Mauricio Isla

Mauricio Isla

Isla playing for Chile in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Mauricio Aníbal Isla Isla
Date of birth	(1988-06-12) 12 June 1988
Place of birth	Buin, Chile
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Right back / Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Marseille (on loan from Juventus)
Number	18
Youth career
1999–2007	Universidad Católica
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2012	Udinese	127	(6)
2012–	Juventus	30	(0)
2014–2015	→ Queens Park Rangers (loan)	26	(0)
2015–	→ Marseille (loan)	15	(0)
International career‡
2007	Chile U20	16	(2)
2008–	Chile	71	(3)
Medal record Copa América Winner 2015 Chile Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:00, 7 February 2016 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:51, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

Mauricio Aníbal Isla Isla (Spanish pronunciation: [mauˈɾisjo ˈizla]; born 12 June 1988) is a Chilean footballer who plays for Marseille on loan from Juventus and the Chilean national team. A tacticall versatile player, Isla plays mainly as a right wing-back, but he can also play in numerous other positions, including as a right full-back or as a midfielder, both in the center and on the right wing. This is possible due to his stamina, technique, strength, and pace.

Isla has earned over 60 caps for Chile since his debut in 2008, and represented the nation in two FIFA World Cups (2010 and 2014) as well as the 2011 and 2015 Copa América tournaments, winning the latter.

Club career

Early years

Isla started in the youth ranks of Universidad Católica in 1999 as a forward. However his lack of height caused him to switch positions to defender, as Católica lacked quality youth defenders. Isla played well enough in the new position to earn a call-up to the first team in 2006, but never played an official match and in 2007, coach José del Solar sent him back to the youth team.

Udinese

Isla had a notable performance during the summer of 2007 in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada and was thereafter signed by Udinese of the Serie A in Italy on a 5-year contract. He can both defend and attack and has been known to turn innocent possession-based games into quick-paced counter-attacks with ease. His technique is well accompanied by a surprising pace and stamina.

Isla made his professional debut on 19 December 2007 versus Palermo in the Coppa Italia. On 8 March 2008, Isla played his first game as a starter in Serie A also against Palermo, a game which ended in a 1–1 draw. After the departure of Simone Pepe, Isla often played as a right wing-back in a 3–5–2 formation during Udinese's 2010–11 Serie A campaign, due to a long-term injury to Dušan Basta. In that season, he was instrumental in helping Udinese finish fourth, thus gaining qualification to the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League play-off round.

Juventus

On 15 June 2012, Juventus announced Isla's arrival to a medical ahead of a prospective move to join the team for the upcoming 2012–13 season. Following his move to Juventus, Isla said moving to Juventus was his dream come true and that he was excited to join his Chilean team-mate Arturo Vidal. Isla told TVN:

This is a dream come true: We are going to be the strongest team in Italy. It is important for me as a player, but it is also vital for my family. I have been working for years to get to this point. In Udine I became a professional. But I have always said that sooner or later I would go to a bigger club like Juve. There I can challenge for trophies. I want to play and win something important, like the Champions League.

Queens Park Rangers (loan)

On 6 August 2014, Isla joined Queens Park Rangers on loan for the 2014–15 Premier League season, with an option of a permanent deal at the end of the season for a reported £8 million fee. He made his debut away against Tottenham Hotspur. He made his home debut in the next league game against Sunderland, adapting to a new right-back role in a changed formation, helping the R's to their first league win and clean sheet of the season. Isla adapted quickly to the Premier League and this was helped when he was joined at QPR by his national teammate and close friend Eduardo Vargas, who plays just in front of him in QPR's 4–4–2 formation. This started to show when he provided an assist for Charlie Austin against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City. After settling in to life in West London, Isla signaled his intention to take up the option of making the loan permanent at the end of the season.

Marseille (loan)

On 31 August 2015 Isla was loaned to Marseille by Juventus.

International career

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup

Isla took part with Chile in the 2007 South American Youth Championship, where Chile qualified for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. During the U-20 World Cup Isla was noticed worldwide for his skill with the ball and versatility. Isla was an integral part of the team that finished in third place. In the quarterfinal game versus Nigeria, Isla played defender, midfield, and forward due to a number of injuries to other squad members. The game went into extra time after finishing scoreless in regulation and in the added time, Chile scored four goals. Two of the goals came from Isla, one from the penalty spot. After each goal Isla ran over to the Chilean telecast camera (which was marked by a Chilean flag) and dedicated his goals to his grandmother and aunt, who was pregnant. This tournament and his performance in it led Isla to be transferred to Serie A team Udinese before his professional debut in the Chilean league, a very rare occurrence.

Senior

New Chilean coach Marcelo Bielsa called Isla up at the age of 19 for his first full Chile senior squad international cap in September 2007 in a friendly against Switzerland versus his club-mate Gökhan Inler. He started as a centre midfielder. This was his debut as a professional player, before making his first team debut on Udinese. His strong performances earned another call-up in the next friendly against Israel, where he came on as a second-half substitute. He played his first 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match in March 2009 as a starter versus Peru. Isla made another start against Uruguay where, in a scoreless draw, he was sent off after 33 minutes following two yellow cards. He was a starter in all of Chile's four 2010 World Cup games. He also played in 3 of 4 matches in the 2011 Copa América, and playing in 13 of 16 matches in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification.

At the 2015 Copa América on home soil, Isla scored the only goal in the 81st minute of a quarter-final win over holders Uruguay at the Estadio Nacional, putting Chile into the last four for the first time since 1999.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	7 September 2010	Dynamo Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine	Ukraine	1–2	1–2	Friendly
2.	2 September 2011	AFG Arena, St. Gallen, Switzerland	Spain	1–0	2–3	Friendly
3.	24 June 2015	Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile	Uruguay	1–0	1–0	2015 Copa América

Honours

Club

Juventus

• Serie A: 2012–13, 2013–14
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2012, 2013, 2015

International

Chile

• Copa América (1): 2015

External links

• Mauricio Isla at National-Football-Teams.com
• Mauricio Isla – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Profile at La Gazzetta dello Sport Template:It icon