Diego Valdés (Chilean footballer)

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For other people with the same name, see Diego Valdés (disambiguation).
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Valdés and the second or maternal family name is Contreras.
Diego Valdés
Diego Valdés.jpg
Valdés in 2019
Personal information
Full name Diego Alfonso Valdés Contreras
Date of birth (1994-01-30) 30 January 1994 (age 27)
Place of birth Puente Alto, Chile
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 América
Number 10
Youth career
2004–2014 Audax Italiano
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Audax Italiano 63 (13)
2016–2018 Morelia 90 (12)
2019–2021 Santos Laguna 90 (19)
2022– América 0 (0)
National team‡
2015– Chile 19 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 December 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 8 December 2021

Diego Alfonso Valdés Contreras (born 30 January 1994) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Liga MX club América and the Chile national team.

Club career[]

Audax Italiano[]

He made his professional debut in 2012, in a match against Universidad Católica for the Chilean Primera División.

Morelia[]

Valdés joined Monarcas Morelia from Audax Italiano on June 14, 2016, on a two million dollar move.[1] Valdés made his debut on July 15, 2016, against Club Tijuana losing 2–0.[2]

International career[]

Valdés was expected to play for the Chile national under-20 football team in the 2013 South American Youth Championship in Argentina. However, he was left out of the team at the last minute by manager Mario Salas.

The team's performance in Argentina qualified them for a place in the Turkey 2013 under-20 World Cup and when team member Diego Rojas was injured and unable to play, Valdés was selected to take his place.[3]

He got his first call up to the senior Chile squad for a friendly against the United States in January 2015 and made his international debut in the match.[4]

International goals[]

Scores and results list Chile's goal tally first.[5]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 8 June 2018 Stadion Miejski, Poznań, Poland  Poland 1–2 2–2 Friendly

Racism controversy[]

On September 10, 2018, a day before a friendly match between Chile and South Korea, Valdés made a racist gesture, slanting his eyes with his hands at a fan publicity event.[6] The gesture was reported internationally and created furor in Korea, resulting in Valdes posting an apology widely seen as inadequate.[7][8][9] This was the second racist incident in Korea from a visiting South American team, following a similar incident in 2017 in which Colombian football player Edwin Cardona was banned for five games by FIFA after making a similar gesture.[10][11]

Honours[]

Individual

References[]

  1. ^ "Valdes to Morelia". telemundodeportes.com. Telemundo Deportes. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  2. ^ "Debut with Morelia". sinfoniadegol.com. Serigo Ramirez. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  3. ^ Otra baja por lesión para la Sub 20: Diego Rojas quedó descartado para el Mundial www.emol.com June 11, 2013 retrieved June 21, 2013
  4. ^ "Chile boss Jorge Sampaoli names home-based squad for USA friendly". ca2015.com. 21 January 2015. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Valdés, Diego". National Football Teams. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Chile international Valdes apologizes for derogatory gesture". washingtonpost.com. John Duerden. 11 September 2018. Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Tottenham's Heung-Min Son makes a fool of 'racist' Chilean midfielder Diego Valdes". 101greatgoals.com. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Chile footballer Diego Valdes apologises for 'racist' gesture posing with South Korean fan ahead of international friendly". scmp.com.com. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Diego Valdes Makes Half-Assed Apology For Racist Gesture, But Justice Is Served By Son Heung-min". the18.com. the18. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  10. ^ "Chile international Diego Valdes forced to apologise after making 'racist' gesture towards South Korea fan". mirror.co.uk. Mirror. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Chile's Diego Valdes apologises for eye gesture ahead of South Korea match". espn.com. ESPN. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  12. ^ "Liga MX unveils its final roster for the 2021 All-Star game". AS. 19 July 2021.

External links[]


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