 Medel playing for Cardiff City | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gary Alexis Medel Soto | ||
| Date of birth | 3 August 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Santiago, Chile | ||
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder / Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Cardiff City | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997–2005 | Universidad Católica | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2006–2009 | Universidad Católica | 70 | (10) |
| 2009–2011 | Boca Juniors | 46 | (7) |
| 2011–2013 | Sevilla | 78 | (8) |
| 2013– | Cardiff City | 14 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007 | Chile U20 | 15 | (0) |
| 2008 | Chile U23 | 8 | (0) |
| 2007– | Chile | 58 | (5) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 October 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 February 2013 | |||
Gary Alexis Medel Soto (born 3 August 1987 in Conchalí, Santiago), known as Gary Medel, is aChilean football player who plays for English Premier League club Cardiff City as a defensive midfielder.
His first name was chosen in honour of the English footballer Gary Lineker. His nickname is "Pitbull" or also "The Chilean Gattuso", due to his aggressiveness on the pitch resembling that of Italian midfielderGennaro Gattuso. Medel was named Chilean Footballer of the Year in 2008.
Medel was member of the Chile U-20 that finished in third place at the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2007. He has 56 senior caps, and played at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2011 Copa América.
Club career
Universidad Católica
Medel joined the Universidad Católica youth ranks at a very early age. In 2006, he was promoted to the first team and he made his debut in the University derby against Universidad de Chile, where he received his first yellow card.
After a successful participation in the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2007 in Crynant, he became a popular player and was nicknamed "Dwarf and "Chilean Gattuso" by the media, because of his strong performance and short temper. On 28 July 2007, Medel scored his first goal for Católica against Deportes La Serena in a 3–1 victory. On 26 August 2007, at Estadio Nacional, Medel scored two goals for Católica against his classic rival Universidad de Chile, in a 2–1 victory.
He had a great season in 2008, being a key player for Católica and the national team. On 17 April 2008, he scored his first Copa Libertadores goal against América in a 2–0 victory at San Carlos de Apoquindo. However Católica failed to go through the second stage. Shortly after, he scored again.
Boca Juniors
In July 2009, Boca Juniors signed Medel on a 1 year loan deal, along with Federico Insúa. Medel stated upon his arrival that moving to Boca was "a dream come true. It is a very important club and they have players who I admire a lot, Roman, Palermo and Battaglia, who is my idol and I look forward to playing alongside him." He scored his first goal against Godoy Cruz in a match where he also saw his first red card in Argentinian soil. In March 2010, he scored a brace in the Argentinian Superclásico against fierce rivals River Plate, leading Boca to a very important win in that tournament (2–0), in a time when they were submerged in a sport crisis. After good performances as a Central midfielder, showing his temper (he got sent out several times) and sacrifice, plus prominent featuring in the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa, he was tented by European clubs, but he stated that he was going to stay at the Bombonera for another year, being coached by his (now in 2011)Chile National football team coach Claudio Borghi, who was hired at the time to be the new Boca coach after obtaining the Argentinian championship title withArgentinos Juniors.
Sevilla FC
In January 2011, after several months being scouted by Spanish team Sevilla FC. Borghi successor Julio César Falcioni stated that he wanted Medel to stay in Boca for the 2011 campaign, but that he wouldn't jeopardize or interfere in Medel's future, thus approving the move. His debut in Spanish soil was against Real Madrid, in a Copa del Rey 0–2 loss. He only played the last 4 minutes of the match. On 13 February 2011 he made his Liga BBVAdebut against Racing de Santander, this time playing the whole match. A month later, Sevilla played against FC Barcelona where Medel made his best performance so far, annulling Lionel Messi and saving Sevilla's goalkeeperJavi Varas a couple of times. The match ended 1–1.
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.[2][3] He made his debut for the club on 17 August, in a 2-0 defeat against West Ham United.[4]He made his home debut at the Cardiff City Stadium on 25 August, in a 3-2 win against 2011-12 Premier Leaguechampions Manchester City. Medel played all 90 minutes and received the fans man of the match award
