Claudio Andrés del Tránsito Maldonado Rivera (born 3 January 1980) is a Chilean professional football coach and former player. Since 2020, he has been working as Maurício Barbieri's assistant coach.
He formerly played as a defensive midfielder for clubs as Colo-Colo, São Paulo, Cruzeiro, Santos, Fenerbahçe, Flamengo and Corinthians.
Playing career
Early career As a child, Maldonado was with Escuela de Fútbol Municipal de Curicó (Municipal Football Academy of Curicó), later named Juventud 2000, what was founded by the former professional footballer Luis Hernán Álvarez. Next, he moved to Colo-Colo youth ranks after being seen by Néstor Pékerman.
São Paulo He spent three seasons with São Paulo making 36 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A appearances with the team.
Cruzeiro In May 2003, Vanderlei Luxemburgo, then coach of Cruzeiro, bought the services of Maldonado. At the time of the purchase, Maldonado's then girlfriend was Luxemburgo's daughter. Nevertheless, while with Cruzeiro, Maldonado experienced the most success of his career. In 2003, he played for the first team in the history of Brazilian football to win the triple crown.
Santos For the 2006 season, Maldonado was reunited with former Cruzeiro's coach Luxemburgo at Santos However at the end of the Brazilian season was scheduled to have ankle surgery which caused him to miss up to two months. After recuperating Maldonado continued playing for Santos reaching the semi-finals of the 2007 Copa Libertadores. Currently Santos has completed the 2007 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in second place and are eligible to compete in the upcoming Copa Libertadores 2008. He was being tracked by Fenerbahçe, Milan, Real Madrid and Ajax but no firm offers better than Fenerbahçe have been made. At 28 he was at the peak of his potential and European teams wanted to capitalise on this, but they were probably put off by the 8 red cards that he had received in the previous 3 years at club level.
Fenerbahçe On the beginning of 2008 Maldonado signed with Fenerbahçe in -year contract, at that time managed by Zico. The transaction was via C.A. Rentistas, which the proxy club paid Santos R$2,225,040. He struggled with injuries and spend a little more than a year in the Turkish club.
Flamengo On August 27, 2009, Flamengo signed a 1-year contract with Maldonado.Fla apresenta os experientes Álavaro e Maldonado, reforços para a defesa His debut for his new club was as a substitute in a 3–0 win against Santo André,Dupla de 'plebeus' brilha, e Flamengo vence o Santo André no Maracanã but since his second match became a first team player. In his first ten matches Flamengo did not suffer any goals, nine of those playing along with Álvaro which signed with Flamengo at the same time, proving his was back at his high level. He scored his first goal for Flamengo after just few matches on November 8 against Atlético Mineiro.Em 'revival' de emoção dos anos 80, Fla bate o Galo por 3 a 1 e pula para 3º lugar His good moment made Chile national team coach Marcelo Bielsa call him up to national team after a period absent.Maldonado e Fierro devem ser titulares do Chile contra a Eslováquia But his return to national team, on November 17 against Slovakia, wasn't as expected, Maldonado played well as a starter, although in the second half he suffered a serious injury in his left knee ligaments leaving out of the fields for four months.Maldonado se destaca em vitória do Chile, mas sai machucado e preocupa Fla Maldonado lamenta lesão: 'Sei que vai ser uma recuperação longa' Maldonado desembarca no Rio mancando e com dores Maldonado só volta ao Flamengo daqui a pelo menos quatro meses Maldonado signed a new 6-month contract in August 2010 and a 2-year contract in January 2011.
Coaching career In 2018, Maldonado started his coaching journey as an assistant coach to Héctor Tapia at Colo-Colo, the club where he began his professional career and retired from three years prior. He followed Tapia to Real Garcilaso in 2019. In 2020, he joined Maurício Barbieri as his assistant coach at CSA, continuing to work together at Red Bull Bragantino and later at Vasco da Gama. In 2024, he followed him to Mexican club Juárez and Athletico Paranaense.
Career statistics
ClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSão Paulo2000Série A11061––171200110020––120200215060––2102003–20––20Total3601610000521Cruzeiro2003Série A280–1Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana.0–2902004333–11Seven appearances in Copa Libertadores, four appearances in Copa Sudamericana.013Appearance(s) in Campeonato Mineiro.0573200531170–110491Total924701202401314Santos2006Série A19030–18Appearance(s) in Campeonato Paulista.04002007150–12Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores.1170441Total34030121350841Fenerbahçe2007-08Süper Lig80002Appearance(s) in Campeonato Carioca.0–1002008-09901070–170Total170109000270Flamengo2009Série A131–––1312010170--605Appearance(s) in Campeonato Carioca.0280201180302012025020120000108090Total3813090250751Corinthians2013Série A7010––80Colo-Colo2014–15Primera División21010––220Career total24553214218404067
International Along with Chile U20, he won the L'Alcúdia Tournament in 1998.
Maldonado was selected to represent his country, Chile, at the 2000 Summer Olympics as a part of the Under-23 team that won the bronze medal. Maldonado made his international debut on February 12, 2000, in a match versus Bulgaria. Since then Maldonado has appeared in 41 games with the senior squad and has netted one goal. For 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Maldonado was a regular with the first team and has since gained the captaincy of the national team. As of recent Maldonado has been called up to serve on the Chile national team that is managed by Marcelo Bielsa.
International goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 9 February 2005 Viña del Mar, Chile 3–0 Win Friendly
Honours Player Colo-Colo Primera División: 1998, 2014 Clausura
São Paulo Campeonato Paulista: 2000, 2002
Cruzeiro Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2003 Campeonato Mineiro: 2004
Santos Campeonato Paulista: 2006, 2007
Fenerbahçe UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals(1): 2008
Flamengo Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2009 Campeonato Carioca: 2011
Corinthians Recopa Sudamericana: 2013
Chile U20 L'Alcúdia International Tournament (1): 1998
Chile Olympic Sydney Olympic Games: Bronze medal
References
External links
Player Profile @ Flamengo.com.br