Jorge Vargas (born 8 February 1976 in

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

) is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an football manager and former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defender.

Club career

Vargas debuted in his country's first division in 1995 while playing for

Huachipato Huachipato FC is a Chilean football club based in Talcahuano that currently plays in the Chilean Primera División. Huachipato was founded on 7 June 1947 by workers of the homonymous steel mill in Talcahuano, and it currently plays its home g ...

on loan from Universidad Católica. After returning from his loan spell Vargas received little playing time for Universidad Católica and was consequently loaned out during the 1997 season to

Coquimbo Unido Coquimbo Unido is a Chilean football club based in the city of Coquimbo. The club was founded in 1958 and has played in the Chilean Primera División since being promoted in 2022. Their home games are played at the Estadio Municipal Francisco Sán ...

, where he began to make a name for himself with his solid play. His play did not go unnoticed by Universidad Católica as he returned to the club and began to feature regularly. By 1999 Vargas established himself as the symbol and most prominent member of the club appearing in 38 matches and netting three goals. Vargas started drawing interest from Italian clubs and by the end of 1999 was sold to

Reggina Associazione Sportiva Reggina 1914, commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. They play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo and are currently playing in the Serie D league. ...

. With Reggina in the Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

, Vargas enjoyed the most successful part of his career. In four years he appeared in 97 league matches scoring three goals. For the 2003–04 season, Vargas joined Empoli but could not help the club avoid relegation. After his negative experience with Empoli, Vargas signed with A.S Livorno, where he recaptured the form that made him a standout for Reggina. In two years at the Tuscan club, Vargas appeared in 55 league matches. After his successful Serie A career, Vargas signed on with top Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg for the 2006–07 season. He appeared in 26 league matches helping the club to the Austrian Bundesliga crown. On 29 July 2008, Vargas joined the recently relegated Italian

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

side

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno River, Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Ancient Ro ...

. On 25 November 2009, Vargas joined

Spezia Calcio Spezia Calcio is an Italian professional Association football, football club based in La Spezia, Liguria, currently competing in the Serie B. Spezia Calcio was founded in 1906 by the Swiss banker Hermann Hurni (or Hurny in some documents), who ...

of Italian

Serie C2 Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...

Managerial career

In 2016, he began his managerial career at the youth categories of

. After managing ASD Aurora Reggio and working as the assistant of

Roberto Donadoni Roberto Donadoni (; born 9 September 1963) is an Italian football manager and former midfielder. A skilful and versatile winger, Donadoni was capable of playing on either flank, or in the centre. He began his career with Atalanta, and late ...

for

Shenzhen F.C. Shenzhen Football Club () was a Chinese professional football club based in Shenzhen, Guangdong. Shenzhen played its home matches at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre and the Shenzhen Stadium. Their majority shareholder was the Kaisa Group, ...

, in 2021 he became the manager of

Vigor Lamezia Vigor Lamezia is an Football in Italy, Italian association football club, based in Lamezia Terme, Calabria. Vigor Lamezia currently plays in Eccellenza, the fifth level of the Italian football league system. History The club was founded in 19 ...

in the

Eccellenza Calabria Eccellenza Calabria is the regional Eccellenza football division for clubs in the Southern Italian region of Calabria, Italy. It is competed among 16 teams, in one group. The winners of the Groups are promoted to Serie D. The club who finishes sec ...

. After leaving Vigor Lamezia by the end of the season, on 30 June 2022 he was unveiled as the new head coach of

Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...

club Pro Patria. After guiding Pro Patria to a mid-table placement, in April 2023 Vargas announced his departure from the club.

National team

Vargas made his international debut for Chile on 28 April 1999. He cemented a starting role during his country's 4th-place finish during

1999 Copa América The 1999 Copa América was a football tournament held in Paraguay, from 29 June to 18 July. It was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. In order to bring the number of competing teams to twelve, CONMEBOL invited CONCAC ...

. During the latter months of 2006 and early 2007, Vargas was captain of the Chile national team. In July 2007 he was penalized by the Chilean Football Federation with a 20-match ban for his role in the unruly celebrations for qualifying for the second round of

2007 Copa América The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The c ...

, in which several members of the team in a drunken state caused problems at the teams camp. Vargas to this day denies his role. Vargas has represented

52 times, scoring a lone goal versus

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

from the penalty spot.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vargas, Jorge 1976 births Living people Footballers from Santiago, Chile Chilean men's footballers Chilean expatriate men's footballers Club Deportivo Universidad Católica footballers Huachipato FC footballers Coquimbo Unido footballers AS Reggina 1914 players Empoli FC players US Livorno 1915 players FC Red Bull Salzburg players Spezia Calcio players San Luis de Quillota footballers Deportes La Serena footballers Chilean Primera División players Serie A players Serie B players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Austria Men's association football defenders Chile men's under-20 international footballers Chile men's international footballers 2007 Copa América players Chilean football managers Aurora Pro Patria 1919 managers Eccellenza managers Serie C managers Chilean expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in China Chilean expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate football managers in Italy Chilean emigrants to Italy