Name: Arturo Vidal
Current Team: Juventus
Position: Midfielder
Age: 27
2013-14 season statistics: 11 goals, 5 assists, 57 shots, 40% accuracy
Arturo Vidal’s talent for football was originally spotted by his uncle and he later joined the local youth team of Colo-Colo before appearing for them professionally in 2006. A year later he transferred to Bayer Leverkusen but missed the first game of the season due to injury, eventually playing a total of 117 games but scoring just 15 goals over a four-year period. On a more positive note in his final year with Bayer Leverkusen he came joint second in the league for 11 assists. In July 2011, Juventus signed Vidal for €10.5 million on a five-year contract. Within six minutes of coming on as a substitute in the second half, he scored his first goal for Juventus in their opening match of the new season. In 2012, Vidal was named “Player of the Year” by registered users on the Juventus website. He scored his first career hat-trick (2 penalties and 1 header) in November 2013 against FC København in the group stage of the Champions League. Juventus are apparently keen to keep Vidal in Turin next season. Internationally, Vidal scored 5 times in 11 games for Chile during the World Cup 2014 qualification matches. Despite having surgery after a knee injury, Vidal has been named in Chile’s provisional 30-man squad.
Photo via Clément Bucco-Lechat