Claudio Bravo (footballer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Claudio Bravo

Bravo with Chile in 2004
Personal information
Full nameClaudio Andrés Bravo Muñoz
Date of birth (1983-04-13) 13 April 1983
Place of birthViluco, Chile
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing positionGoalkeeper
Club information
Current clubReal Sociedad
Number1
Youth career
Colo-Colo
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2002–2006Colo-Colo133(0)
2006–Real Sociedad214(1)
National team‡
2004–Chile78(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 February 2014.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 November 2013
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Bravo and the second or maternal family name is Muñoz.

Claudio Andrés Bravo Muñoz (born 13 April 1983) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays for Real Sociedad in La Liga, as a goalkeeper.

He spent most of his career with Real Sociedad in Spain, appearing in more than 200 official games with the club. He started playing in 2002 with Colo-Colo.

Bravo represented Chile at the 2010 World Cup and three Copa América tournaments.

Club career

Colo-Colo

Bravo was born in Viluco, Maipo Province. His father recognized his son's emerging talent and took him to Colo-Colo's youth academy, and he eventually made his professional debut in 2002. There, he was given the nickname Condor Chico, after former club goalkeeper Roberto Rojas.

After an injury to Eduardo Lobos, manager Jaime Pizarro gave Bravo his first chance, which would be however short-lived, as he too was injured, which prompted the subsequent signing of Jonny Walker.

Bravo recovered from injury in mid-2003 and with Lobos still in the sidelines, he took over the starting role which he would never lose again, with his competitor eventually being sold. In 2006 he won his first title, making an acrobatic save in the Apertura's penalty shootout final win against arch-rival C.F. Universidad de Chile.

Real Sociedad

For the 2006–07 season Bravo signed a five-year contract with Real Sociedad in Spain,[1] in a reported €1.2 million deal –[2]he and Asier Riesgo formed the youngest pair of goalkeepers that year in La Liga. He started on the bench, but eventually gained the battle for first-choice (29 games to nine) as the Basque side was relegated (despite this, he finished in fifth place for the Ricardo Zamora Trophy with a goal-against average of 1.00); his league debut came on 22 October 2006, in a 0–0 away draw against RCD Mallorca.

The following season, Riesgo reclaimed his starting position. For 2008–09 however, after a loan to the former to Recreativo de Huelva, Bravo was again the starter, but Real remained in the second division.

On 14 February 2010 Bravo scored the first goal of his career, from a direct free kick against Gimnàstic de Tarragona, the game's only in a home triumph.[3] However, shortly after, he suffered a severe knee injury during Real Sociedad's 0–2 loss at Córdoba CF, which rendered him unavailable for the remainder of the season.[4] He still featured in 25 matches to help his team finish champions and return to the top division, after three years.

International career

Bravo represented Chile at U-17, U-20 and U-23 levels. He made his debut with the main side on 11 July 2004 against Paraguay, in the 2004 Copa América, and retained his place for the rest of the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Bravo was again called for duty in the 2007 Copa América held in Venezuela, where he started all four games. He became national side captain after Marcelo Salas announced his international retirement.

In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Bravo started in all four matches for Chile (remaining as captain), conceding five goals in an eventual round-of-16 exit (0–3 loss against Brazil).[5]

Honors

Club

Colo-Colo
Real Sociedad

References

  1. ↑ "Comunicado oficial: Principio de acuerdo con Bravo" [Official announcement: Initial agreement with Bravo] (in Spanish). Real Sociedad. 28 June 2006. Retrieved 18 August 2013. 
  2. ↑ "La Real ficha al portero Claudio Bravo" [Real signs goalkeeper Claudio Bravo] (in Spanish). Donostia San Sebastián. 21 June 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2013. 
  3. ↑ "Gol de falta del portero Bravo – Real sociedad vs Nastic!" [Free kick goal from keeper Bravo – Real sociedad vs Nastic!] (in Spanish). YouTube. 14 February 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2013. 
  4. ↑ "Bravo: "Estoy triste por no poder ayudar al equipo"" [Bravo: "I'm sad for not being able to help the team"] (in Spanish). Marca. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2013. 
  5. ↑ Claudio Bravo – FIFA competition record

External links

Real Sociedad – current squad
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.