Eduardo Vargas

Eduardo Jesús Vargas Rojas ([eˈðwaɾðo ˈβaɾɣas]; born 20 November 1989) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga MX club Tigres UANL and the Chile national team.

Emerging as a top talent at Cobreloa, Vargas moved to Universidad de Chile where he won three titles, including the 2011 Copa Sudamericana, where he was named player of the tournament. In 2011, he was co-awarded the Chilean Footballer of the Year and also finished as runner-up for the South American Footballer of the Year. Following an £11.5 million move to Napoli, Vargas had subsequent loan spells at Grêmio, Valencia and Queens Park Rangers before moving to 1899 Hoffenheim in 2015.

A full international since 2010, Vargas has earned over 90 caps for Chile, scoring 38 goals. He was part of their squad at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2015 Copa América, the Copa América Centenario, the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2019 Copa América. He would finish as top scorer in Chile's victories at the 2015 Copa América and Copa América Centenario.

Early career

Born in Santiago, Vargas grew up in Renca, and began his career playing for Internacional de Renca's youth setup. He also had trials at Universidad Católica and Palestino before taking part of Deportes Puerto Montt's youth categories. In 2005, he was invited to a reality show headed by Adidas, called Adidas Selection Team, and despite not winning the competition, he impressed enough to start the 2006 pre-season trialling with Puerto Rico Islanders, as the club was in Chile.

Cobreloa

In 2006, Vargas was signed by Cobreloa after impressing in a ten-day trial. Initially assigned to the B-team in the Tercera División, he scored twice during his stay, netting against Universidad Arturo Prat and San Marcos de Arica in August.

Vargas made his first team debut on 23 July 2006, aged just 16, playing the last 20 minutes in a 4–1 away loss against Puerto Montt. He appeared in three more matches during the season, all from the bench. After only five further appearances in 2007, he became a regular starter in 2008, scoring his first professional goal on 16 March in a 3–2 home defeat of Palestino. On 30 August, he scored a brace in a 4–3 away win against the same opponent.

Vargas established himself as a starter in 2009, contributing with four goals in 23 appearances.

Universidad de Chile

On 7 January 2010, Vargas joined Universidad de Chile for a US$700,000 transfer fee. He made his debut for the club on 25 January, replacing Gabriel Vargas and scoring the last in a 5–1 home routing of Cobresal.

Vargas only broke into the first team during the 2011 campaign, and had a brilliant performance during the year, scoring 29 goals and providing in 51 matches. He also won both league semestral tournaments (Torneo Apertura and Torneo Clausura), as well as the Copa Sudamericana, where he was the edition's top-scorer and netted goals in both final legs against LDU Quito, scoring the only goal at Casa Blanca and twice in the 3–0 win at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago.

Vargas was chosen as a candidate for South American Footballer of the Year in November 2011, eventually placing as runner-up to Neymar. Then in December, Vargas was con-decorated as the Chilean Footballer of the Year.

Napoli

In December 2011, Italian club Napoli purchased the player for a reported US$17.9 million (£11.5 million). On 23 December 2011, Napoli club president Aurelio De Laurentiis, announced Vargas would arrive at the club: "I would like to inform you officially that we purchased Vargas, a few minutes ago I received a call from Dr. De Nicola, who visited the footballer and gave his okay under medical and athletic profile. We signed the contract and we also won the competition by strong Club who wanted the player. This is the testimony that our observatory is always open and we are continuously looking for young talents in the world that can make the case of Napoli and for the growth of our team." Vargas arrived at Napoli on 6 January 2012 and signed on 9 January. He made his debut in a 2–1 Coppa Italia defeat of Cesena at the Stadio San Paolo on 12 January. On 20 May, he was an unused substitute as Napoli defeated Juventus in the Coppa Italia Final at the Stadio Olimpico.

On 20 September 2012, in the first match of Napoli's UEFA Europa League campaign, Vargas scored his first Napoli goals, netting three in a 4–0 victory against AIK. This was the first time that a Chilean player had scored a hat-trick in a continental competition in Europe.

Grêmio (loan)

On 17 January 2013, Vargas agreed to go on loan to Brazilian side Grêmio. He made his first appearance six days later in a Copa Libertadores match against LDU Quito. He scored his first goal on 21 February against Fluminense in the Copa Libertadores. On 31 March, he scored his first goal in the Campeonato Gaúcho, converting a penalty at the Arena do Grêmio in a 1–1 draw with Passo Fundo.

Valencia (loan)

On 23 January 2014, Vargas joined La Liga club Valencia on loan for the rest of the 2013–14 season. Vargas played his first official match for Los Che in a 3–2 away win at Camp Nou against champions Barcelona on 1 February 2014. He scored his first La Liga goal against Real Betis, in a 5–0 home win.

Vargas recorded two goals and three assists in eight appearances as Valencia reached the semi-finals of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League.

Queens Park Rangers (loan)

On 21 August 2014, Vargas joined Queens Park Rangers on loan until the end of the 2014–15 Premier League season. He made his debut for the club on 14 September against Manchester United, replacing Charlie Austin for the last 31 minutes at Old Trafford. On 19 October, in a 2–3 loss against Liverpool at Loftus Road, Vargas scored twice after coming on as a substitute for Bobby Zamora in the 78th minute. On 26 December, in a 2–1 loss to Arsenal, Vargas helped his goalkeeper Robert Green save an early penalty from Alexis Sánchez by pointing out which way his fellow Chilean was likely to shoot the ball.

On 22 March 2015, Vargas scored his first goal in five months in QPR's 1–2 home defeat to Everton. He also scored in the team's 4–1 victory at West Bromwich Albion on 4 April, but injured his knee ligament in that match, ruling him out for the remainder of the season. The season ended with QPR finishing bottom of the league, resulting in their relegation to the Championship.

Hoffenheim

On 24 August 2015, Vargas joined German Bundesliga club 1899 Hoffenheim on a four-year deal, for a reported fee of €5 million, plus an additional percentage of any sell-on fee.

Tigres UANL

On 27 January 2017, Liga MX club Tigres UANL announced Vargas would be joining the club. On 16 July 2017, he scored the goal of the 1–0 victory over Guadalajara in the 2017 Campeón de Campeones.

Vargas played the historical final against Tigres' archrival: CF Monterrey. In the first leg the teams tied by 1–1 at the Estadio Universitario. In the Estadio BBVA Bancomer, Tigres beat Monterrey by 2–1. Vargas and Francisco Meza scored the goals.

In 2009, Vargas participated in the Toulon Tournament with the Chile under-23 national team, where he was champion and the team's second top goalscorer. On 5 November 2009, he made his full international debut for the senior team in a 2–1 win over Paraguay at the Estadio CAP.

In 2011, Vargas was recalled and scored his first goal in a 3–2 friendly defeat to Spain on 2 September. On 12 October, he scored his first competitive international goal in a 4–2 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying win over Peru at the Estadio Monumental.

In September 2013, Vargas broke the Chile national team record for goals in consecutive matches – previously held jointly by Marcelo Salas and Carlos Caszely – by scoring twice in a 2–2 friendly draw with Spain. During 2013, he scored in six consecutive matches and nine times overall for La Roja.

2014 World Cup

On 1 June 2014, Vargas was named by Jorge Sampaoli in Chile's 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In Chile's second group match, against defending champions Spain at the Maracanã Stadium, Vargas scored the team's opening goal as they mathematically eliminated Spain and secured qualification to the knockout stage.

2015 Copa América

On 11 June 2015, Vargas scored for Chile in the opening match of the 2015 Copa América, a 2–0 win over Ecuador at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago. In the team's next fixture, Vargas scored his second goal of the tournament, heading an equalizer as the hosts drew 3–3 with Mexico on 15 June. In the semi-final against Peru, Vargas scored both goals in a 2–1 victory for Chile, the second of which was a long-distance effort, to send La Roja to the final. Although Vargas was substituted out in extra time, Chile won in a penalty shootout against Argentina to win their first major international honour. Vargas' four goals made him the competition's joint top scorer alongside Peruvian Paolo Guerrero, and he was named in the Team of the Tournament.

Copa América Centenario

On 14 June 2016, at the Copa América Centenario, Vargas and Alexis Sánchez scored twice each in a 4–2 win over Panama in Philadelphia to qualify for the quarter-finals of the tournament. Four days later, he added four more goals at Levi's Stadium in a 7–0 rout of Mexico. Chile retained their title with another win on penalties against Argentina, and Vargas was again the top scorer with six goals.

Despite his previous successes with the national team, Vargas, along with Marcelo Díaz, fell out of favour following the appointment of Reinaldo Rueda in 2018 and made only a single friendly appearance for Chile in the year.

2019 Copa América

Vargas was included in Chile's 23-man squad for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil. He scored twice against Japan in a 4–0 win for Chile's opening match.

Club

As of 14 March 2020

International

As of 10 September 2019

International goals

Score and Result lists Chile's goals first

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	2 September 2011	AFG Arena, St. Gallen, Switzerland	Spain	2–0	2–3	Friendly
2.	12 October 2011	Estadio Monumental, Santiago, Chile	Peru	2–0	4–2	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	6 February 2013	Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain	Egypt	1–0	2–1	Friendly
4.	26 March 2013	Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile	Uruguay	2–0	2–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.	24 April 2013	Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil	Brazil	2–2	2–2	Friendly
6.	7 June 2013	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay	Paraguay	1–0	2–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.	11 June 2013	Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile	Bolivia	1–0	3–1
8.	6 September 2013		Venezuela	1–0	3–0
9.	10 September 2013	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Spain	1–0	2–2	Friendly
10.				2–1
11.	19 November 2013	Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada	Brazil	1–1	1–2
12.	30 May 2014	Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile	Egypt	2–2	3–2
13.				3–2
14.	4 June 2014	Estadio Elías Figueroa, Valparaíso, Chile	Northern Ireland	1–0	2–0
15.	18 June 2014	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Spain	1–0	2–0	2014 FIFA World Cup
16.	10 October 2014	Estadio Elías Figueroa, Valparaíso, Chile	Peru	1–0	3–0	Friendly
17.				3–0
18.	15 November 2014	Estadio CAP, Talcahuano, Chile	Venezuela	3–0	5–0
19.	11 June 2015	Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile	Ecuador	2–0	2–0	2015 Copa América
20.	15 June 2015		Mexico	2–2	3–3
21.	29 June 2015		Peru	1–0	2–1	2015 Copa América
22.				2–1
23.	8 October 2015		Brazil	1–0	2–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
24.	13 October 2015	Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru	Peru	2–2	4–3
25.				4–2
26.	14 June 2016	Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, United States	Panama	1–1	4–2	Copa América Centenario
27.				2–1
28.	18 June 2016	Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, United States	Mexico	2–0	7–0	Copa América Centenario
29.				4–0
30.				5–0
31.				6–0
32.	15 November 2016	Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile	Uruguay	1–1	3–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
33.	13 June 2017	Cluj Arena, Cluj-Napoca, Romania	Romania	1–0	2–3	Friendly
34.	18 June 2017	Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow, Russia	Cameroon	2–0	2–0	2017 FIFA Confederations Cup
35.	5 October 2017	Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile	Ecuador	1–0	2–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
36.	6 June 2019	Estadio La Portada, La Serena, Chile	Haiti	1–1	2–1	Friendly
37.	17 June 2019	Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil	Japan	2–0	4–0	2019 Copa América
38.				4–0

Universidad de Chile

• Primera División de Chile: 2011 Apertura, 2011 Clausura
• Copa Sudamericana: 2011

Napoli

• Coppa Italia: 2011–12

Tigres UANL

• Liga MX: Apertura 2017, Clausura 2019
• Campeón de Campeones: 2017, 2018
• Campeones Cup: 2018

International

• Copa América: 2015, 2016
• China Cup: 2017
• Toulon Tournament: 2009

Individual

• Copa Sudamericana Top Scorer: 2011
• Copa Sudamericana Player of the Tournament: 2011
• Primera División de Chile Player of the Tournament: 2011
• Primera División de Chile Best Forward: 2011
• CONMEBOL Team of the Season: 2011
• Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2015, 2016
• Copa América Top Scorer: 2015, 2016
• China Cup Best Player: 2017