Brayan Josué Cortés Fernández

The move to Colo-Colo in December 2017 changed everything for Cortés. He had come through at Deportes Iquique, in his home city, and made his senior debut there in July 2013, but it was at the capital club that he became a regular starter, holding the number one shirt from 2019 onward and eventually collecting a Chilean league title with the side in 2022, along with two Chilean Cup wins.

The recognition followed. Cortés was named the best goalkeeper of the year at the Gala Crack Easy awards in both 2022 and 2024, and was picked for the tournament's team of the year in 2022 and 2023. At international level, he made his senior debut for Chile in October 2018 against Mexico, and has since won 24 caps. He was included in Chile's squads for the Copa América in 2019 and 2024, though he did not feature in either tournament, watching from the bench. In 2023, he took a step onto the podium with the Chile under-23 side, finishing with a silver medal at the Pan American Games.

Earlier this year, Cortés was sent out on loan to Peñarol in Uruguay. The stint was short but productive: in half a season with the club, he won both the Uruguayan Cup and the Torneo Clausura. That loan spell now sits alongside a career built almost entirely in two places — his formative years in Iquique and the long run at Colo-Colo that turned him into one of Chilean football's most decorated goalkeepers of his generation.