Diego Nicolás Gutiérrez Zúñiga (born February 18, 1997) is a Canadian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Cavalry FC Cavalry Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in the Calgary metropolitan region of Alberta. The club competes at the top of the Canadian soccer league system in the Canadian Premier League, and plays their home matches ...

in the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

Early life

Gutiérrez was born to Chilean parents in

Greenfield Park, Quebec Greenfield Park is a List of former municipalities in Quebec, former city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is currently a Boroughs of Longueuil, borough of the city of Longueuil. It covers an area of , with a population of 16,733 at the Canada ...

in Canada and moved to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

in Chile when he was three years old. He began playing soccer at age five in the

Colo-Colo Colo-Colo (), officially Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo, is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano, it competes in the Chilean Primera División, from which the club has never been ...

academy. Afterwards, he joined the youth setup of

Palestino The term ''Palestino'' is the Spanish word for "Palestinian". The word "''Palestino''" is used in Cuba as a disparaging nickname for illegal migrants within the country. The nickname is used as a rhetorical device, that compares illegal migrants ...

Club career

On November 6, 2015, Gutiérrez made his senior league debut for

against

Deportes Antofagasta Deportes Antofagasta is a Chilean football club based in the city of Antofagasta currently playing in the Primera B Of Chile. The club's home stadium is the Estadio Bicentenario Calvo y Bascuñán, which has a capacity of 21,178. History The c ...

. He departed the club in March 2019. In March 2019, Gutiérrez signed a deal with

club

Valour FC Valour FC is a Canadian professional soccer club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays their home matches at Princess Auto Stadium. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned throu ...

. After the season, the club exercised his option for the 2020 season. In March 2021, Gutiérrez returned to Chile, signing with

Primera B 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 Ely Rafael Primera Ros ...

side Barnechea. In December 2021, Gutiérrez returned for a second spell at

for the 2022 season. He was named the league's Player of the Month in April 2023. After not scoring in his first three seasons with Valour (across both stints), he netted four goals in the 2023 season. After the 2023 season, he chose to depart the club, after declining an extension offer. In January 2024, he signed with

on a two-year contract, with an option for 2026.

International career

Eligible to represent both Canada and Chile internationally, Gutiérrez was called up to the Chile U20 team in June 2016 for a pair of friendlies against

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. However, he did not play in either match. In January 2017, Gutiérrez was called up to a camp for the Canadian U20 team for the first time. He made his debut against the Panama U20 in a friendly on January 20. He subsequently made the roster for the

2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2017 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was the 5th edition of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship (26th edition if all eras included), the men's under-20 international football tournament organized by CONCACAF. It was hosted in Costa Rica between ...

, where he made two appearances.

Personal life

His twin brother Cristián is also a professional soccer player.

Honours

Palestino *

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 ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gutierrez, Diego 1997 births Living people Soccer people from Quebec Sportspeople from Longueuil Canadian people of Chilean descent Sportspeople of Chilean descent Canadian men's soccer players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canada men's youth international soccer players Naturalized citizens of Chile Chilean men's footballers 21st-century Chilean sportsmen Club Deportivo Palestino footballers Valour FC players A.C. Barnechea footballers Cavalry FC players Chilean Primera División players Canadian Premier League players Primera B de Chile players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Chile Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Men's association football midfielders Canadian twins Chilean twins 21st-century Canadian sportsmen