Marcelo Salas and Ivan ‘Bam Bam’ Zamorano were no doubt the catalysts in the 90’s for the expansion of Chilean football talent to Europe and ‘the big leagues’. However, La Roja players were never able to break into the Bundesliga then, and only recently, with the emergence of the Chilean national team during the last few seasons, has a pipeline been created from the depths of Chile’s own lopsided Primera Division to Germany, with its own tiered football mega-network.
Vidal was a pioneer back in 2007
The Chilean style of football was practically undiscovered by the Bundesliga when Arturo Vidal transferred for a national record fee of £7.4 million to Bayer Leverkusen from Colo Colo in 2007. Vidal became a mainstay with Leverkusen and led the club with the league’s joint-second assists tally of 11 in his final contract year in 2010-11, helping Bayer to a runner-up league finish. Even so, he was transferred to Juventus the following summer window, and his Chilean influence was soon forgotten despite the 15 goals (10 in his final season) he scored and his 117 appearances.
Prior to the pilgrimage of many La Roja players to the German league in 2014 and 2015, there had been multiple one-season stints in the Bundesliga for Chilean players. But Waldo Ponce made no impact with Wolfsburg in 2003-04, and certainly Junior Fernandes didn’t either with Leverkusen in 2012-13.
A recent rise in Chilean players making the switch
It was not until the 2014 summer window that Chile did flock to the Bundesliga, as a national team trio of Marcelo Diaz, Gonzalo Jara, and Miiko Albornoz shifted to Germany’s first division along with one-capped striker Nicolas Castillo. Jara and Castillo headed to Mainz while Diaz took his talents to Hamburg’s holding midfield, Albornoz heading to Hannover.
Coincidence was not the case that Bundesliga teams decided to dip into the Chilean pool the same summer La Roja booked a round-of-sixteen finish in the World Cup, narrowly falling to hosts Brazil on penalties to end a fantastic run. Football began to detect Chilean combination of grit and finesse and there was no doubting Diaz, Jara and Albornoz had been a large part of that tight-knit blue-collar core.
Throughout the season, all three of the aforementioned defense-heavy became staples of their squads. Albornoz has started in all but three of his 43 appearances for Hannover the last season and a half, while Diaz and Jara also established regular rotation roles.
Diaz became part of HSV folklore in May
If it hadn’t yet already, Chilean football booked itself in Bundesliga history in the 2015 relegation playoff between Hamburg and Karlsruher SC. Hamburg, who had finished 16th in the league table, were at the brink of their first relegation in team history, and a loss would mean their removal from the top division for the first-time.
It was the first minute of stoppage time; Hamburg were 1-0 down after a 1-1 draw in the matchup’s first leg. And then Marcelo Diaz struck a jaw-dropping free kick into the top left of the goal, leaving the opposing 'keeper motionless and paving the way for Hamburg to power through to a win in extra-time.
Moments like those define the play of Chile’s finest, especially in the midfield. Like Vidal and fellow Chilean midfielder Charles Aranguiz, Diaz has not only a fantastic defensive work rate, but he is additionally a more-than-viable option on the attack. And these high work rates on both ends of the pitch translate to interest from bigger name clubs.
After Chile once again showed enormous strength in national team play in the summer of 2015, winning the country’s first-ever Copa America in front of their home crowd at the Estadio Nacional, another trio of perhaps a higher profile was hauled over to the Bundesliga.
Chile stars shining bright in the Bundesliga
This time it featured Vidal and Aranguiz, two midfielders with possibly the highest overall work rates in all of football, as well as flashy striker Eduardo Vargas. And the league’s richest clubs were prepared to dole out hefty fees to acquire them.
Vidal, who’d spent his club football with Serie A powers Juventus since leaving Leverkusen in 2011, headed back to the Bundesliga on a blockbuster transfer of £25.9 million paid out by none other than Bayern Munich. But Bayern were joined by Leverkusen, who acquired Aranguiz, a talent whose abilities are reminiscent of Vidal’s skill set in the midfield. And finally, Hoffenheim were willing to take the chance on Vargas, an explosive attacker whose international success never translated to the club level.
The Bundesliga is all about balance. Its best teams, notably Bayern, exhibit this to perfection, and that is why German clubs have fallen in love with Chile. Vidal, already now a mainstay of the Munich midfield, has demonstrated himself to be the most versatile midfielder in all of football, perhaps parallel to the all-around skill of former Juventus teammate Paul Pogba. Aranguiz and Diaz, not to mention the majority of any Chilean defenders, also have a knack for jumping out to add another attacking element in order to outnumber a defense.
More international success to come?
It shouldn't come as a surprise when next summer or even this upcoming January when German clubs are rumored to be in the mix for landing players from Colo Colo and Universidad de Chile. What Diaz did and what Chilean national team manager Jorge Sampaoli has continued to do on the international level mean one thing: La Roja has landed in the Bundesliga and they're here to stay.
Whether Chile continues their success in South America through 2018 CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers and Copa America Centenario in the United States in 2016 could waver upon injuries and possible club commitments. But what will remain crystal clear is the direct connection between the German and Chilean attitudes towards the sport of football. 'Unrelenting, physically-draining football wins matches' is that shared mantra, and it has shone through the last few years on La Roja's side of things.
You can love it or hate it, just as many decided to do after the Jara-Edinson Cavani incident this past Copa America. But Chilean football is growing and the Bundesliga is another big step up the readily expanding ladder of success.