Gary Medel
Medel with Chile in 2013
Personal information
Full name Gary Alexis Medel Soto[1]
Date of birth (1987-08-03) 3 August 1987 (age 36)[2]
Place of birth Santiago, Chile
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)[3]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder, defender
Team information
Current team
 Vasco da Gama
Number 17
Youth career
1997–2006 Universidad Católica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2009 Universidad Católica 68 (10)
2009–2011 Boca Juniors 46 (7)
2011–2013 Sevilla 78 (8)
2013–2014 Cardiff City 34 (0)
2014–2017 Inter Milan 91 (1)
2017–2019 Beşiktaş 51 (1)
2019–2023 Bologna 96 (0)
2023– Vasco da Gama 24 (0)
International career‡
2007 Chile U20 15 (0)
2008 Chile U23 8 (0)
2007– Chile 161 (7)
Medal record
Representing  Chile
Winner Copa América 2015
Winner Copa América Centenario 2016
Runner-up FIFA Confederations Cup 2017
Third place FIFA U-20 World Cup 2007
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:30, 14 February 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 08:23, 18 November 2023 (UTC)

Gary Alexis Medel Soto (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɡaɾi meˈðel]; born 3 August 1987) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Vasco da Gama and the Chile national team as a centre-back and a defensive midfielder.[4]

Medel has played club football with several teams in numerous countries, starting out with Chilean side Universidad Católica, and later playing for Argentine side Boca Juniors, Spanish side Sevilla, Premier League side Cardiff City, and Italian side Inter Milan, before moving to Beşiktaş in Turkey in 2017. He then moved back to Italy and joined Bologna in 2019.

A full Chilean international with over 160 caps since 2007, Medel has represented the nation at two FIFA World Cups, five Copa América tournaments, and one edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup. He was part of the squad that won the 2015 Copa América (where he was named in the Team of the tournament)[5] and the Copa América Centenario (2016). He was also included in squads that finished fourth at the 2019 Copa América and as the runners-up at the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Club career

Early career in South America

Medel joined Universidad Católica at the age of 12. His youth team coach Mario Lepe put his name forward to join the senior ranks.[6]

On 20 July 2009, he joined Boca Juniors on an initial loan for US$300,000 with the option to buy for $2.5 million, with Damián Díaz being sent in the opposite direction. Medel said of the move "This is a dream come true. It is a very important club, and one which has players which I admire a lot, Juan Román Riquelme, Martín Palermo and Sebastián Battaglia. He is my idol and has me very happy to play by his side".[7] Medel scored both goals in a 2–0 win in the Superclásico against River Plate on 25 March 2010.[8]

Before he joined Sevilla, his farewell match with Boca was a friendly against River in Mar del Plata. He came on in the 77th minute of the 2–0 win.[9]

Sevilla

Medel playing for Sevilla in 2011

Medel joined Sevilla for €3 million on 28 January 2011, on a 4+1⁄2-year contract, on the same day as the club also signed Ivan Rakitić for their central midfield. He said "I am happy to be here, I hope that everything goes well. I'm a player who puts a lot into my heart on the pitch, I hope that with my playing that I can contribute to Sevilla".[10]

On 12 February, he made his La Liga debut, playing all 90 minutes of a 3–2 away defeat at Racing Santander.[11] He helped Sevilla to a 1–1 draw against FC Barcelona at home on 12 March, clearing the ball off the line twice, the second on an attempt by Lionel Messi.[12]

Cardiff City

On 11 August 2013, Cardiff City confirmed that they had signed Medel from Sevilla for a club record £11 million fee on a four-year deal.[13][14] He made his debut for the club on 17 August, in a 2–0 defeat against West Ham United.[15] He made his home debut at the Cardiff City Stadium on 25 August, in a 3–2 win against Manchester City. Medel played all 90 minutes and received the fans' man of the match award.[16]

Inter Milan

After Cardiff's relegation, Medel joined Italian club Inter Milan for a reported £10 million fee on 9 August 2014.[17] The fee, which was £1 million less than what Cardiff had signed Medel for, was criticised by former striker Nathan Blake,[18] but was justified by Cardiff manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær.[19] Medel made his Serie A debut for Inter on 31 August as they began the season with a goalless draw at Torino, playing the full 90 minutes.[20]

On 31 October 2015, Medel scored his first goal for Inter to give the Nerazzurri a 1–0 victory over Scudetto rivals Roma at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.[21]

On 23 October 2016, in the 2–1 away defeat at Atalanta, Medel hit Jasmin Kurtić in the face with his left arm, an incident that was not spotted by the referee.[22] A day later, however, he was banned for three league games by Lega Serie A after examining TV images.[23]

On 20 November 2016, in the Derby della Madonnina against cross-town rivals A.C. Milan, Medel played as centre-back for 37 minutes before replaced by Jeison Murillo due to a knee injury.[24] Following the match, which ended in a 2–2 draw,[25] it was confirmed that Medel had damaged his lateral meniscus and would be sidelined until January 2017.[26][27]

Medel returned to action on 28 January by playing in Inter's 3–0 home defeat of Pescara.[28] Later on 12 March, he made his 100th appearance for Inter as the Nerazzurri beat Atalanta 7–1 at home.[29]

Beşiktaş

On 11 August 2017, Medel signed for Süper Lig champions Beşiktaş for a reported €3 million.[30] He signed a three-year contract.[31]

Bologna

On 29 August 2019, Medel signed a three-year contract with Serie A club Bologna for a reported fee of €2.5 million. He debuted for Bologna against rivals SPAL on 30 August 2019.[32][33][34]

Vasco da Gama

In July 2023, he returned to South america and signed with Brazilian Série A side Vasco da Gama.[35]

International career

U20 and early senior career

In March 2007, Medel made his international debut for Chile in a friendly against Argentina. Later that year, he played a key role in Chile's third-place finish in the U-20 World Cup held in Canada. He was sent off in the semi-final match against Argentina, when he kicked Gabriel Mercado in the 24th minute and was suspended for the third-place play-off. Medel claimed that he was tasered by police after the match.[36]

He made his competitive debut for Chile in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Bolivia in a 2–0 victory at the Estadio Hernando Siles in La Paz, scoring both goals, the first being a bicycle kick.[36] Medel played an important role in Chile's qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, playing as a central defender or right back. He started in the three group-stage matches at the World Cup finals in South Africa, but was suspended for the round of 16 match against Brazil, where la Roja were eliminated.

He was named in Chile's squad for the 2011 Copa América, featuring in all three group matches, the first two as a starter. In the quarter-final match against Venezuela in San Juan, Argentina, he was sent off for handball and Chile lost 2–1.[37]

2014 World Cup

Medel in action against Neymar of Brazil at World Cup 2014

Medel played a key role in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, scoring the goal that secured qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, heading a goal against Ecuador. Medel captained Chile in a 1–0 friendly defeat to Germany on 5 March 2014.[38] He was one of 23 players who were called up by coach Jorge Sampaoli to play in 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.[39] Medel played as a starter alongside Gonzalo Jara in the center of defense, for Chile who beat Australia 3–1 in Cuiabá to get their first three points of the World Cup campaign.[40] He also played a full 90 minutes in second match against the reigning world champions Spain, with Chile getting a historic 2–0 win.[41] Spain's loss sealed the qualification of both Chile and the Netherlands to the knockout stage, and eliminated both Spain and Australia. Spain became the fifth defending champion to be knocked out in the group stage.[42] Medel played 90 minutes in the final group match against the Netherlands who won 2–0 and won the group, while Chile finished Group B as runner-up with six points.[43] Chile was eliminated in the round of 16 against the same team that eliminated them in last tournament, Brazil, but this time, Brazil advanced to the quarter-finals by winning on penalty shootout.[44][45][46]

2015 Copa América

At the 2015 Copa América, held in Chile, Medel scored during a 5–0 win against Bolivia which ensured that La Roja would progress to the knockout stage as Group A winners.[47] In the semi-final against Peru, he scored an own goal from Luis Advíncula's cross to equalise, but Chile advanced to the final winning 2–1.[48] In the final against Argentina, Medel played as a starter and helped the team to win the trophy on penalty kicks, after the regular time ended in a goalless draw.[49] Medel became the fourth most capped player with 80 matches, equaling his defense partner Gonzalo Jara. That was Medel's first major trophy with Chile.[50] For his performances he was named in the Team of the tournament.[5]

2017 FIFA Confederations Cup

In June 2017, Medel was named in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup squad in Chile's first ever participation.[51] On 13 June, in the friendly against Romania, Medel received a red-card in 33rd minute as Chile slumped into a 3–2 away defeat. It was his fourth red-card with the national team in 99 appearances.[52] He captained Chile in the first two Group B matches against Cameroon and Germany due to Claudio Bravo's injury, also earning his 100th cap in the process, becoming the fourth Chile player to achieve the feat.[53][54] Then he was rested for the final group match as Chile achieved a second-place which allowed them to go to knockout stage.[55]

2019 Copa América

In the third-place match of the 2019 Copa América against Argentina on 6 July, Medel was sent off along with Lionel Messi in the 37th minute of play, after being involved in an altercation with the Argentine; Chile lost the match 2–1.[56]

Style of play

Medel usually plays as a defensive midfielder;[57] however, he is also capable of playing as a defender, and has even been deployed as a centre-back throughout his career, as well as in other midfield roles, or even as a right-back.[4][58] Due to his work-rate, physicality, tenacity, tactical intelligence, and his aggressive, hard-tackling style of play, as well as his leadership on the pitch, he is nicknamed Pitbull.[6][36] In 2015, manager Roberto Mancini described Medel as a warrior.[59][60]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 4 June 2023[61]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Universidad Católica 2008 Chilean Primera División 28 4 0 0 0 0 28 4
2009 13 1 0 0 6[b] 0 19 1
Total 41 5 0 0 6 0 47 5
Boca Juniors 2009–10 Argentine Primera División 29 7 0 0 2[c] 0 31 7
2010–11 17 0 0 0 0 0 17 0
Total 46 7 0 0 2 0 48 7
Sevilla 2010–11 La Liga 15 0 1 0 2[d] 0 18 0
2011–12 31 2 4 0 2[e] 0 37 2
2012–13 32 6 7 1 — 39 7
Total 78 8 12 1 4 0 94 9
Cardiff City 2013–14 Premier League 34 0 1 0 — 35 0
Inter Milan 2014–15 Serie A 35 0 2 0 7[e] 0 44 0
2015–16 30 1 4 0 — 34 1
2016–17 26 0 2 0 3[e] 0 31 0
Total 91 1 8 0 10 0 109 1
Beşiktaş 2017–18 Süper Lig 25 1 7 0 8[d] 0 40 1
2018–19 24 0 0 0 11[e] 0 35 0
2019–20 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 51 1 7 0 19 0 77 1
Bologna 2019–20 Serie A 23 0 1 0 — 24 0
2020–21 11 0 1 0 — 12 0
2021–22 33 0 1 0 — 34 0
2022–23 29 0 2 0 — 31 0
Total 96 0 5 0 — 101 0
Career total 436 22 33 1 41 0 511 23
  1. ^ Includes Copa del Rey, FA Cup, Coppa Italia, Turkish Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
  3. ^ Appearances in Copa Libertadores
  4. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ a b c d Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 16 November 2023[62]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Chile 2007 2 0
2008 10 2
2009 9 1
2010 7 0
2011 13 1
2012 5 0
2013 12 1
2014 13 1
2015 14 1
2016 12 0
2017 12 0
2018 7 0
2019 10 0
2020 0 0
2021 15 0
2022 11 0
2023 9 0
Total 161 7
Scores and results list Chile's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Medel goal.
List of international goals scored by Gary Medel[62]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 15 June 2008 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Bolivia 1–0 2–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 2–0
3 29 May 2009 Fukuda Denshi Arena, Chiba, Japan  Belgium 1–1 1–1 2009 Kirin Cup
4 11 October 2011 Estadio Monumental, Santiago, Chile  Peru 3–0 4–2 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 15 October 2013 Estadio Nacional de Chile, Santiago, Chile  Ecuador 2–0 2–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 10 October 2014 Estadio Elías Figueroa, Valparaíso, Chile  Peru 2–0 3–0 Friendly
7 19 June 2015 Estadio Nacional de Chile, Santiago, Chile  Bolivia 4–0 5–0 2015 Copa América

Honours

Chile

Individual

See also

References

  1. ^ "Inter submit squad for UEL group stages". Inter Milan. 1 September 2016. Archived from the original on 4 September 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  2. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2020.
  3. ^ "F.C. Inter Player Profiles: Gary Medel". Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  4. ^ a b Jerrad Peters (24 September 2015). "Mancini, Melo lead Inter's binary warriors". Sportsnet. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "Copa América 2015 - Team of the tournament". CONMEBOL. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  6. ^ a b Salazar, Leonardo (16 June 2008). "En Católica no es sorpresa lo de Gary Medel [At Católica it's not a surprise how Gary Medel is]". Emol (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  7. ^ "Se concretó el traspaso de Gary Medel a Boca Juniors [Transfer of Gary Medel to Boca Juniors is confirmed]". La Tercera. 20 July 2009. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Un Pitbull Matador [A Killer Pitbull]". Olé. 25 March 2010. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  9. ^ "Boca derrota a River en la despedida de Gary Medel [Boca defeat River in Gary Medel's farewell]". La Tercera. 23 January 2011. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  10. ^ "El Sevilla ficha de una tacada a Medel y Rakitic [Sevilla sign Medel and Rakitic for peanuts]". Marca (in Spanish). 28 January 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  11. ^ Ormazabal, Rafael. "Sevilla cayó ante Racing en debut como titular de Gary Medel [Sevilla fall to Racing in Gary Medel's debut as a starter]". CDF (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  12. ^ "Gary Medel fue clave en sufrido empate de Sevilla ante FC Barcelona [Gary Medel was key in getting Sevilla a draw against FC Barcelona]". Diario Cooperativo (in Spanish). 13 March 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  13. ^ "Cardiff sign Medel in record deal worth 11m British pounds". Archived from the original on 13 August 2013.
  14. ^ Denham, Mark. "The Bluebirds break their transfer record for a third time this summer". Newspaper. Archived from the original on 13 August 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
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  16. ^ "Cardiff City 3-2 Manchester City". BBC Sport. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013..
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  25. ^ "AC Milan 2-2 Inter Milan". BBC Sport. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  26. ^ Geoffrey Dore (22 November 2016). "Gary Medel set for two-month injury lay-off". All Sports News. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
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  29. ^ "Mauro Icardi and Ever Banega net hat tricks as Inter thrash Atalanta 7–1". The Indian Express. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  30. ^ "Besiktas announce deal for Inter Milan midfielder Gary Medel". ESPN FC. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  31. ^ Beşiktaş (11 August 2017). "Results or Ending of Transfer Meetings" (Press release) (in Turkish). Public Disclosure Platform (KAP). Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  32. ^ "Gary Medel, Bologna FC'ye Transfer Oldu" (in Turkish). Beşiktaş J.K. 29 August 2019. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  33. ^ "Gary Medel resmen Bologna'da!" (in Turkish). NTV Spor. 29 August 2019. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  34. ^ "Official: Bologna sign Medel". Football-Italia. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  35. ^ "Vasco acerta a contratação do chileno Gary Medel – Vasco da Gama". Vasco.com.br (in Portuguese). 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  36. ^ a b c McNeice, Angus (3 June 2014). "Meet Chile's 'Pitbull' -- hard-tackling midfielder Gary Medel". ESPN. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  37. ^ Arellano, Francisco (17 July 2011). "Chile quedó fuera de la Copa América tras caer ante Venezuela" [Chile go out of the Copa América after falling to Venezuela] (in Spanish). Red Gol. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  38. ^ International Round-Up
  39. ^ "Nomina de 23 jugadores convocados a la Copa Mundial De La FIFA Brasil 2014". anfp.cl. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
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  42. ^ Ornstein, David (19 June 2014). "World Cup 2014: Spain's stunning demise signals the end". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  43. ^ "Netherlands 2 Chile 0". BBC Sport. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
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  48. ^ "Vargas double takes hosts Chile into Copa América final". The Guardian. Reuters. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
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  51. ^ "Nómina de la Selección Chilena para la Copa FIFA Confederaciones Rusia 2017". www.anfp.cl. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
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  53. ^ "Vidal and Vargas strike for Chile". FIFA.com. 18 June 2017. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  54. ^ "Germany, Chile play out entertaining stalemate". FIFA.com. 22 June 2017. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  55. ^ "Point enough for Chile to progress". FIFA.com. 25 June 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  56. ^ Vickery, Tim (6 July 2019). "Messi's red card overshadows Argentina's encouraging win and Chile's end of an era". ESPN FC. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  57. ^ Beşiktaş JK [@Besiktas] (11 August 2017). "#ComeToBeşiktaş ⚡" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  58. ^ Colasimone, Dan (30 July 2014). "Why Gary Medel Would Be a Great Signing for Inter". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
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  60. ^ "Icardi? No, è l'Inter di Melo e Medel" (in Italian). calciomercato.com. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
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  62. ^ a b "Gary Medel". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
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  65. ^ Gary Medel fue el mejor del 2008. Fuente: lacatolica.cl Consultado el 14 de enero de 2010. Archived 29 June 2012 at archive.today
  66. ^ Portal de Registro y Autentificación El Mercurio
  67. ^ Gary Medel también está en el 'equipo ideal' de América | FÚTBOL | latercera.com Archived 26 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  68. ^ "Copa América 2016: Awards". Copa America Organisation. 27 June 2016. Archived from the original on 27 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.

External links

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