Claudio Bravo

At 41 years old, Claudio Bravo has this physical status:

Claudio Andrés Bravo Muoz (Spanish pronunciation: [klaw]jojo aao]; born on April 13, 1983) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays for Real Betis and captains the Chile national team.

He started playing with Colo-Colo and moved to Real Sociedad in 2006, playing in 237 official games with the former club. In 2014, Barcelona bought him for €12 million, and he captured the treble and the Zamora Trophy in his first season. He then moved to Manchester, where he received many awards in the summer of 2016. He returned to Spain after four years in England, signing for Real Betis.

Bravo is Chile's third-most capped player, with 143 total appearances, behind only Alexis Sánchez and Gary Medel. In two World Cups, a FIFA Confederations Cup, and six Copa América tournaments, he represented the country. He led his team to victory at the 2015 and 2016 editions of the latter competition.

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Club career

Bravo was born in Viluco, Maipo Province, Canada. His father noticed his son's rising popularity and invited him to Colo-Colo's youth academy, where he made his professional debut in 2002. Since former club goalkeeper Roberto Rojas, he was given the nickname Cóndor Chico. In the same way, he complemented his football career by scientific investigation of physical fitness at the University of the Americas, where he met as colleagues to his teammates Fernando Meneses, Luis Mena, and Miguel Riffo.

Bravo's first shot, although it would be brief, was cut short due to his injury to Eduardo Lobos, who was later signed Jonny Walker. He returned in mid-2003 and with Lobos still on the sidelines, he took over the starting position, which he would never lose again, with his rival eventually being fuced.

Bravo won his first title in 2006, making an acrobatic save in the Apertura's penalty shootout final victory over arch-rival C.F. Universidad de Chile de Chile.

Bravo signed a five-year contract with Real Sociedad in Spain, making him the youngest goalkeepers in La Liga this year. He started on the bench but as the Basque side was relegated, he eventually took the fight for first-choice (29 games to nine) before he was disqualified (despite this, he finished fifth place in the Ricardo Zamora Trophy with a goal-against average of 1.10); his league debut came on October 22, 2006, against RCD Mallorca.

Riesgo recovered his starting position in the following season. Bravo was loaned to Recife in 2008, but Real stayed in Segunda División. He was the joint-recipient of Zamora's campaign, alongside Rayo Vallecano's David Cobe.

Bravo was dismissed for the first time in a game against Elche CF at Anoeta Stadium in the ninth minute, from which Jorge Molina scored a penalty for the game's sole goal. He scored his first goal of his career against Nàstic in a home victory three weeks later; however, Real Sociedad's 2–0 loss at Córdoba CF left him out for the remainder of the season shortly after. After three years, he continued to play in 25 games to help his team's finish as champions and return to the top division.

Bravo joined FC Barcelona on June 25, 2014, the fourth most expensive player sold by Real Sociedad after Darko Kovazelli, Xabi Alonso, and Asier Illarramendi, making him the fourth Chilean to play for the club since Alexis Sánchez and succeeding Viktor Valdés as the first choice. In a 1–3 loss to Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabéu, he set a record for the club of not conceding from the start of season for 754 minutes, previously held by Pedro Mara Artola with 560 minutes; the streak was broken when he conceded his first goal of the season.

Bravo was rested for the last game of the season against Deportivo de La Corua, with Jordi Masip replacing him after 37 consecutive games. Bravo was voted the goalkeeper in the La Liga Team of the Season as one of six Barcelona players, including three of his defenders. He received the Zamora for the highest goals against average in the competition, beating 19 times for an average of 0.47, 0.47 off the all-time record set by Francisco Liao of Deportivo in 1994.

Barcelona's win in the year's Copa del Rey, UEFA Champions League, and UEFA Super Cup was preferred by Marc-André Stegen, who was also named for the team's first Cup victory, beating Guangzhou Evergrande and River Plate in Japan. "If I were to say that I'm enjoying it properly, I'm lying," the rotationist said.

Bravo signed a four-year contract for English club Manchester City for a reported £17 million on August 25, 2016. He made his debut on September 10th in a 2–1 victory over Manchester United's goal and receiving a lot of flak over his results, but boss Pep Guardiola said he had "one of the best performances I've ever seen." Bravo was suspended after playing the ball outside of his area in a Champions League group stage match on October 19, 2016, ending in a loss of 4–0. He was dropped to the bench in February 2017 after a string of poor saves (54 percent) among all goalkeepers; he was named one of the worst signings of the season by many journalists; he was fired by all six shots on target in his previous two appearances for City.

Bravo saved two penalties for his team's 4–1 victory over Thursday, October 24, 2017, after a 0–0 home draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the first 120 minutes of the EFL Cup fourth-round match. Bravo was the hero once more in the next round of the cup as he saved the last penalty in a shootout against Leicester City after a 1–1 draw. Bravo started in the EFL Cup final against Arsenal on February 25, 2018 and received Sergio Agüero's opening goal in a 3–0 victory at Wembley Stadium, his first trophy for the club.

He ruptured his Achilles tendon in preparation against Chelsea in August 2018, and went back to being sidelined for several months. He missed the entirety of the 2018--19 season, with Aro Muric replacing him as City's second choice goalkeeper. He did not play again until the next iteration of the tournament, when he saved Giorginio Wijnaldum to win the penalty shootout against Liverpool, earning Guardiola's praise.

In a Champions League group game at Atalanta on November 6, 2019, Bravo appeared as a half-time replacement for the injured Ederson Moraes. In the 81st minute for a foul on Josip Iliay, he was dismissed, causing defender Kyle Walker to come on as the goalkeeper for the final minutes.

City defeated Aston Villa 2–1 in the final on March 1, 2020, for the third time in a row. Bravo converted Björn Engels' late save to save the city's lead by pushing his header into the paper. He left in August after his deal came to an end.

Bravo signed a one-year contract with Spanish club Real Betis on August 30, 2020, with the option for a second year. In his first season, he was marred by injuries, and compatriot boss Manuel Pellegrini preferred to play Joel Robles in his place.

International career

Bravo played for Chile at under-17, under-20, and under the age of 23. He made his full debut against Paraguay in the 2004 Copa América, and stayed on the rest of the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Bravo was called back to service in the 2007 Copa América tournament in Venezuela, where he appeared in all four games. After Marcelo Salas' international departure, he became the team captain. He was beaten up for the last group match of the 2011 Copa América as the country advanced to the quarterfinals.

Bravo started in all four matches for Chile (remaining as captain), conceding five goals in an eventual 3–0 loss to Brazil in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He was also selected by new manager Jorge Sampaoli to the following edition's squad, beginning all of the games and losing only four times – one by Australia, two by the Netherlands, and one by Brazil – who all played in the same venue and in a penalty shootout.

Bravo earned his 85th cap against Peru on October 10, defeating Leonel Sánchez as Chile's most capped player of all time. As they won the 2015 Copa América on home soil, they became the captain and watched every minute. He kept a clean sheet in the final against Argentina at the Estadio Nacional, ending the game goalless after extra time and saving Éver Banega from Éver Banega in the ensuing penalty shootout and then named for Team of the Tournament.

Bravo won his 100th cap in a 2–1 home loss to Argentina in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup on March 24th. Lucas Biglia defeated Lucas Biglia in the final of the Copa América Centenario at the MetLife Stadium against the same opponent and also on penalties.

Bravo started the tournament in Russia, saving all three penalty shootout attempts against Portugal after losing the first two games due to fatigue. Despite losing 1–0 to reigning World champions Germany in the final, his team was crowned the best goalkeeper in the competition.

Peru and Chile held a 2018 World Cup qualifier in La Per on October 13, 2015. The match ended 4–3 in favour of the latter. The playing of Chile's national anthem was booed by the home crowd prior to the game, but in reaction, a defiant message was left in the Chilean team's dressing room. The message read: "RESPETO, POR AQUA PAS EL AMÉRICA PAS PAS EL CAMPE CENTER" (Respect, America's champion was here). This game was mocked by South America's media, and a witness revealed that Bravo had left this message two years later; in addition, the player was caught on camera kicking a door after the match.

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