• Arturo Vidal debuted in senior football with Colo-Colo

• Vidal arrived in Europe with Bayer Leverkusen

• Vidal won titles with Juventus, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Inter Milan in Europe

Akshat Mehrish The nicknames bestowed by the football fraternity on Arturo Vidal speak volumes. He is ‘The Warrior’ and ‘La Piranha’, an ode to the combative nature of the Chilean, whose vicious bite has stopped several of his opponents in their tracks. He is also ‘King Arthur’; sought by the greatest coaches of his time, Vidal’s unique skillset, work ethic, and tactical adaptability made him one of the most desired midfielders in Europe during his heydays. Aggressive and tenacious, sure, but Arturo Vidal’s all-encompassing profile made him a unicorn prancing around in the middle of the pitch. Incredibly smart, tactically aware, physically and technically gifted. Effective on the ground and in the air. Productive, too, scaling the charts to become Chile’s fourth-highest appearance maker and fifth-highest scorer at the time of writing with 33 goals in 140 games. Vidal is a player who, at his peak, was among the best in the world, even if he reached those heights with a fraction of the fanfare enjoyed by some of his equally gifted peers.

“[Arturo] is a fantastic player. I have a great respect for Arturo, and we spent many years in Juventus together. If we go to war, I'd always want him with me,” said Antonio Conte once, of his trusted lieutenant, a sentiment that would later be echoed by Pep Guardiola, Vidal’s former coach at Bayern Munich. At 36, Arturo Vidal is enjoying the twilight of his career back in South America, where he returned in 2022 to join Brazilian side Flamengo after a decade-and-a-half spent dominating the midfield battles across Europe. The midfielder last played on the continent in his native Chile in 2007 before departing on his pan-European adventure. Born in the San Joaquin commune of Santiago, Vidal joined the youth ranks of one of Chile’s biggest clubs, Colo-Colo, after his uncle had noticed his talents. He graduated to senior football with his boyhood club in 2005 and had become a significant member of the senior team by 2007, when the first offer from Europe arrived. In what was a national record at the time, Vidal joined Bayer Leverkusen, where he would spend the next four years of his career.

Ever-present for Bayer, Arturo Vidal would also evolve into an influential player for Chile during this period. He had helped his national team qualify for the FIFA World Cups in 2010 and 2014 and would assist them in winning their first major title, the Copa America, in 2015 and 2016. Vidal ramped up his trophy collection after leaving Bayer Leverkusen for Juventus in 2011. Across his four years at the club, the Chilean made 177 appearances and scored two short of half-a-century of goals; he also won the league title in each of his seasons with the Italian giants and helped them reach the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2014-15.

Plucked from Turin by Guardiola for his all-conquering Bayern Munich side in 2015, Vidal added three more titles to his silverware cabinet in Germany, the three secured in back-to-back seasons. He left Bayern for Barcelona in 2018, where he would win the last of his eight straight domestic championships before the streak came to an end in 2019/20. Reuniting with his former Juventus boss Conte for one final flourish in Europe in 2020, Vidal helped Inter Milan collect their first league title since 2010, bringing his trophy count to 18 leagues and cups in 11 years. Vidal departed from Europe at the end of his Inter contract and flew back to South America, where he has been ever since.