Francisco Silva (footballer, born 1986)

This article is about the Chilean footballer. For other people, see Francisco Silva.

Francisco Silva
Silva playing for Chile in 2017
Personal information
Full name Francisco Andrés Silva Gajardo[1]
Date of birth (1986-02-11) 11 February 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth Quillota, Chile
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Deportes Limache
Youth career
1998–1999 Colo-Colo
2000–2005 Universidad Católica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2013 Universidad Católica 136 (5)
2005 → Deportes Ovalle (loan)
2007 → Provincial Osorno (loan) 33 (1)
2013–2015 Osasuna 47 (1)
2014–2015 → Club Brugge (loan) 11 (0)
2015–2016 Chiapas 28 (0)
2016–2018 Cruz Azul 54 (7)
2018–2019 Independiente 10 (0)
2019–2021 Universidad Católica 17 (0)
2024– Deportes Limache 0 (0)
International career
2007–2018 Chile 37 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Chile
Winner Copa América 2015
Winner Copa América Centenario 2016
Runner-up FIFA Confederations Cup 2017
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 January 2024

Francisco Andrés 'Gato' Silva Gajardo[a] (born 11 February 1986), known as Francisco Silva, is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Deportes Limache in the Primera B de Chile. He is considered one of the greatest Chilean defensive midfielders of all time. His winning penalty in Copa America Centenario gave Chile their second consecutive Copa America title.

Club career

Born in Quillota, Silva joined Universidad Católica's youth setup in 2000, aged 14. In 2005, he made his senior debuts, while on loan at lowly Deportes Ovalle, and appeared twice for the first-team in the following year. In 2007, he joined Osorno, also on loan, where he was ever-present in the promotion campaign.[citation needed]

After his return, Silva established himself as a regular for the UC, and scored his first goal on 7 November 2009, in a 4–1 home routing over Universidad Concepción.

Lecce

In the 2010 summer Silva was linked to Lecce, but due to reductions in the non-EU registration quota (two for one during the summer)[2] the deal collapsed, as the club already signed Rubén Olivera.[3]

CA Osasuna

On 22 January 2013 Silva was loaned to La Liga strugglers CA Osasuna until June.[4] He made his debut abroad on 2 February, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 home win over Celta de Vigo.[5] On 8 March Silva netted his first goal for Osasuna, but in a 1–2 loss at Real Betis;[6] on 4 June the Navarrese side exercised the buyout clause, paying €1.2 million for his services.[7] He featured regularly for the club during the 2013–14 campaign, which ended in relegation.

Club Brugge

On 29 August 2014 Silva was loaned to Club Brugge KV, in a season-long deal with a buyout clause.[8] On 13 July of the following year he was transferred to Chiapas.[9]

Retirement and return to play

In September 2021, Silva announced his retirement while he was a player of Universidad Católica after suffering a tibia-fibula fracture.[10] In 2024, he returned to play by signing with Deportes Limache for the 2024 season in the Primera B de Chile.[11]

Career statistics

As of match played on 15 April 2018[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Universidad Católica 2008 Primera División of Chile ? 1 0 0 — ? 1
2009 36 1 0 0 — 36 1
2010 29 2 0 0 — 7 2 36 4
2011 35 2 4 1 — 13 0 52 3
2012 26 0 4 1 — 13 1 43 2
Total 126 6 8 2 0 0 33 3 167 11
Osasuna (loan) 2012–13 La Liga 16 1 0 0 — 16 1
Osasuna 2013–14 La Liga 31 0 3 0 — 34 0
2014–15 Segunda División 1 0 0 0 — 1 0
Total 32 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 35 0
Club Brugge (loan) 2014–15 Belgian Pro League 11 0 3 0 — 7 0 21 0
Chiapas 2015–16 Liga MX 28 0 0 0 — 28 0
Cruz Azul 2016–17 Liga MX 25 6 7 1 — 32 7
2017–18 29 1 5 1 — 34 2
Total 54 7 12 2 0 0 0 0 66 9
Career totals 267 14 26 4 0 0 40 3 333 21

International career

Silva made his main squad debut on 22 January 2011, starting in a 1–1 draw against United States at Home Depot Center.[13]

Silva was not initially named in Chile's 2015 Copa America squad but was added to the team due to an injury to Edson Puch.[14]

Silva scored the winning goal in the 4-2 penalty shoot-out win against Argentina in the Copa América Centenario Final on 26 June 2016.[15]

Honours

Provincial Osorno
Universidad Católica
Club Brugge
Independiente
Chile

Notes

  1. ^ In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Silva and the second or maternal family name is Gajardo.

References

  1. ^ a b "Francisco Silva". Estadísticas Francisco Sival. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Foreign player cap for Serie A". Sky Sports. 3 July 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  3. ^ "Rebus Genoa: Felipe c' è, ma spunta Eduardo" [Genoa: Felipe it is, but take a look at Eduardo]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 4 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  4. ^ "Francisco Silva llega cedido hasta final de temporada" [Francisco Silva arrives on loan until the end of the season] (in Spanish). Osasuna's official website. 22 January 2013. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Armenteros fires Osasuna to win". ESPN FC. 2 February 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Betis fly up to fifth". ESPN FC. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Osasuna ejerce la opción de compra por el 'Gato' Silva" [Osasuna exercises the buyout clause for 'Gato' Silva] (in Spanish). Marca. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Gato Silva jugará cedido en El Brujas" [Gato Silva will play on loan at Brugge] (in Spanish). Osasuna's official website. 29 August 2014. Archived from the original on 31 August 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  9. ^ "Traspaso de Gato Silva al Chiapas FC" [Transfer of Gato Silva to Chiapas FC] (in Spanish). Osasuna's official website. 13 July 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  10. ^ "Silva se retira del fútbol". Diario AS (in Spanish). 4 September 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  11. ^ Vera, Pablo (8 January 2024). "Limache remece a la B con un bicampeón de América y un ex Independiente". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  12. ^ Francisco Silva at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  13. ^ "U.S. Men's National Team Opens 2011 With 1–1 Draw Against Chile". US Soccer. 22 January 2011. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  14. ^ "Soccer-Chile's Puch out of Copa America, replaced by Silva". sports.yahoo.com. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  15. ^ "Argentina 0 Chile 0 (Aet, 2-4 on penalties): Defending champs sink Messi and Co. Again". 27 June 2016.
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