Arturo Vidal

Arturo Vidal

Personal information
Full name	Arturo Erasmo Vidal Pardo
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Defender / Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Bayer Leverkusen
Number	23
Youth career
	Melipilla
	Colo-Colo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2007	Colo-Colo	56	(5)
2007–	Bayer Leverkusen	84	(5)
International career‡
2007–	Chile	23	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 May 2010 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 November 2009

Template:Spanish name 2 Arturo Erasmo Vidal Pardo (born 22 May 1987 in Santiago) is a Chilean footballer who plays for the Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. He is a versatile defensive player who can play in midfield, defence or as a full-back.

Early life

Vidal was born in San Joaquín, a poor neighbourhood in the capital Santiago. He joined the ranks of Primera División de Chile giants Colo-Colo.

Club career

Vidal's professional debut came in the first leg of the 2006 Apertura Tournament final. The match was between Colo-Colo and arch rivals Universidad de Chile. Vidal was called into action with less than ten minutes left in the match for Gonzalo Fierro. Colo-Colo would go on to win the game 2-1 and win the championship as well. In the following season (2006 Clausura Tournament) Vidal would become a more intricate piece of the squad and would lead Colo-Colo to their second championship win in a row. He has appeared in over thirty league matches for Colo-Colo. Vidal scored goals in all types of matches. He always had a strong relation with the net during the local league as well as the international scene where Vidal scored three goals in Colo-Colo's Copa Sudamericana 2006 campaign. During this campaign Vidal caught the eye of visiting scouts.

The 2007 Apertura Tournament was Vidal's last with Colo-Colo, after being transferred to German club Bayer Leverkusen. Bayer had tracked his progress for some time and his good showing at the U-20 World Cup that year convinced Bayer' Director of Football Rudi Völler to make the trip all the way to Chile in order to convince the twenty-year-old to sign. The two clubs then agreed on a fee of $11 million with Bayer Leverkusen paying $7.7 million for seventy percent ownership of his contract. His transfer broke the previous record of Mati Fernandez's $9 million transfer to Villarreal CF.

Vidal missed the first game of the season through injury but was soon thrust into the starting line-up and made his debut on 19 August 2007 in the away loss at Hamburg. He started in half the season's games and scored his first goal for the club just three games into his Bayer career. He was ever present for the 2008-09 season and played a vital role in Bayer's run to the German Cup final. On 8 March, he suffered a concussion during the game against VfL Bochum and was out for a month. Upon his return, he scored a goal to break the deadlock in the 4-1 semifinal win over Mainz but Bayer eventually lost to Werder Bremen in the final, courtesy of a Mesut Özil goal.

International career

Vidal has represented the Chilean national football team at the Under-20 level at the 2007 South American Youth Championship in Paraguay where he was the tournament's second top scorer with six goals. During the tournament he played central midfield and helped the team to qualify for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup where Chile finished in third place with Vidal scoring two goals in the tournament, including the match winner against Portugal in the Round of 16. Vidal made his senior debut in a friendly against Venezuela where Chile won 1-0. He has since been a regular under Marcelo Bielsa when fit during 2010 World Cup qualifying, playing in 11 matches and scoring a goal.

Honours

Season	Club	Title
Apertura 2006	Colo-Colo	Primera Division Chile Champion
Clausura 2006	Colo-Colo	Primera Division Chile Champion
Apertura 2007	Colo-Colo	Primera Division Chile Champion

External links

• Career stats at Fussballdaten.de Template:De icon