Claudio Andrés Bravo Muñoz (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈklawðjoˈβɾaβo]; born 13 April 1983) is a Chilean former professionalfootballer who played as agoalkeeper.
Bravo began his career withColo-Colo and moved toReal Sociedad in 2006, appearing in 237 official games with the latter club.Barcelona signed him for €12 million in 2014, and he won thetreble and theZamora Trophy inhis first season. In the summer of 2016, he moved toManchester City, where he won several titles. After four years in England, Bravo returned to Spain, signing forReal Betis, before announcing his retirement in 2024 at the age of 41.
Bravo was born inViluco,Maipo Province. His father recognized his son's emerging talent and took him toColo-Colo's youth academy, and he eventually made his professional debut in 2002. There, he was given the nicknameCóndor Chico, after former club goalkeeperRoberto Rojas.[4] Similarly, during that years he complemented his football career with technical studies of physical activity at theUniversity of the Americas,[5] where he had as classmates to his teammatesFernando Meneses,Luis Mena andMiguel Riffo.[5]
After an injury toEduardo Lobos, managerJaime Pizarro gave Bravo his first chance, which would be however short-lived, as he too was injured, which prompted the subsequent signing ofJonny Walker. He recovered in mid-2003, and with Lobos still in the sidelines he took over the starting role which he would never lose again, with his competitor eventually being sold.
For the2006–07 season, Bravo signed a five-year contract withReal Sociedad in Spain,[7] in a reported €1.2 million deal[8] – he andAsier Riesgo formed the youngest pair of goalkeepers that year inLa Liga. He started onthe bench, but eventually gained the battle for first-choice (29 games to nine) as theBasque side was relegated (despite this, he finished in fifth place for theRicardo Zamora Trophy with a goal-against average of 1.00); his league debut came on 22 October 2006, in a 0–0 away draw againstRCD Mallorca.[9]
On 24 January 2010, Bravo wassent off for the first time in a loss toElche CF atAnoeta Stadium, foulingÓscar Trejo in the ninth minute, from whichJorge Molina scored apenalty for the only goal of the game.[12] Three weeks later, he scored the first goal of his career, from adirect free kick againstGimnàstic de Tarragona, the game's only in a home triumph;[13][14] however, shortly after, he suffered a severe knee injury during Real Sociedad's 2–0 loss atCórdoba CF, which rendered him unavailable for the remainder ofthe season.[15] He still featured in 25 matches to help his team finish champions and return to the top division, after three years.
Bravo joinedBarcelona on 25 June 2014, with the four-year deal[16] being made effective on 1 July for a reported €12 million (£9.7 million) fee,[17][18] the fourth most expensive player ever sold by Real Sociedad afterDarko Kovačević,Xabi Alonso andAsier Illarramendi, becoming the second Chilean to ever play for the club afterAlexis Sánchez and succeedingVíctor Valdés as the first-choice. After joining, he set a Spanish League record for the club of not conceding from the start of season for 754 minutes, previously held byPedro María Artola with 560 minutes; the streak was broken when he conceded his first goal ofthe season from the penalty spot toCristiano Ronaldo in a 1–3 defeat toReal Madrid at theSantiago Bernabéu.[19]
After playing 37 straight league games, Bravo was rested for the last game of the campaign againstDeportivo de La Coruña, withJordi Masip starting instead. Bravo was named as the goalkeeper in the La Liga Team of the Season as one of six Barcelona players, including three of his defenders.[20] He won the Zamora for the best goals against average in the competition, conceding 19 times for an average of 0.51, just off the all-time record of 0.47 byFrancisco Liaño of Deportivo in 1994.[21]
On 25 August 2016, Bravo signed a four-year deal for English clubManchester City for a reported fee of £17 million.[24][25] He made his debut on 10 September in a 2–1 triumph overlocal rivalsManchester United,[26] being at fault for the opposition's goal and receiving widespread criticism for his performance,[27][28][29] although managerPep Guardiola said that he had "one of the best performances I've ever seen".[30]On his return to theCamp Nou on 19 October 2016, in aChampions League group stage match, Bravo wassent off after handling the ball outside of his area, in an eventual 4–0 loss.[31] After a number of high profile errors, including being beaten by all six shots on target in his previous two appearances for City, he was dropped to the bench in February 2017, with backupWilly Caballero replacing him;[32] having finished with the worst save success rate (54.1%) among all goalkeepers, he was named by many journalists as one of the worst signings ofthe season.[33][34][35][36]
On 24 October 2017, after a0–0 home draw againstWolverhampton Wanderers in the first 120 minutes of theEFL Cup fourth-round tie, Bravo saved two penalties to give his team a 4–1 win.[37] In the next round of the cup, Bravo was the hero again as he saved the last penalty in a shootout againstLeicester City, after a 1–1 draw.[38] On 25 February 2018, Bravo started in the EFL Cup final againstArsenal and got the assist forSergio Agüero's opening goal in a 3–0 victory atWembley Stadium, winning his first trophy with the club.[39]
Several days after winning theCommunity Shield in August 2018 againstChelsea, he ruptured hisAchilles tendon in training, going on to be sidelined for several months.[40] He missed the entirety of the 2018–19 season, withAro Muric replacing him as City's second choice goalkeeper. He did not play again until thenext edition of the tournament, when he saved fromGiorginio Wijnaldum to win the penalty shootout againstLiverpool, earning praise from Guardiola.[41]
Bravo came on as a half-time substitute for the injuredEderson Moraes on 6 November 2019, in a Champions League group game atAtalanta. He was sent off in the 81st minute for a foul onJosip Iličić, which meant that defenderKyle Walker had to come on as the goalkeeper for the final minutes.[42]
On 1 March 2020, City won theEFL Cup for the third time in a row, beatingAston Villa2–1 in the final. Bravo made a late save fromBjörn Engels to preserve City's lead, pushing his header onto the post.[43] He left in August when his contract expired.[44]
On 30 August 2020, Bravo signed an initial one-year deal with Spanish clubReal Betis, with an option for a second year.[45] In his first season, he was marred by injuries and compatriot managerManuel Pellegrini preferred to playJoel Robles in his place.[46]
Bravo was again called for duty in the2007 Copa América held inVenezuela, where he started all four games.[49] He becameteam captain afterMarcelo Salas announced his international retirement.[50] Rested for the final group game, he played three matches at the2011 Copa América as the country again reached the quarter-finals.[51]
In the2010 World Cup in South Africa, Bravo started in all four matches for Chile (remaining as captain), conceding five goals in an eventual 3–0round-of-16 loss againstBrazil.[52] He was also selected by new managerJorge Sampaoli to the squad of 23 forthe following edition,[53] starting all the games and conceding only four times – one byAustralia, two by theNetherlands and one byBrazil – which again ended in the same stage and at the hands of the same opponent, but in a penalty shootout.[54]
On 10 October 2014, in afriendly 3–0 win againstPeru, Bravo earned his 85thcap, surpassingLeonel Sánchez as Chile's most capped player of all time.[55] He was the captain and played every minute as they won the2015 Copa América on home soil, their first major international honour. Inthe final againstArgentina at theEstadio Nacional, he kept a clean sheet as the match finished goalless after extra time, and then saved fromÉver Banega in the subsequent penalty shootout;[56] he was subsequently chosen for the Team of the Tournament.[57]
After sitting out the first two games at the2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, due to fitness problems,[60] Bravo started for the remainder of the tournament inRussia, notably saving all three penalty shootout attempts in the semi-finals againstPortugal (0–0 after120 minutes).[61] Although his team lost out 1–0 to reigning World championsGermany inthe final, his performances saw him being chosen the competition's best goalkeeper.[62]
In 2023, for a Chile's friendly match he choose not to participate which brought him not to be called again for the national team managed by Eduardo Berizzo.[63]
On 13 October 2015, Peru and Chile played a2018 World Cup qualifier at theEstadio Nacional del Perú. The match ended 4–3 in favor of Chile. Prior to the start of the game the home crowd booed the playing of Chile's national anthem and in response a defiant message was left in the Chilean team's dressing room. The message read: "RESPETO, POR AQUÍ PASÓ EL CAMPEÓN DE AMÉRICA" (Respect, The Champion of America passed through here). This event was criticized by the media inSouth America,[64] and two years later a witness revealed that Bravo was the one who had left this message;[65] additionally, the player was caught on camera kicking a door after the match.[66]
An authoritative presence in goal, Bravo was known for his agility, composure, and shot-stopping ability, as well as his reflexes and concentration; he was also highly regarded for his control, distribution and skill with the ball at his feet. Due to his speed when rushing off his line to anticipate opponents who had beaten the offside trap, he was described as asweeper keeper; he was also labelled as aplaymaking goalkeeper, due to his ability to play the ball out from the back or launch attacks fromgoal kicks.[16][67][68][69][70][71] Bravo also drew praise in the media for his leadership and mental strength.[72][73][74] Moreover, he was known for his penalty–saving abilities.[75] Bravo was regarded by several figures in the sport as one of the best goalkeepers in the world in his prime;[76][77] however, he suffered a loss of form during his first season at Manchester City, which saw him lose his place in the starting line-up the following season.[78][73]
^"Meet the Confed Cup captains". FIFA. 17 June 2017. Archived fromthe original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved18 June 2017.He [Claudio Bravo] was a key part of the teams that competed at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups and, as captain, had the honour of raising the Copa America trophy in 2015 and 2016.
^Melero, Delfín (18 July 2011)."Venezuela también se salta el guión" [Venezuela could not care less for script as well].Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved9 June 2016.
^Fletcher, Paul (28 June 2010)."Brazil 3–0 Chile".BBC Sport. Retrieved28 June 2014.
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