Gary Medel

At 37 years old, Gary Medel has this physical status:

Gary Alexis Medel Soto (Spanish pronunciation: [ai meel]; born 3 August 1987), is a Chilean professional footballer who competes for Bologna and the Chile national team as a center-back and a defensive midfielder. Medel has played for many clubs around the world, beginning with Chilean side Universidad Católica and later playing for Spanish side Sevilla, Premier League team Cardiff City, and Italian side Inter Milan before heading to Beşiktaş in Turkey in 2017. In 2019, he returned to Italy and joined Bologna.

Medel has represented the country at two FIFA World Cups, five Copa América tournaments, and one edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup. He was one of the squad that won the 2015 Copa América (where he was selected in the Team of the tournament) and the Copa América Centenario. He was also one of the squads that finished fourth at the 2019 Copa América, and runners-up in the 2017 Confederations Cup.

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Club career

At the age of 12, Medel entered Universidad Católica. Mario Lepe, the youth team's coach, has stepped up his name to join the senior ranks.

He joined Boca Juniors on a first loan of US$300,000 with the ability to buy for $2.5 million, with Damián Dáz being sent in the opposite direction. "This is a dream come true," Medel said of the move. It's a major club, and one that boasts players that I adore a lot, Juan Román Riquelme, Martn Palermo, and Sebastián Battaglia. He is my idol, and he makes it so much fun to play by his side." Medel won by two goals over River Plate on March 25, 2010 in a 2–0 victory in the Superclásico.

In Mar del Plata, he was a friendly against River before he arrived in Sevilla. In the 77th minute of the 2–0 victory, he came to a stop.

Medel signed Sevilla for €3 million on a 4-year deal on the same day as the club also signed Ivan Rakiti for their central midfield. "I am excited to be here, and I hope that everything goes well." I'm a player who puts a lot into my heart on the field, and I hope that I can help Sevilla "with my playing."

He made his La Liga debut on February 12th, playing all 90 minutes at Racing Santander's 2–3 loss. He helped Sevilla pull out a 1–1 draw against FC Barcelona at home on March 12th, clearing the ball off the line twice, the second on Lionel Messi's attempt.

Cardiff City announced on August 11 that they had signed Medel from Sevilla for a club record £11 million fee on a four-year contract. In a 2–0 loss to West Ham United on August 17, he made his club debut against the club on August 17th. In a 3–2 victory over Manchester City on August 25, he made his home debut at the Cardiff City Stadium on his 25th birthday. Medel earned the fans' man of the match award after playing all 90 minutes.

Medel debuted for Inter Milan on August 9, 2014, following Cardiff's relegation. Former striker Nathan Blake was chastised for the fee, but Cardiff boss Ole Gunnar Solskjr defended it. Medel made his Serie A debut for Inter on August 31. They started the season with a goalless draw at Torino, earning the full 90 minutes.

Medel scored his first goal for Inter on October 31st, giving the Nerazzurrri a 1–0 victory over Scudetto rivals Roma.

Medel struck Jasmin Kurti's left arm in the face on October 23, 2016, an occurrence that was not reported by the referee. After reviewing television photos, he was banned from three league games by Lega Serie A the following day.

Medel, who was centre-back for 37 minutes against cross-town rivals A.C. Milan, was forced to leave the game due to a knee injury. Following the match, which resulted in a 2–2 draw, Medel was revealed to have fractured his lateral meniscus and will be out of action until January 2017.

Medel returned to action on January 28th by playing in Inter's 3–0 home win over Pescara. As the Nerazzurrri defeated Atalanta 7–1 at home, he made his 100th appearance for Inter as the Nerazzurrri defeated Atalanta 7-1 at home.

Medel paid Beştaş, the Süper Lig champions, a €3 million contract on August 11, 2017. He has been on a three-year contract.

Medel announced on August 29th that he had three-year contracts with Bologna, for a reported fee of €2.5 million. On August 30, 2019, he made his Bologna debut against SPAL, a SPAL competitor.

International career

Medel made his international debut for Chile in a friendly against Argentina in March 2007. Later this year, he was instrumental in Chile's third-place finish in the U-20 World Cup held in Canada. He was kicked out of the semi-final match against Argentina in the 24th minute and was suspended for the third-place play-off. Medel said he was arrested by police after the match.

In a 2–0 victory over Bolivia in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, he made his competitive debut for Chile against Bolivia, scoring both goals, the first being a bicycle kick. Medel was instrumental in Chile's qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, whether you're a central defender or right back. He appeared in three group-stage matches at the World Cup finals in South Africa, but he was disqualified for the round of 16 matches against Brazil, where La Roja were disqualified.

He was named in Chile's squad for the 2011 Copa América, playing in all three group matches, the first two as a starter. He was suspended for handball in San Juan, Argentina, and Chile lost 21-01.

Medel played a vital role in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, scoring the goal that guaranteed qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, as well as a goal against Ecuador. Medel captained Chile in a 1–0 friendly loss to Germany on March 5, 2014. He was one of 23 players called up by FIFA World Cup in Brazil by coach Jorge Sampaoli. Medel started as a starter for Chile, who defeated Australia 3-1 in Cuiabá to gain their first three points of the World Cup campaign. In his second match against the reigning world champions Spain, he played a full 90 minutes, with Chile winning by a dramatic 2–0 victory. Both Chile and the Netherlands were sent to the knockout stage by Spain's defeat, which also excluded Spain and Australia. Spain became the fifth defending champion to be disqualified in the group stage. Medel played 90 minutes in the final group match against the Netherlands, who won 2–0 and claimed the title, while Chile finished Group B as runner-up with six points. Chile was disqualified in the round of 16, against the same team that had eliminated them in the last tournament, Brazil, but Brazil won on penalty shootout this time.

Medel won 5–0 over Bolivia, securing that La Roja will advance to the knockout stage as the Group A winners. He scored an own goal from Luis Advncula's cross to equalize in the semi-finals against Peru, but Chile defeated Chile 2–1. Medel started as a starter in the semifinal against Argentina and helped the team win the trophy on penalty kicks after the regular time ended in a goalless draw. Medel finished as the fourth most capped player with 80 appearances, surpassing his defense partner Gonzalo Jara. It was Medel's first major trophy with Chile. He was selected in the Team of the tournament for his efforts.

Medel was selected in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup squad in Chile's first-ever participation in June 2017. Medel received a red-card in 33rd minute as Chile crashed to a 3–2 away loss in the friendly against Romania on June 13th. It was his fourth red-card with the national team in 99 appearances. He captained Chile in the first two Group B matches against Cameroon and Germany due to Claudio Bravo's injury, but he also earned his 100th cap in the process, becoming the fourth Chile player to achieve the feat. As Chile took second place in a second-place, then was rested for the final group match, which allowed them to advance to the knockout stage.

Medel and Lionel Messi were dismissed in the 37th minute of play during the match against Argentina on July 6th, after being involved in an altercation with the Argentine; Chile lost the match 2–1.

Career statistics

Chile's goal was ranked first in terms of scores and results.

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