With two FIFA U-20 World Cup tournaments under his belt, at Netherlands 2005 and Canada 2007, robust holding midfielder Carlos Carmona is one of the most experienced Chilean players of his generation. Blessed with exceptional physical strength and a powerful shot, he earned his place in Marcelo Bielsa’s side at the tender age of 23 after winning a runners-up medal in the 2008 Toulon Tournament.

Having thoroughly impressed the Argentine-born supremo, he has since held on firmly to his starting place in the La Roja midfield. Representing Chile seems to suit Carmona very well. He was captain of the U-20 team that finished third at Canada 2007, and part of a remarkable group of young players who went on to become the nucleus of the team that qualified for South Africa 2010.

Although he does not possess silky skill in abundance, Carlitos more than compensates with his selfless and tireless work rate, which allows him to keep running and closing down opponents for the entire 90 minutes. In addition to midfield he is also comfortable playing at right-back, where again he has never been outshone or given the runaround.

Born in the port of Coquimbo, Carmona has sported just three sets of club colours in his career: Coquimbo Unido and O’Higgins in Chile knew all about his tremendous work rate before he left for Reggina in Italy, where he currently plays in Serie B.