Mauricio Pinilla facts for kids
.jpg)
Pinilla with Universidad de Chile in 2018
|
|||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mauricio Ricardo Pinilla Ferrera | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 4 February 1984 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Santiago, Chile | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||
| Universidad de Chile | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Universidad de Chile | 39 | (20) | ||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Inter Milan | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | → Chievo (loan) | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2004 | → Celta (loan) | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2004–2007 | Sporting CP | 20 | (5) | ||||||||||
| 2006 | → Racing Santander (loan) | 13 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | → Hearts (loan) | 3 | (2) | ||||||||||
| 2007 | → Universidad de Chile (loan) | 4 | (2) | ||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Hearts | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2008 | Vasco da Gama | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2009 | Apollon Limassol | 5 | (2) | ||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Grosseto | 24 | (24) | ||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Palermo | 35 | (10) | ||||||||||
| 2012 | → Cagliari (loan) | 14 | (8) | ||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Cagliari | 49 | (14) | ||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Genoa | 12 | (3) | ||||||||||
| 2015 | → Atalanta (loan) | 14 | (6) | ||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Atalanta | 24 | (6) | ||||||||||
| 2017 | Genoa | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Universidad de Chile | 21 | (14) | ||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Coquimbo Unido | 26 | (8) | ||||||||||
| Total | 332 | (135) | |||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||
| 2001 | Chile U17 | 3 | (5) | ||||||||||
| 2003 | Chile U20 | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 2003–2016 | Chile | 45 | (8) | ||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
|||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||
Mauricio Ricardo Pinilla Ferrera, born on February 4, 1984, is a former professional footballer from Chile. He was a striker, which means he played mostly to score goals.
He started his career at Universidad de Chile. At 19, he joined Inter Milan in Italy, but he didn't play any games for them. Mauricio Pinilla played for teams in five different countries, spending most of his time in Italy.
Pinilla also played for the Chile national team from 2003 to 2016. He played in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and two Copa América tournaments. He helped Chile win the Copa América in 2015 and the 2016 special edition.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting Out in Chile and Europe
Mauricio Pinilla was born in Santiago, Chile. He began his football journey with Club Universidad de Chile. In 2003, when he was 19, he moved to Europe. He signed a five-year contract with the famous Italian club Inter Milan.
However, he didn't stay at Inter Milan. He was immediately sent to another Italian team, AC ChievoVerona, on a loan. A loan means a player temporarily plays for another team. Later that season, he was loaned again to La Liga side RC Celta de Vigo in Spain. He didn't score any goals in his 12 league games during these loans.
Playing for Many Teams
In July 2004, Pinilla joined Sporting CP in Portugal. He scored five goals for them in the 2004–05 season. This included a hat-trick (three goals in one game) in a 3–0 win against S.C. Braga.
But he couldn't settle down at Sporting either. In January 2006, he went on loan to Racing de Santander in Spain. He scored one goal for them from a penalty kick.
For the 2006–07 season, Pinilla was loaned to Hearts in Scotland. He had many injuries there and played only a few games. In February 2007, he returned to Universidad de Chile.
He came back to Hearts in 2007, but more injuries kept him from playing. On July 1, 2008, Hearts announced that he had left the club.
Pinilla then joined CR Vasco da Gama in Brazil in September 2008. After Vasco was moved down to a lower league, he left and joined Apollon Limassol FC in Cyprus as a free agent. A free agent is a player who can sign with any team because their contract has ended.
Back to Italy's Top League
In August 2009, Pinilla returned to Italy. He joined US Grosseto 1912 in Serie B, which is Italy's second-highest league. Here, his career really took off again! He scored 24 goals in 24 games. He even scored in 12 games in a row, which was a record for the league.
In June 2010, US Città di Palermo signed Pinilla. He scored five goals in his first 12 games for them. On September 11, 2011, he scored against his old team Inter Milan in a thrilling 4–3 win. In January 2012, he was loaned to Cagliari Calcio in the same league, Serie A.
Pinilla joined Cagliari permanently in July 2012. He scored about seven league goals each season for them. Two years later, he moved to Genoa CFC.
While on loan at Atalanta BC, Pinilla scored one of the best goals of the 2014–15 season. On April 4, 2015, he scored with a fantastic bicycle kick! He scored five more goals for Atalanta, helping them avoid being moved down to a lower league. In January 2017, Pinilla returned to Genoa.
Coming Home and Retirement
On July 21, 2017, at 33 years old, Pinilla returned to Club Universidad de Chile. This was ten years after he had last played for them. He played for two more years at Coquimbo Unido before retiring from football in February 2021.
Playing for Chile
Pinilla played his first game for the Chile national team on March 30, 2003. It was a friendly game against Peru, and he scored a goal with a header in a 2–0 win. He was the top scorer for Chile in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with three goals.
He later decided to take a break from playing for the national team. But in August 2010, he returned to the team.
Pinilla was chosen to play in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He played his first game in the tournament on June 14, coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 win against Australia. In the next round, against Brazil, his shot hit the crossbar in the last minutes of the game. Chile later lost in a penalty shootout.
Pinilla was part of the team that won the 2015 Copa América in Chile. This was Chile's first major trophy! He also helped Chile win the Copa América Centenario in 2016. On March 29, 2016, he scored two goals in a 4–1 win against Venezuela during the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.
Life After Football
After retiring from playing football, Mauricio Pinilla started a new career. In March 2021, he joined ESPN Chile as a commentator and analyst. He shared his football knowledge with viewers. Later that year, he moved to Televisión Nacional de Chile to host TV shows that were not about football.
Family Life
Mauricio Pinilla has a nephew named Felipe Miranda. Felipe also played youth football for Colo-Colo, another famous Chilean club.
Honours
Chile
See also
In Spanish: Mauricio Pinilla para niños
