Iván Zamorano facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Iván Zamorano

Zamorano in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Iván Luis Zamorano Zamora
Date of birth	(1967-01-18) 18 January 1967 (age 58)
Place of birth	Santiago, Chile
Height	1.78 m
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
1983–1985	Cobresal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1985–1988	Cobresal	45	(22)
1985–1986	→ Cobreandino (loan)	29	(27)
1988–1990	St. Gallen	56	(34)
1990–1992	Sevilla	59	(21)
1992–1996	Real Madrid	137	(77)
1996–2001	Inter Milan	101	(25)
2001–2003	América	63	(33)
2003	Colo-Colo	14	(8)
Total		504	(247)
National team
2000	Chile Olympic (O.P.)	5	(6)
1987–2001	Chile	69	(34)
Honours Men's Football Bronze 2000 Sydney Team Competition
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Iván Luis Zamorano Zamora was born on January 18, 1967. He is a famous former footballer from Chile. He played as a striker, which means he was a goal-scorer. Many people think he is one of Chile's best footballers ever.

Iván Zamorano played for the Chile national team from 1987 to 2001. He played in the 1998 World Cup and four Copa América tournaments. He also won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics with the Chile u-23 team, where he was the top scorer.

He played for several big clubs, like Sevilla and Real Madrid in Spain. He also played for Inter Milan in Italy and América in Mexico. With Real Madrid, he won the 1994–95 La Liga title and was the league's top scorer. He also won the UEFA Cup with Inter Milan in 1998. Zamorano was known for being strong and great at scoring goals with his head.

In 2004, a famous footballer named Pelé chose Zamorano for the FIFA 100 list. This list included the best living football players in the world at that time. People often called him Bam Bam or Iván el Terrible.

Playing for Clubs

Iván Zamorano started his football journey in Chile with Cobresal in 1985. He was loaned to another Chilean club, Trasandino, for a season. He then returned to Cobresal and helped them win the 1987 Copa Chile cup.

In 1988, he moved to Europe to play for St. Gallen in Switzerland. He became the top scorer in the Swiss league in the 1989–90 season. He scored 37 goals in 61 matches during his three seasons there. In 1990, Zamorano joined Sevilla in Spain. He played 63 matches and scored 23 goals for them.

Time at Real Madrid

From 1992 to 1996, Zamorano played for the famous Spanish club Real Madrid. During this time, he won one league title, one Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup), and one Spanish Supercup.

In 1995, under coach Jorge Valdano, Zamorano was a key player when Real Madrid won the Spanish League title. He scored 28 goals that season, including three goals in one match against Barcelona. He also won the Pichichi Trophy for being the league's top scorer. He worked very well with teammate Michael Laudrup that year. Zamorano played 173 times for Real Madrid and scored 101 goals in total.

Zamorano's Inter Milan jersey (number 18) next to jerseys of other famous players at the San Siro museum.

Playing for Inter Milan

After his time in Spain, Zamorano moved to Italy to play for Inter Milan from 1996 to 2000. He played alongside other great players like Ronaldo and Javier Zanetti.

When he first joined Inter, he wore the number nine shirt. But when Roberto Baggio arrived, Ronaldo had to give up his number ten shirt and take number nine. So, Zamorano changed his number to 18. He even added a plus sign (+) to his shirt, so it looked like '1+8', which still added up to nine!

In May 1998, Inter Milan won the UEFA Cup. Zamorano scored the first goal in the final match against Lazio, which Inter won 3–0. He had also scored in the previous year's final, but Inter lost that game after a penalty shootout.

Later Career

In 2001, Zamorano moved to Mexico to play for América. He played there for two seasons and helped them win a league title in his first season. He finished his career in 2003, playing for Colo-Colo in Chile. This was a dream come true for him since he had wanted to play for them since he was a child. He retired in July 2003 after playing professional football for over 16 years.

Playing for Chile

Zamorano first played for the Chilean national team when he was 20 years old, on June 19, 1987. He scored a goal in a friendly match against Peru.

On April 29, 1997, he scored five goals in a World Cup qualifier match against Venezuela, which Chile won 6–0. He played in all four of Chile's matches at the 1998 World Cup. Even though he didn't score, he helped his team a lot, setting up a goal for Marcelo Salas in a 1–1 draw against Austria.

At the 2000 Olympic Games, he helped Chile win the bronze medal. He scored two goals in a 2–0 win against the United States. He was the top scorer of the tournament with six goals. His last match for Chile was a friendly game against France on September 1, 2001. Chile won 2–1. In total, Zamorano played 69 matches for Chile and scored 34 goals.

About His Life

Iván Zamorano was born in Santiago, Chile. He was the only son of Luis Zamorano and Alicia Zamora. When he was three years old, his family moved to Maipu. His father, who taught him to love football, passed away when Iván was 13 years old.

In 2005, he married María Alberó, who is an Argentine model. Since 2016, they have been living in Miami.

Outside Football

Iván Zamorano has also been involved in other things outside of football. In 2007, he was the face of a new public transport system in Santiago, Chile, called Transantiago.

In 2021, he became an ambassador for Betsson, a sports betting company. He also works as a football commentator for TV channels like Univision.

Achievements

Here are some of the awards and titles Iván Zamorano won during his career:

Cobreandino

• Segunda División de Chile: 1985

Cobresal

• Copa Chile: 1987

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 1994–95
• Copa del Rey: 1992–93
• Supercopa de España: 1993

Inter Milan

• UEFA Cup: 1997–98
• UEFA Cup runner-up: 1996–97

América

• Mexican Primera División: Verano 2002

Chile

• Olympic Bronze Medal: 2000

Individual Awards

• Swiss Super League Best Foreign Player: 1989–90
• EFE Trophy: 1992–93, 1994–95 (Award for best Ibero-American player in La Liga)
• Pichichi Trophy: 1994–95 (Award for top scorer in La Liga)
• La Liga Best Foreign Player: 1994–95
• European Sports Media Team of the Year: 1994–95
• Olympic Games top scorer: 2000
• FIFA 100 (List of the world's greatest living footballers)

See also

In Spanish: Iván Zamorano para niños