In December 2011, Italian club Napoli purchased the player for a reported US$17.9 million ( £11.5 million). Then in December, Vargas was con-decorated as the Chilean Footballer of the Year. Vargas was chosen as a candidate for South American Footballer of the Year in November 2011, eventually placing as runner-up to Neymar. He also won both league semestral tournaments ( Torneo Apertura and Torneo Clausura), as well as the Copa Sudamericana, where he was the edition's top-scorer and netted goals in both final legs against LDU Quito, scoring the only goal at Casa Blanca and twice in the 3–0 win at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago. Vargas only broke into the first team during the 2011 campaign, and had a brilliant performance during the year, scoring 29 goals and providing in 51 matches. He made his debut for the club on 25 January, replacing Gabriel Vargas and scoring the last in a 5–1 home routing of Cobresal. On 7 January 2010, Vargas joined Universidad de Chile for a US$700,000 transfer fee. Vargas established himself as a starter in 2009, contributing with four goals in 23 appearances. On 30 August, he scored a brace in a 4–3 away win against the same opponent.
After only five further appearances in 2007, he became a regular starter in 2008, scoring his first professional goal on 16 March in a 3–2 home defeat of Palestino.
He appeared in three more matches during the season, all from the bench. Vargas made his first team debut on 23 July 2006, aged just 16, playing the last 20 minutes in a 4–1 away loss against Puerto Montt. Initially assigned to the B-team in the Tercera División, he scored twice during his stay, netting against Universidad Arturo Prat and San Marcos de Arica in August. In 2006, Vargas was signed by Cobreloa after impressing in a ten-day trial. In 2005, he was invited to a reality show headed by Adidas, called Adidas Selection Team, and despite not winning the competition, he impressed enough to start the 2006 pre-season trialling with Puerto Rico Islanders, as the club was in Chile. He also had trials at Universidad Católica and Palestino before taking part of Deportes Puerto Montt's youth categories. He would finish as top scorer in Chile's title-winning 20 Copa América campaigns.Ĭlub career Early career īorn in Santiago, Vargas grew up in Renca, and began his career playing for Internacional de Renca's youth setup. He was part of their squad at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, and the Copa América in 2015, 2016, 20.
Following an £11.5 million move to Napoli, Vargas had subsequent loan spells at Grêmio, Valencia and Queens Park Rangers before moving to 1899 Hoffenheim in 2015.Ī full international since 2010, Vargas has earned over 100 caps for Chile, scoring 40 goals. In 2011, he was co-awarded the Chilean Footballer of the Year and also finished as runner-up for the South American Footballer of the Year.
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 November 2021Įduardo Jesús Vargas Rojas ( Spanish pronunciation: born 20 November 1989) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Brazilian Série A club Atlético Mineiro and the Chile national team.Įmerging as a top talent at Cobreloa, Vargas moved to Universidad de Chile where he won three titles, including the 2011 Copa Sudamericana, where he was named player of the tournament. * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 November 2021