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José Pedro Fuenzalida
José Pedro Fuenzalida Gana (Latin American Spanish: [xoˈse ˈpeðɾo fwensaˈliða]; born 22 February 1985) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a right winger. Club careerA product of the Universidad Católica youth set-up, Fuenzalida was promoted to the first-adult team in 2004, at the age of 19. He debuted in a 4–0 defeat with Unión Española at San Carlos de Apoquindo for a league game, during a moment considered one of the club's biggest sports crises.[2] Similarly, Fuenzalida collated his football career with his studies in business administration at the University of the Andes,[3] which he abandoned after a short time.[3] During the winter of 2007, Fuenzalida aged twenty-two decided to take a break as footballer to study commercial engineering at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.[4] After six month studying, he returned to professional football[5] and joined rivals Colo-Colo on a four-year deal. Fuenzalida debuted on 13 January 2008 against Universidad de Concepción[6] and scored his first goal in a 2–1 home win over Deportes Antofagasta.[7] In June, he joined O'Higgins on loan after an unsuccessful tournament where only scored one goal in seven games.[8] In December 2009, it was reported that Fuenzalida finished his loan spell at O'Higgins and would return to Colo-Colo to face the next season. Seasons later, he helped the team to win the 2014 Torneo Apertura, being a key player in the title obtention which was his first honour playing for the club. On 29 July 2014, Fuenzalida reached a one-and-half year with Argentine powerhouse Boca Juniors.[9] Following an unsuccessful spell at Boca, he returned to Universidad Católica in 2016, signing for Las Condes-based club as a free agent.[10] He helped the team to win Torneo Clausura. Fuenzalida left Universidad Católica at the end of the 2022 season, not confirming his retirement.[11] However, in April 2023, his wife confirmed he had retired from football.[12] International careerFuenzalida has played in the U-20 and U-23 levels of the Chile national team in the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2008 Toulon Tournament, respectively. Usually called up by Marcelo Bielsa for the 2010 World Cup qualification, he was chosen by Jorge Sampaoli in Chile’s list of 23 for 2014 FIFA World Cup. In 2015, after being disaffected of the 30-man provisional list for the Copa América,[13] he was re-considered by Sampaoli in the definitive list following the withdrawal of the injured Carlos Carmona.[14] Personal lifeFollowing his retirement, Fuenzalida and his family emigrated to Los Angeles, California, and he began to study English.[12] Career statisticsClub
International
HonoursUniversidad Católica
Colo-Colo
Boca Juniors Chile Individual
References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to José Pedro Fuenzalida.
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