Jorge Valdivia

Early career

In 1993, Valdivia joined Colo-Colo’s football academy. He was promoted to first team in 2003, at the age of nineteen. Nevertheless, he was demotivated by his teammates, like captain Marcelo Espina, complemented by the misbehavior outside the field.

Colo-Colo

Loan to Universidad Concepción

After falling out of Colo-Colo's first team figures, Valdivia was loaned to fellow Chilean Primera División side Universidad de Concepción. He made his professional debut for Concepción on 16 March 2003, coming on as a second-half substitute for Pablo Abdala in a 2–1 Primera División away loss against Cobresal. During his first start on 6 April, he scored his team's last in a 3–1 home win against Unión Española. Following that match, Valdivia became an undisputed starter for the club, contributing with the opener in a 4–3 home win against Universidad de Chile on 16 June, as his side qualified to the quarterfinals of the Torneo Apertura. In his first season at Concepción-based side, he impressed for his skills. There, Valdivia scored seven goals in 30 games.

Loans to Rayo Vallecano and Servette

That allowed him to go on loan again, this time to Segunda División side Rayo Vallecano, where he only played five matches and failed to score a goal. After another loan spell at Switzerland's Servette, Valdivia could have played for Boca Juniors, club that was willing to pay US$1.5 million dollars for him, but nevertheless the talks about the…

Valdivia was a classic "number 10" playmaker, widely regarded as a "fantastic talent" with exceptional technical ability. Nicknamed "El Mago" (The Magician), he was noted for his vision and his ability to execute precise, defence-splitting passes. Jorge Sampaoli, who coached Valdivia during his tenure with the Chilean national team, described him as an "irreplaceable talent." Despite his on-field brilliance, Valdivia's career was also marked by disciplinary issues; he served two lengthy bans from international football. Media outlets often characterized his career as a duality between his skill as a playmaker and a controversial off-field persona, frequently described as a "playboy" lifestyle.

Born in Venezuela, Valdivia was eligible to play for the national team of either country. However, he appeared with Chile's U20 in the 2003 South American Youth Championship, only making two appearances in a tournament which Chile finished last in the group stage. Valdivia also represented his country in the 2004 Pre-Olympic Tournament — alongside players like Claudio Bravo, Jean Beausejour, Luis Pedro Figueroa or Mark González — where he had an impressive performance. In June of that year, he earned his first senior cap for Chile national team against Mexico. Also that year he became part of the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying nominees under Juvenal Olmos as head coach, who choose him to play the Pre-Olympic. Nevertheless, Chile failed to qualify the World Cup. Valdivia scored his first international goal for Chile in an exhibition match against Paraguay in Vina del Mar on 16 November 2006 during a 3–2 victory. In June 2007, Valdivia was chosen in Chile's Copa América squad, which they were eliminated in quarterfinals after a 6–1 thrash of Brazil. However, before the game against Brazil, he alongside five players went on a spree and once leaked the press they received a 20-game ban from the federation (ANFP). Then Nelson Acosta resigned as national team coach. A year and half later, he was re-considered by Marcelo Bielsa after calling-up him to a friendly game with Turkey on 5 August 2008. One month later, on 7 September, Valdivia made his debut for the 2010 World Cup…

Valdivia was born in Maracay, Venezuela, in 1983, to Chilean parents Luis Valdivia and Elizabeth Toro, because of his father's work as a correspondent for LAN airlines, which he did from 1974. In 1985, the Valdivia family returned their homeland moving to Santiago. There they settled in the commune of La Florida. Likely due to these years he spent in Venezuela, he was interested in baseball. After moving to Chile, he developed his taste for football.