Fernando Zampedri

Fernando Matías Zampedri (born 14 February 1988) is a professional footballer who plays for Universidad Católica. He is the team captain and the club's all-time leading goal scorer. Born in Argentina, he plays for the Chile national team.

At the conclusion of the 2025 Liga de Primera season, he became a six-time top scorer in Chilean football, making him the second active player in the world to achieve this record, alongside Kylian Mbappé.

Club career Born in Chajarí, Argentina, Zampedri was with club 1° de Mayo in his hometown as a youth player. Later, he spent one year with Newell's Old Boys, aged 13, before joining Atlético Rafaela, with whom he made his professional debut in 2008. Subsequently, he played on loan for Sportivo Belgrano and Crucero del Norte in the Torneo Argentino A. In 2013, he signed with Guillermo Brown in the same division.

From 2014 to 2015, Zampedri played in the Primera Nacional for Boca Unidos and Juventud Unida de Gualeguaychú. From 2016 to 2019, he played in the Argentine Primera División for Atlético Tucumán and Rosario Central.

Universidad Católica After leaving Rosario Central, he joined Universidad Católica on loan for a fee of US$150,000, with an option to buy for US$1.5 million in June 2020 or US$2 million at the end of the season. Following the 2020 season, Zampedri emerged as the Chilean league's top scorer, a distinction he retained in 2021 and 2022. That same year, he also secured the top scorer title in the Copa Chile.

In October 2023, Zampedri reached an agreement with Universidad Católica to extend his contract through December 2025. During that season, he scored 17 goals, becoming the first player in Chilean football history to finish as the league's top scorer for a fourth consecutive time. On April 13, 2024, he equaled Néstor Isella’s 105-goal tally, becoming the club’s joint-top foreign scorer. Later, on October 19, 2024, in the Clásico Universitario against Universidad de Chile, he scored his 119th goal to become Universidad Católica’s outright all-time leading scorer. That same year, he also clinched his fifth consecutive Chilean league top scorer title.

On August 23, 2025, during the inaugural match at the Claro Arena against Unión Española, Zampedri became the first player to score in the reopened stadium. As the season drew to a close, he extended his contract with Universidad Católica for two more years, and received two commemorative plaques for scoring the final goal at Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo and the first at Claro Arena. By the end of the 2025 season, he joined Esteban Paredes as the only players to win the Chilean top-flight scoring title six times, achieving this feat consecutively in long-format tournaments.

International career A naturalized Chilean since February 2025, Zampedri was called up to the Chile national team under Ricardo Gareca for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Ecuador on 20 and 25 March 2025, respectively. He made his debut in the first match by replacing Eduardo Vargas at minute 70.

Personal life Zampedri naturalized Chilean by residence. He received his certificate of naturalization on 19 February 2025.

Career statistics Club

International

Honours Rosario Central Copa Argentina: 2017–18

Universidad Católica Primera División de Chile: 2020, 2021 Supercopa de Chile: 2020, 2021

Individual Top goalscorer Primera División de Chile: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025. Top goalscorer Copa Chile: 2022 Chilean Primera División Ideal Team: 2024, 2025 Chilean Primera División Crack Player: 2024 Chilean Primera División Best Goal: 2024