Johnny Herrera (footballer)

1.1. Birth and Early Years

Johnny Cristián Herrera Muñoz was born on 9 May 1981, in Angol, a city located in the Malleco Province of the La Araucanía Region in Chile.

1.2. Education

Alongside his developing football career, Herrera also pursued higher education. He dedicated himself to studying Pedagogy in Physical Education at the University of the Americas (UDLA). This commitment to his studies ran concurrently with his professional football endeavors.

3.1. Universidad de Chile (First Stint)

Herrera was promoted to the first team of Universidad de Chile in 1999, after progressing through their youth squad. For three years, he served as a backup goalkeeper, primarily behind the experienced Sergio Vargas. Following Vargas's departure from "The Lions" after a decade with the club, Herrera became the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper in 2002. His first major professional title came in 2004 when Universidad de Chile defeated Cobreloa in the final of the Torneo Apertura. In a dramatic penalty shootout, Herrera not only made crucial saves but also scored the decisive winning penalty himself, securing the club's twelfth league title. On 10 April 2005, Herrera was involved in a serious incident during a match against Colo-Colo, colliding with Jorge Valdivia. In December 2005, Universidad de Chile finished as runner-up in the Torneo Clausura, losing to Universidad Católica in a penalty shootout. Following this, Herrera was unable to renew his contract with the club, marking the end of his first period there.

3.2. Corinthians

In 2006, Herrera made a move to Brazil, signing with Corinthians. However, his spell with the Brazilian club was brief and largely unsuccessful, as he made only nine official appearances before returning to Chile.

3.3. Everton de Viña del Mar

After his time in Brazil, Herrera returned to Chile in 2007 and joined Everton from Viña del Mar. During his tenure with Everton, he played a significant role in the team's success, helping them secure the 2008 Torneo Apertura title. Despite this achievement, Herrera departed Everton in June 2008.

3.4. Audax Italiano

Following his exit from Everton, Johnny Herrera signed with Audax Italiano in June 2008. He remained with the club for a period, continuing his career in the Chilean top flight before his eventual return to his former club.

3.5. Universidad de Chile (Second Stint)

In 2011, after six years away, Johnny Herrera made a much-anticipated return to Universidad de Chile. This second stint proved to be the most successful and defining period of his club career. He signed a new contract with the club on 22 January 2011, for a fee of approximately 700.00 K USD. His debut in his second spell came on 29 January, in a 1-1 draw against La Serena.

The 2011 season was particularly brilliant for Herrera, as he emerged as a major figure in the club's historic first treble, winning both the Apertura and Clausura league tournaments, along with the Copa Sudamericana, all under the guidance of coach Jorge Sampaoli. Herrera played in every match during Universidad de Chile's triumphant 2011 Primera División and Copa Sudamericana campaigns. His exceptional performance led to him being recognized as the Goalkeeper of the Season by CONMEBOL in December, and also the Best Goalkeeper of the Year in Chile.

In 2012, he contributed to Universidad de Chile winning the Torneo Apertura, securing the club's first-ever league tri-championship and the last under Sampaoli's coaching. On 20 May 2013, Herrera featured in Universidad de Chile's 2-1 victory over Universidad Católica in the 2012-13 Copa Chile Final, marking the club's fourth cup title in the competition.

Herrera continued to demonstrate his unique ability to score from penalty kicks. On 18 March 2014, he scored his first official goal in a 1-0 Copa Libertadores group stage win against Peruvian club Real Garcilaso, converting a penalty. Later that year, he helped the club win the Torneo Apertura. His first goal in a league match came on 22 November during a University Derby against Católica, in a 2-2 draw. On 2 December, Herrera secured his twelfth professional title by defeating arch-rivals Colo-Colo in the Copa Chile Final shootout, where he saved a penalty and subsequently scored the winning goal. On 13 February 2016, he scored his third official goal from a penalty, though it came in a 2-1 defeat to Palestino. His final league title with Universidad de Chile was the 2017 Clausura.

4.1. Youth and Olympic Teams

Herrera began representing the Chile national team at the youth level. He participated with the Chile U-20 team and later with the Chile Olympic team. Notably, he was part of the 23-player squad for the 2000 Summer Olympics held in Sydney, where Chile earned a bronze medal.

4.2. Senior National Team

Herrera received his first call-up to the senior national team in 2002 for a match against Mexico, but he did not make an appearance. His last call-up before a long absence was in 2005. Despite his stellar club form with Universidad de Chile between 2011 and 2012, he curiously did not receive nominations from the then-incumbent national team coach, Claudio Borghi. The press often attributed this to an alleged internal dispute between them.

However, with Borghi's departure in December 2012, the situation changed in Herrera's favor. After nearly seven years of absence from the national team, he was recalled by the new coach, Jorge Sampaoli, who had also coached him at Universidad de Chile. Herrera received his first call-up under Sampaoli for friendly matches against Haiti and Senegal in January 2013. He played in both games, which resulted in 2-1 and 3-0 victories, respectively.

On 5 March 2014, Herrera started in goal for Chile against Germany in Stuttgart, filling in for the injured first-choice goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. Chile narrowly lost the match 1-0. Having been an integral part of the entire qualification campaign under Sampaoli, Herrera was named in Chile's 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Prior to the World Cup, he played in a 2-0 friendly victory over Northern Ireland on 5 June.

Herrera was a member of the triumphant 2015 Copa América squad, serving as a backup goalkeeper to Claudio Bravo. He also played a role in Chile's success in the 2016 Copa América Centenario, where they again emerged as champions. In 2017, he was nominated for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and played two matches: a 2-0 victory against Cameroon and a 1-1 draw against Australia. Chile ultimately finished as runner-up in that tournament, losing 1-0 to Germany in the final. Throughout his senior international career, Johnny Herrera made 24 official appearances for the Chilean national team, without scoring any goals.

7.1. Club

Universidad de Chile

• Primera División de Chile: 1999, 2000, 2004 Apertura, 2011 Apertura, 2011 Clausura, 2012 Apertura, 2014 Apertura, 2017 Clausura (8 titles)
• Copa Sudamericana: 2011
• Copa Chile: 2000, 2012-13, 2015 (3 titles)
• Supercopa de Chile: 2015

Everton

• Primera División de Chile: 2008 Apertura

7.2. International

Chile

• Summer Olympics: Bronze Medal 2000
• Copa América: 2015, 2016
• FIFA Confederations Cup: Runner-up 2017

7.3. Individual

• Campeonato Nacional (Chile) Goalkeeper of the Season: 2011
• CONMEBOL Goalkeeper of the Season: 2011
• Copa Sudamericana Team of the Season: 2011
• Campeonato Nacional (Chile) Team of the Season: 2010, 2011, 2012