Arturo Vidal: The Low Down on Chile's Bad Boy King
Sports 06.17.15 at 7:51 pm
By Rodrigo Márquez Tizano
Fun fact: in Chile, the sobriety test administered by police is to ask suspects to say "Ferrari Rojo." This might sound like a joke, but it isn't. Truth is stranger than fiction, and futbol is stranger than everything else.
After scoring two goals for the Chilean National Side in Monday's tight 3-3 match against Mexico, Juventus star player Arturo Vidal was arrested last night for crashing his Ferrari Rojo while driving under the influence of alcohol.
If you're rich enough to own a Ferrari, why can't you just hire a driver to take you home after a night of getting trashed, Vidal? Download Uber mai fren, it's not that hard.
The accident happened in the outskirts of Santiago, when "King" Arturo returned to Chile's camp after spending the evening playing cards in a casino. Althought the left-front of the car was heavily damaged, luckily the box-to-box best midfielder and his wife, who was with him, suffered only minor injuries. Of course, Vidal was taken into custody.
Vidal warnings are not uncommon. His possible exclusion from La Roja has been of national concern.
Chile's head coach Jorge Sampaoli had the last word on Vidal's future. "Commitment is born in the heart. It's a feeling," said Sampaoli during the conference where he announced Arturo will stay on the team. While this could be a controversial decision, the crucial game against Bolivia next Friday and Chile's thirst for titles (they've never won any South American tournament – even though they've participated in 34 and hosted 7), tipped the scales in favor of the Juventus star.
Even though the Copa América scenario certainly makes it a complex issue, this is not the first time Vidal and La Roja have been involved in discipline scandals.
They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Here, we take a look back at some of bad boy Vidal's antics.
Bautizazo
November, 2011. Chile's usual suspects, Gonzalo Jara, Jean Beausejour, Carlos Carmona and, of course, Arturo Vidal, showed up to the national team's training late and drunk, after spending all night at Jorge Valdivia's daughter's baptism. The whole team had been invited to the baptism, but just the five of them showed up totally curados the next morning. Claudio Borghi, by then Chile's head coach, banned them from the road to Brazil 2014 classification matches.
La Vecchia Signora Issue
October, 2013. Just after snagging a ticket to Brazil's World Cup, Vidal decided he had to stick with his teammates to celebrate the momento, even tough he was supposed to join the Turin side the day after the game. Juventus manager, Antonio Conte, decided to fine his star player with a big ass sum.
Fight Night
October, 2014. "Celiapunk" made it again. Turin's nightlife has got to be more lively when Vidal is in town. While spending a long night at a club, the Chilean international got involved in fight and was politely asked to leave by the security guards. And once again, "King" Arthur was fined and spent the next game in the bench.
Copa America soccer