Diego Rubio
Encyclopedia
Diego Iván Rubio Köstner (born 17 May 1993) is a Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an football player who plays as a striker for Sporting CP, in Liga ZON Sagres, and the Chile national team
Chile national football team
The Chilean national football team represents Chile in all major international football competitions. The team is controlled by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile which was established in 1895. They have appeared in eight World Cup tournaments and were hosts of the 1962 FIFA World Cup finishing in...

.

He is the son of former Colo-Colo forward Hugo Rubio
Hugo Eduardo Rubio
Hugo Eduardo Rubio Montecinos is a former Chilean football forward. Rubio's nickname is "Pájaro," which in Spanish is "bird." He was known for his speed and finishing. He played in Chile, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland...

 and brother of fellow professional footballers Eduardo
Eduardo Rubio
Eduardo Javier Rubio Köstner is a Chilean international footballer who plays as a striker for C.D. La Serena in the Primera División de Chile.-Club:...

 and Matías Rubio
Matías Rubio
Matías Martín Rubio Kostner , commonly known as El Mati, is a Chilean footballer who plays as striker for Rangers in Chile's Primera División B.-Titles:-External links:*...

. He is also the godchild
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...

 of former star player Iván Zamorano
Iván Zamorano
Iván Luis Zamorano Zamora is a retired Chilean football striker. Along with former world-class forward Marcelo Salas and former world player of the year Elias Figueroa he is regarded as one of Chile's most recognized footballers.He was a member of the Chilean national team and played in the 1998...

 and his wife María Alberó.

Early career

Rubio began his football career with Universidad Católica
Club Deportivo Universidad Católica
Club Deportivo Universidad Católica is a professional football club based in Santiago, Chile, which plays in the Primera División.Universidad Católica is one of the most successful and popular football clubs in Chile and considered one of the three "big teams"...

. However, when he was 14, he took the decision to move to his favorite team Colo-Colo
Colo-Colo
Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo is a Chilean football club based in the commune of Macul, Santiago. It competes in the Primera División, the top-flight football league in the country, from which they have never been relegated. Their home ground is the Estadio Monumental David Arellano.Colo-Colo...

. After one year in the bench with Colo-Colo, in the next season Diego was consecrated in the youth team. After many seasons in the youth ranks, he was promoted to the first professional team in January 2011.

Colo-Colo

Rubio made his professional debut for Colo-Colo in a pre-season friendly against Deportes La Serena as a starter. In other pre-season game, Diego scored his first unofficial goals for the club, in a 3–1 won against Unión Española
Unión Española
Club Unión Española S.A.D.P is a professional Chilean football based in Independencia, Santiago de Chile. Founded by a Spanish immigrants on 18 May 1897, Unión Española have participated in the top-tier of Chilean football for all of their existence but two seasons in the late '90s .Unión Española...

, in where he scored two goals for his team, being named the man of the match.

His Chilean Primera División came on 14 February 2011 against Unión San Felipe
Unión San Felipe
Unión San Felipe is a Chilean Football club, their hometown is San Felipe in the V Región of Valparaíso. They are playing in top level of the Chilean football league, the Primera División....

, as a 84th-minute substitution in a 2–0 away defeat. In a Copa Libertadores game played against Santos in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, he scored his first professional goal, but the match finished in a 3–2 loss. On 19 April, Rubio scored his first two goals in the Primera División against La Serena, at 30th and 62nd minute, being named the man of match, in a 4–1 home win. He finally was consecrated in the club in a international game for the Libertadores against Táchira, Rubio gave the 2–1 victory to the club, scoring the two goals of Colo-Colo, after a early goal of Edgar Pérez Greco at 4th minute. After his club's performances, was rumored that Udinese
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....

 are interested in Rubio.

He played his first derby game against his former youth club Universidad Católica
Club Deportivo Universidad Católica
Club Deportivo Universidad Católica is a professional football club based in Santiago, Chile, which plays in the Primera División.Universidad Católica is one of the most successful and popular football clubs in Chile and considered one of the three "big teams"...

, participating in the equalizer goal of Colo-Colo giving an assistance to Ezequiel Miralles
Ezequiel Miralles
Ezequiel Nicolás Miralles Sabugo is an Argentine footballer who plays as a striker for Grêmio.-Early career:...

 at 81st minute, putting the 1–1 draw. The coach Américo Gallego
Américo Gallego
Américo Rubén "El Tolo" Gallego is an Argentine football coach and former player, he played 73 times for the Argentina national team during his playing career.-Playing career:...

 nominated to Rubio for play the major debry of the Chilean football against Universidad de Chile, however, he only playing 30 minutes in a 2–1 loss.

Sporting CP

On 5 July 2011, Rubio joined Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal, signing a five-year contract with a 30M€ minimum fee release clause.

International career

On 31 May 2011, Rubio was called up by Chilean national team
Chile national football team
The Chilean national football team represents Chile in all major international football competitions. The team is controlled by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile which was established in 1895. They have appeared in eight World Cup tournaments and were hosts of the 1962 FIFA World Cup finishing in...

 manager Claudio Borghi
Claudio Borghi
Claudio Daniel Borghi Bidos, , nicknamed Bichi, is an Argentine former footballer and current football manager of Chile.-Club:Borghi started his career as an Attacking midfielder for Argentinos Juniors in the early 1980s...

 to take part in the 28 man pre-list preparatory process for the upcoming 2011 Copa America
2011 Copa América
The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América Argentina 2011, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America...

. He officially debuted with Chile national team on 23 June 2011, in a match against Paraguay
Paraguay national football team
The Paraguay national football team is controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association and represents Paraguay in men's international football competitions. The team has reached the second round of the World Cup on four occasions . The 2010 trip also featured their first appearance in the...

, the last match of Chile before the Copa América.

Personal life

Diego is the son of Hugo Rubio. Currently working at the Passball company as a football agent, Hugo was a successful football player, having spent most of his extensive career in his country with a short spell in European football
European football
European football is a colloquial term referring to any international football club competition that is organised by UEFA. Any club that wishes to participate in European football must qualify through their respective domestic league or domestic cup competitions...

, specifically in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. Hugo also was a member of the Chile
Chile national football team
The Chilean national football team represents Chile in all major international football competitions. The team is controlled by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile which was established in 1895. They have appeared in eight World Cup tournaments and were hosts of the 1962 FIFA World Cup finishing in...

 squad at the Copa América
Copa América
The Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...

 of 1987 and 1991. Diego has two footballer brothers, Eduardo
Eduardo Rubio
Eduardo Javier Rubio Köstner is a Chilean international footballer who plays as a striker for C.D. La Serena in the Primera División de Chile.-Club:...

, currently playing in Deportes La Serena, and Matías
Matías Rubio
Matías Martín Rubio Kostner , commonly known as El Mati, is a Chilean footballer who plays as striker for Rangers in Chile's Primera División B.-Titles:-External links:*...

, who plays for Rangers on loan from Universidad Católica. Diego Rubio is also godchild of the Chilean football legend Iván Zamorano
Iván Zamorano
Iván Luis Zamorano Zamora is a retired Chilean football striker. Along with former world-class forward Marcelo Salas and former world player of the year Elias Figueroa he is regarded as one of Chile's most recognized footballers.He was a member of the Chilean national team and played in the 1998...

.

On 15 May 2011, was reported that Rubio was on a list of most popular Chilean players on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

 with 1,247 fans, in the 12th place of 14 players. The list was led by Jorge Valdivia
Jorge Valdivia
Jorge Luis Valdivia Toro is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for the Brazilian Série A club Palmeiras and the Chilean national team....

, in the 1st place with more of 50,000 fans.

External links

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