalisco. Founded in 1916, Atlas has won three league titles and four domestic cups ...

, he debuted with Atlas in the 0–1 away defeat vs

Tigres UANL Club de Fútbol Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, simply known as Tigres UANL or Tigres, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Nicolás de los Garza, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León. Found ...

. He scored his first goal in a 2–1 home victory over Club América. Prior to the start of the 2014 Torneo Apertura, Millar was announced as the new captain of Atlas. In December 2014, he renewed his contract for two years.

Coquimbo Unido

In September 2021, he returned to Chile after being released from

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding '' municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip ...

and joined

in the Primera B de Chile.

International career

His performances for

earned Millar a place in the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

in September 2009 for a friendly match against Honduras. He went on to be a part of Chile's squad for the

, where he scored Chile's goal in the 1–2 defeat to

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") , i ...

in the first round. Millar was named in the 2011 Copa América squad but did not play. Jorge Sampaoli named him in the 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. After not being included in the 23-man World Cup squad, Millar returned to play for Chile in friendlies 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 ...

and Haiti. During a friendly against Venezuela, Millar scored his first international goal in 4 years in an eventual 5–0 victory. He was named in the preliminary squad for the

2015 Copa America Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

but was omitted from the final squad.

International goals

Honours

Club

;Colo-Colo *

Primera División de Chile Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera Alí Rafael Primera Rosel ...

(4): 2007 Apertura, 2007 Clausura, 2008 Clausura, 2009 Clausura ;Coquimbo Unido * Primera B (1):

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

Individual

* Primera División Team of The Tournament (2): 2009, 2010 * Chilean Footballer of the Year: 2010 * Medalla Bicentenario: 2010

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Millar, Rodrigo 1981 births Living people People from Arauco Province Chilean footballers Chilean expatriate footballers Chile international footballers Chile under-20 international footballers Association football midfielders C.D. Huachipato footballers Colo-Colo footballers Once Caldas footballers Atlas F.C. footballers Atlético Morelia players Mazatlán F.C. footballers Coquimbo Unido footballers Chilean Primera División players Categoría Primera A players Liga MX players Primera B de Chile players 2004 Copa América players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 Copa América players Expatriate footballers in Colombia Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Chilean expatriates in Colombia Expatriate footballers in Mexico Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Chilean expatriates in Mexico Naturalized citizens of Mexico