Gary Medel

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Medel and the second or maternal family name is Soto.
Gary Medel

Medel playing for Cardiff City in 2013
Personal information
Full nameGary Alexis Medel Soto
Date of birth3 August 1987
Place of birthSantiago, Chile
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing positionDefensive midfielder / Defender
Club information
Current team
Inter Milan
Number18
Youth career
1997–2005Universidad Católica
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2006–2009Universidad Católica68(10)
2009–2011Boca Juniors46(7)
2011–2013Sevilla78(8)
2013–2014Cardiff City34(0)
2014–Inter Milan29(0)
National team‡
2007Chile U2015(0)
2008Chile U238(0)
2007–Chile71(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 April 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 June 2014

Gary Alexis Medel Soto (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɡaɾi meˈðel]; born 3 August 1987) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays for Inter Milan as a defensive midfielder, although he can also play as a defender. He is nicknamed "Pitbull".[2]

Club career

Early career

Medel joined Universidad Católica at the age of 12. His youth team coach Mario Lepe put his name forward to join the senior ranks.[2]

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 loaned 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".[3] Medel scored both goals in a 2–0 win in the Superclásico against River Plate on 25 March 2010.[4]

Before he joined Sevilla, Boca organised a farewell match for him, a friendly against River in Mar del Plata. He came on in the 77th minute of the 2–0 win.[5]

Sevilla

Medel playing for Sevilla in 2011.

Medel joined Sevilla for €3 million on 28 January 2011, on a 4½-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".[6]

On 12 February, he made his La Liga debut, playing all 90 minutes of a 2–3 away defeat at Racing Santander.[7] He helped Sevilla to a 1–1 draw against FC Barcelona at home on 12 March, clearing twice off the line, the second from Lionel Messi.[8]

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.[9][10] He made his debut for the club on 17 August, in a 2-0 defeat against West Ham United.[11] 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.[12]

Inter Milan

After Cardiff's relegation, Medel joined Inter Milan for a £10 million fee on 9 August 2014.[13] The fee, which was £1 million less than what Cardiff had signed Medel for, was criticised by former striker Nathan Blake,[14] but was justified by Cardiff manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær.[15] 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.[16]

International 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.

He made his competitive debut for the Chile senior team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Bolivia in a 2–0 victory, scoring both goals, the first being an spectacular bicycle kick. 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.

In 2011, he played in the Copa América, being sent off in the quarter-final match against Venezuela, after making an intentional handball.

World Cup 2014

Medel in action against Neymar of Brazil at World Cup 2014.

He 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. [17] He was one of 23 players who were called up by coach Jorge Sampaoli to play in 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.[18] Medel played as a starter alongside with Gonzalo Jara in the center of defence, with Chile who beat Australia 3–1 in Cuiabá to get first three points of the World Cup campaign.[19] He also played full 90 minutes in second match against current world champions Spain, with Chile to get an historic 2–0 win.[20] Spain's loss confirmed the qualification of both Chile and the Netherlands into the knockout stage, and eliminated both Spain and Australia. Spain became the fifth defending champions to be knocked out in the group stage, and the first since 1950 to be eliminated after only two games (Italy were drawn into a three-team group and only played two games in 1950).[21] Medel played 90 minutes in final group match against Netherlands who won 2–0 and won the group, while Chile finished Group B as runner-up with six points.[22] Chile where eliminated in round of 16 against the same team who eliminated them in last tournament, Brazil, but this time, Brazil advanced to the quarter-finals by winning on penalty shootout.[23][24][25]

International goals

Scores and results list Chile's goal tally first[26]

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1. 15 June 2008 Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia  Bolivia 1–0 2–1 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

Career statistics

As of match played 20 April 2015
Club Season League League Cup League Cup Continental Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Universidad Católica2006Primera División0000000000
20070000000000
2008284000000284
2009131000060191
Total 81000060141
Boca Juniors2009–10Primera División297000020317
2010–11170000000170
Total 467000020487
Sevilla2010–11La Liga150100020180
2011–12312400020372
2012–13326710000397
Total 7881210040949
Cardiff City2013–14Premier League340100000350
Total 340100000350
Inter Milan2014–15Serie A290200070380
Total 290200070380
Career Total [27] 228201510017026021

Honours

Honour Date
Footballer of the year 2008 in CDUC[28] 2008
Star team of Copa Libertadores in 2008 year[29] 2008
Footballer of the year 2008 in Chile[30] 2008
Star team of year in South America[31] 2009

References

  1. ↑ F.C. Inter Player Profiles: Gary Medel
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 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.
  3. ↑ "Se concretó el traspaso de Gary Medel a Boca Juniors [Transfer of Gary Medel to Boca Juniors is confirmed]". La Tercera. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  4. ↑ "Un Pitbull Matador [A Killer Pitbull]". Olé. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "Boca derrota a River en la despedida de Gary Medel [Boca defeat River in Gary Medel's farewell]". La Tercera. 23 January 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ 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). Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "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.
  9. ↑ "Cardiff sign Medel in record deal worth 11m British pounds".
  10. ↑ Denham, Mark. "The Bluebirds break their transfer record for a third time this summer". Newspaper. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  11. ↑ "West Ham 2-0 Cardiff" BBC Sport. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  12. ↑ "Cardiff City 3-2 Manchester City". BBC SPORT. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013..
  13. ↑ "Inter Milan: Cardiff City's Gary Medel joins club for £10m". BBC Sport. 9 August 2014.
  14. ↑ "Cardiff City 'crazy' to accept £10m Inter Milan fee for Medel - Blake". BBC Sport. 10 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  15. ↑ "Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: Cardiff City had 'fair price' for Gary Medel". BBC Sport. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  16. ↑ "Torino 0-0 Inter: Vidic sees red as Mazzarri's men are held". Goal.com. 31 August 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  17. ↑ International Round-Up
  18. ↑ "Nomina de 23 jugadores convocados a la Copa Mundial De La FIFA Brasil 2014". anfp.cl. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  19. ↑ "Chile 3-1 Australia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  20. ↑ "Spain 0 Chile 2". BBC Sport. 18 June 2014.
  21. ↑ "Taxi for tiki-taka! Spain become the fifth World Cup holders to crash out in the group stage after Brazil, France and Italy (twice)". Daily Mail. 18 June 2014.
  22. ↑ "Netherlands 2 Chile 0". BBC Sport. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  23. ↑ "Brazil progress as Chile pay penalty". ESPN. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  24. ↑ "Brazil 1 Chile 1 (Brazil win 3-2 on penalties)". BBC Sport. 28 June 2014.
  25. ↑ "Brazil through as Chile pay the penalty". FIFA.com (Fédération Internationale de Football Association). Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  26. ↑ "Gary Medel". National Football Teams. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  27. ↑ "Gary Medel Stats". Soccerway. 16 April 2015.
  28. ↑ Gary Medel fue el mejor del 2008. Fuente: lacatolica.cl Consultado el 14 de enero de 2010.
  29. ↑ Portal de Registro y Autentificación El Mercurio
  30. ↑ nacion.cl - Gary Medel fue elegido el mejor futbolista del año
  31. ↑ Gary Medel también está en el 'equipo ideal' de América | FÚTBOL | latercera.com

External links

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