Víctor Loyola

Víctor Jesús Alfredo Loyola Pando (born 22 June 1981) is a Chilean retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper and occasionally as a forward.

Football career

Born in Santiago, Loyola started his career with local Colo-Colo, spending five seasons at the club which included a loan at Unión Española. He subsequently joined Deportes Puerto Montt.

In 2006, Loyola signed for Santiago Morning. On 25 November 2009, in the last minute of the Clausura away fixture against Audax Italiano (where he had previously played on loan), he scored through a header in an eventual 1–2 loss and semi-finals qualification on the away goals rule, after having been brought on as a substitute forward by manager Juan Antonio Pizzi.

Santiago Morning also loaned Loyola to Cobreloa. On 22 May 2011, back with the latter but now as a goalkeeper, he netted his team's goal in a 1–1 Apertura home draw precisely against the former, in another injury-time header. On 15 June, in a friendly with former side Colo-Colo, his individual effort was the game's first goal in a 2–1 win, and he also announced his intention to spend the following Clausura entirely as a forward; on 10 July, for the Copa Chile, the forward scored his second goal since being fully reconverted by manager Fernando Díaz, in a 1–1 draw at Unión San Felipe.

Loyola retired midway through 2012 at the age of 31, due to numerous back problems.

Honours

Colo-Colo

• Campeonato Nacional (Chile): 2002 Clausura