Arturo Vidal lived a strange year more than this 2020. King turned a difficult 2019 to be the protagonist and starter in Barcelona, but the club fell into a crisis that ended up costing him the Champions League and La Liga.
The midfielder had to make mistakes for speaking long before time, due to the loss of the team and ended up leaving with the arrival of Ronald Koeman. The rumors that accompanied him throughout the campaign came true and he dressed in the Inter Milan shirt. Two very different faces that reflect the complex year that the Chilean had.
Barcelona, an emotional last stage
After participating little in the club with Ernesto Valverde, Vidal managed to turn the situation around and win a starting jersey. The arrival of Quique Setién favored him to the point of being a key player in the midfield.
Arturo Vidal fought alongside Barcelona for La Liga and the Champions League, but he was left with the desire in both. Photo: Getty Images
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But when the body could no longer withstand the pressure of a season with a three-month break in between, the worst came. Barcelona fell in all its lines and few were those who fought until the end. The King among them, but neither he, nor Lionel Messi, nor Luis Suárez they could do something.
Barça left points along the way that cost dearly and the fight for the title with Real Madrid was lost. As if that were not enough, in Champions League fell beaten and humiliated 8-2 against Bayern Munich, which led to a complete restructuring. One in which the Chilean was a candidate to leave.
Vidal ended up leaving Barcelona amid the tears of his teammates and team references. Suarez and Messi They fired him with affection, but more than that, with the feeling that a key piece was saying goodbye. And it is that he was one of the team’s scorers (8), axis of the midfield and one of the most beloved, a hallmark at this point.
To Inter with the mission of leading
All season the King was in the orbit of Inter Milan, a club he finally arrived to take over the leadership of a midfield that made water the previous year. Also the place where he met again Alexis Sanchez after his years in Colo Colo, transforming the Lombards into the Chilean team.
And only a few training sessions were enough for him to win the starting jersey and make the team a protagonist in Serie A, although not with his usual game but somewhat more delayed. And it was not by chance, because his task with Antonio Conte was that the midfield was a wall.
Arturo Vidal has strengthened Inter Milan’s midfield. Photo: Getty Images
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This has made Vidal lose prominence in the attack of previous years, but continue to contribute with his deployment. One that had him play a game marathon in October, adding 8 games without stopping.
The body asked him to rest and an injury put a pause on his bell. Also the irregularity of the team itself has led him to rotate a little more than when he arrived, but he is barely 100% is vital for Conte. And so, putting their usual claw, they are now in second place in Serie A, just one point behind AC Milan.
La Roja, where it never fails
The Chilean team did not see action since 2019, in support of the social outbreak that continues to this day in search of a dignified life for Chileans. But the road to the World Cup in Qatar began and the time to return has arrived.
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Vidal arrived as one of the leaders for Reinaldo Rueda in the renewal of the last two years. The tests were over and it was the moment of truth, but the injuries played a trick on the Red and there was nothing left but to build the team with new names against Uruguay and Colombia. And it was there that the King showed his category. Before the Charruas, he stayed lower and supported the improvised national defense.
Beyond the roles and their importance in the team’s game, what has contributed the most towards Qatar are goals. Four in four games. Without being a forward, but contributing with his usual deployment.
Arturo Vidal has had a year of many ups and downs. His streak of titles in Europe was cut and his mouth checked him more than once. But what is most surprising is that despite having everything against him, his hunger does not end. Because he wants everything, because he’s the King.
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