The Libertadores recently reached the end of the group stage and it’s been a mixed bag for Chilean sides. Colo Colo progressed to the knock-out stages for the first time since 2007 but Universidad de Chile ended up finishing bottom of an admittedly tough Group 5 featuring Racing, Cruzeiro and Vasco.
Apart from a humiliating 7-0 loss to Cruzeiro, for the most part La U held their own against tough opposition and there were some positives to be taken from their campaign, not least 21-year-old Angelo Araos announcing himself on the big stage.
As one of two playmakers played behind veteran striker Mauricio Pinilla, Araos was consistently one of La U’s best attacking outlets throughout the campaign. Notable performances came in the 1-0 win against Vasco, in which he scored the decisive goal, and the 1-1 draw against Racing. Unfortunately, it wasnt enough to inspire his side through to the latter stages.
Born in Antofagasta in the north of Chile, Araos began his career with local side Deportes Antofagasta. He made his first team debut in October 2015 and went on to rack up 53 appearances for Los Pumas before his 21st birthday.
Araos was beginning to catch the eye and was called up to the Chile U20 squad for the 2017 Sudamericano. However, he only made one appearance off the bench as Chile limped out in the first group phase in yet another disappointing performance at youth level for the La Rojita.
The inevitable move came at the beginning of 2018 when Universidad de Chile forked out $800k for half his rights and he moved south to the capital. In under six months he has already become a regular feature for the Santiago giants and has been called up by Reinaldo Rueda to the senior national team for the upcoming friendlies.
So just who is Angelo Araos and what is all the fuss about? Here we look at what makes him such an intriguing talent.
DRIBBLING
Araos is a tall, graceful attacking midfielder who can also play as a support striker and has even drawn comparisons to the Uruguayan great Enzo Francescoli. A quiet player off the field, Araos comes alive when he steps on the pitch and has the confidence to showcase his great dribbling skills.
His long legs mean he can lure defenders into thinking they can win the ball before quickly shifting the ball from foot to foot to elegantly evade the incoming challenges and get himself out of tight situations.
In some respect his style of play evokes the likes of Gio Moreno or Javier Pastore, but rather than being a languid playmaker, Araos also has impressive pace which gives his dribbling an added potency.
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