Jaime Andrés Valdés Zapata ( born 11 January 1981) is a Chilean former

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 lea ...

who played 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 ...

. 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 del ...

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

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

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where netted 38 goals in clubs like

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

and

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, being

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

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

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, in 2014, Valdés returned to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

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 and one of the greatest strikers of his generation. He first ...

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 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 ...

-based

. In December 1999, he was signed by then Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

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

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

. 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 midfielde ...

. In August 2004, he was signed by

side

ACF Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

in a co-ownership deal. As part of the deal, Massimiliano Scaglia 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. History The name came from t ...

. 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 (, ; born 15 February 1986) is a retired Bulgarian professional footballer. Throughout his career, Bojinov has played for eighteen different clubs during his various spells in Italy, as well as in England, Portugal, Bulg ...

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 (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

from relegated

for a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

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 () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

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

, 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 simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

, 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 () is a city and municipality in the Central Region, Portugal, Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, after Coimbra, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat o ...

, scoring their first two goals in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

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

derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

against

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

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 ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

. 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. Best known for the men's professional association football, football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top fl ...

. 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 mark ...

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.

Santiago Wanderers

In June 2022, he signed with

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 ...

in the

Primera B de Chile Campeonato Primera B () 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 renamed in 1996 to the current n ...

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, 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

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

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

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

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

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

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

on 16 May 2010. Valdés and Roberto Cereceda 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 was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

qualifier

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

on 30 May 2006. He was replaced by Jorge Francisco Vargas 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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in January 2015.

Post-retirement

On 2 May 2023, Valdés announced his retirement as a professional player, becoming the sport manager of Deportes Linares. He was the co-owner of the club until the beginning of 2025.

Charity matches

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

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

organized by the

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

and

Javier Zanetti Javier Adelmar Zanetti (, ; born 10 August 1973) is an Argentine former professional footballer. Regarded as one of the greatest right-backs of all time, Zanetti is well known for having dedicated almost his entire career at Inter Milan, having ...

's foundation, where played alongside legends like

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

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

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 pr ...

Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian former Manager (association football), football manager and Football player, player. Shevchenko is considered one of the greatest Striker (association football), strik ...

, 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 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Supercopa de Chile The Supercopa de Chile (''Supercup of Chile'') is an annual one-match football official competition in Chile organised by the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (ANFP). This competition serves as the season opener and is played between t ...

(2):

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

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 ...

;Individual *

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

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, Chile Chilean men's footballers 21st-century Chilean sportsmen Chilean expatriate men's footballers Chile men's international footballers Chile men's 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 SSC Bari players ACF Fiorentina players US Lecce players Atalanta BC players Sporting CP footballers Parma Calcio 1913 players Colo-Colo footballers Deportes La Serena footballers San Antonio Unido footballers Santiago Wanderers footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Men's association football midfielders