Cristián Cuevas
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cristián Alejandro Cuevas Jara | ||
| Date of birth | 2 April 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | Rancagua, Chile | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Left winger / Left back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team |
Sint-Truiden (on loan from Chelsea) | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2012 | O'Higgins | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2013 | O'Higgins | 10 | (0) |
| 2013– | Chelsea | 0 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | → Vitesse (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2014 | → FC Eindhoven (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | → Universidad de Chile (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2015– | → Sint-Truiden (loan) | 36 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2012–2015 | Chile U20 | 19 | (4) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 November 2016. | |||
Cristián Alejandro Cuevas Jara (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkristjan ˈkweβas], born 2 April 1995) is a Chilean footballer who plays for Sint-Truiden on loan from Chelsea. Cuevas plays primarily as a left-back but can also operate as a left-winger.[1]
Cuevas plays for the Chile national under-20 team and has been picked to play in the South American Youth Championship. He competed in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey, helping Chile progress to the quarter-finals.
Club career
O'Higgins
Cuevas began his career at Primera División de Chile club O'Higgins. He progressed from the club's youth level all the way to the senior team. In 2011, he was promoted to the senior team, making his debut on 8 May in a 5–1 away loss to Colo-Colo at the Estadio Monumental.[2] Cuevas has continued to appear since it, particularly in Copa Chile games.
In November 2012, it was reported that Cuevas had held a successful trial with Premier League club Chelsea following a number of impressive performances for the Chilea under-20 team.[3]
In 2013, after a season at the reserve team, he was considered by Eduardo Berizzo to play the Torneo Transición, who chose him after a well South American Youth Football Championship in Argentina with the national under-20 side. He made seven appearances (the most of those as left back) and before the FIFA U-20 World Cup, on 23 July, Cuevas completed a five-year contract with Chelsea which will keep at Stamford Bridge until 2018.[4] The English club paid a £3 million fee for the player.[5]
Chelsea
After his successful move, Cuevas joined the club's pre-season and stayed training with the first adult team alongside other youngsters players under the orders of José Mourinho before being sent on season long loan to Dutch Eredivisie club Vitesse.[6] There he linked up with fellow Chelsea loanees Patrick van Aanholt, Gaël Kakuta, Lucas Piazon, Tomáš Kalas, Sam Hutchinson and Christian Atsu.
Loan to Vitesse
On 1 September 2013, Cuevas made his first appearance on the bench in the match against AZ, although he was an unused substitution as Vitesse drew 1–1.[7] On 1 September 2013, he again made an appearance on the bench in the match against PEC Zwolle, but remained unused.[8]
Cuevas failed to make a single first team appearance before Vitesse decided to cancel his loan in February.[9]
Loan to FC Eindhoven
On 7 February 2014, it was announced that Cuevas would spend the rest of the season on loan with FC Eindhoven in the Dutch Eerste Divisie.[10] Later that day, he made his debut, coming off the bench and replacing Torino Hunte after the first half in a match against Almere City which ended in a 2–1 loss for Eindhoven.[11] On 28 March, he scored his first goal for the club – and his first professional goal – in a 4–0 win over Sparta Rotterdam.[12]
He finished the season with 13 appearances and one goal.
Loan to Universidad de Chile
On 30 June 2014, Cuevas was sent on a season long loan to Universidad de Chile.[13][14] He made his debut on 13 February 2015 against Unión Española, which ended in a 2–1 loss for Universidad de Chile.[15]
Cuevas made a total of six appearances with only four league appearances during his time back in his home country.[16]
Loan to Sint-Truidense V.V.
On 10 August 2015, Cuevas was sent on a season-long loan to Belgian side Sint-Truiden along with fellow Chelsea youth player Joao Rodríguez.[17] On 16 August, Cuevas made his debut off the bench in the 62th minute, replacing Yannis Mbombo in the match against Gent, a 1–0 defeat.[18]
On 31 August 2016, Cuevas returned to Sint-Truiden for another season-long loan.[19]
International career
Cuevas was part of the Chile under-20 team which participated in the 2013 South American Youth Championship in Argentina. He also joined the first team for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup based in Turkey, where they reached the quarter-finals.[20]
Cuevas was also included in Chile's squad for the 2015 South American Youth Football Championship, held in Uruguay.
Career statistics
- As of match played 26 November 2016.[21]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| O'Higgins | 2011 | Primera División | 1 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 2 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2013 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Total | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| Vitesse (loan) | 2013–14 | Eredivisie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| FC Eindhoven (loan) | 2013–14 | Eerste Divisie | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| Universidad de Chile (loan) | 2014–15 | Primera División | 4 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Sint-Truiden (loan) | 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 28 | 1 | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 |
| 2016–17 | Belgian First Division A | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 62 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 73 | 2 | ||
- 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in Copa Chile
- ↑ Appearance(s) in Eredivisie play-offs
- ↑ Appearance(s) in Belgian Cup
References
- ↑ "CRISTIAN CUEVAS". chelseafc.com. 7 August 2013.
- ↑ "Colo-Colo 5–1 O'Higgins". La Tercera. 8 May 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ↑ "Jugador se prueba en Chelsea: "No hay uno en Chile como él"". Terra Chile. 30 November 2012.
- ↑ "Blues seal Cuevas signing". chelseafc.com. 23 July 2013.
- ↑ "Chelsea complete £3m deal to sign Chilean wonderkid Cuevas". chelseafc.com. 23 July 2013.
- ↑ "VITESSE HUURT CRISTIÁN CUEVAS". Vitesse.nl. 7 August 2013.
- ↑ "AZ vs VITESSE 1-1". Soccerway US. 1 September 2013.
- ↑ "VITESSE vs PEC Zwolle 3-0". Soccerway US. 22 September 2013.
- ↑ "FC Eindhoven loan Chelsea star". 7 February 2014.
- ↑ "Chelsea stalt jonge linksback bij FC Eindhoven". Voetbalprimeur. 7 February 2014.
- ↑ "FC Eindhoven vs Almere City 1-2". Soccerway. 7 February 2014.
- ↑ "FC Eindhoven klopt Sparta Rotterdam met verbluffende 4-0". Omroep Brabant. 7 February 2014.
- ↑ "Cristián Cuevas será nuevo refuerzo de Universidad de Chile". Cooperativa.cl.
- ↑ "Club Universidad de Chile". Udechile.cl.
- ↑ "Universidad Chile vs. Unión Española 1 - 2". Soccerway.
- ↑ "Chile: C. Cuevas Profile". Soccerway.
- ↑ "Loan move for Cuevas". Chelsea.
- ↑ "Gent vs. Sint-Truiden 1 - 0". Soccerway.
- ↑ "Cuevas returns to Sint-Truidense". Chelsea F.C. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ↑ "Mundial Sub 20 Turquía 2013: Chile presentó lista de convocados". La Nueve. 2013-06-03. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
- ↑ Cristián Cuevas profile at Soccerway