Joaquín Andrés Soto Valdivia

Llay-Llay is not a town that produces many footballers with a first-team shirt in Chile's top flight, but Joaquín Soto Valdivia has one, at Unión La Calera. The number 29 was still with the club's under-21 side as recently as 2025, working his way through the same academy pathway rather than arriving on loan or by transfer.

He joined Unión La Calera in March 2022 and spent three years in its youth ranks before the step up to the senior squad. There is no transfer fee attached to any of it, no move between clubs to point to — just a single-club upbringing that ended with a place in the first team.

That progress has been enough to draw the attention of Chile's youth national teams. Soto has been included in squads at both under-20 and under-23 level, most recently called into a Chile under-20 squad named in 2026 for friendly matches against Peru. He has not featured for the senior national side.

At 183cm, he has the frame to operate through the middle of the pitch, though his preferred foot is not publicly known. For now, his story is still being written at the level where academy graduates either kick on or fall away — a young midfielder with a home-grown route into professional football and international recognition still ahead of a full senior debut.