King Vidal ends up at home
The most surreal presentation in football history
February 2, 2024, 5:19 p.m
Former Bundesliga professional Arturo Vidal is given a grotesquely majestic welcome at the official presentation at his new old club Colo Colo in Chile. The former Munich and Leverkusen player returns to his youth club after 17 years.
The equally dazzling and polarizing football icon Arturo Vidal floated down from heaven like a messiah, with a huge crown on his head, a cape draped by his first coach Hugo González, and a sword in his hand, he presented himself to his “people”: The former Bundesliga professional was welcomed like a king by his hometown club Colo Colo in Chile. The newspaper “Marca” wrote about the “most surreal presentation in the history of football”; the show with musical interludes lasted a total of an hour.
First, Vidal, whom his opponents feared because of his robust and ruthless nature on the pitch, was flown by helicopter to the Monumental stadium, where the returnee was greeted by around 35,000 frenetically celebrating fans. In the style of King Arthur, the 36-year-old later rode around on a horse and presented his symbols of rule. He waved to the supporters of the Chilean club with a smile. Numerous fans held Vidal jerseys in the air.
“I would be lying if I said I ever dreamed of something like this,” said Vidal, who moved from Colo Colo to Bayer Leverkusen in 2007. “It was really wonderful to see the stadium full. I don’t know if anything like this has ever been seen in any other country,” he added, close to tears. He “couldn’t sleep” while waiting for his return. The adventure at Colo Colo in the Chilean capital Santiago will be his final one as a professional footballer. His contract runs until the end of the year.
After stints at Juventus Turin, FC Bayern, FC Barcelona and Inter Milan, Vidal most recently worked for Flamengo and Athletico-PR in Brazil. The defensive midfielder played 142 international matches (34 goals) for Chile; no Chilean won more titles than Vidal (25). After 17 years he is finally back home, in his new old kingdom.