About Patricio Yáñez
Born 1961. Patricio Yáñez is a Chilean association football player and association football coach.
Patricio Nazario Yáñez Candia (born January 20, 1961) is a Chilean former footballer who played as a forward.
Club career At youth level, Yáñez competed in athletics, reaching 11.8 seconds in 100 metres, aged 14. As a youth football player, he was with Deportivo Alto Florida from Quilpué before joining the San Luis de Quillota youth system.
Yáñez began his career in 1977 with San Luis and won the Copa Apertura Segunda División and Chilean Segunda División in 1980. He moved to Spain to play for Real Valladolid, and won the Copa de la Liga in 1984. For the 1985–86 season, he went on loan to Real Zaragoza, before playing for Real Betis. In 1990, he returned to Chile, briefly playing for Universidad de Chile, before ending his career with Colo-Colo. During his time there, he won the Chilean Primera División twice and the Copa Chile, Copa Libertadores and Recopa Sudamericana once.
International career Yáñez appeared 43 times for the national team, scoring five goals. He made his debut on June 13, 1979, in a friendly against Ecuador, replacing Jorge Neumann, and had his last match on November 16, 1994, against Argentina. He played for his native country in the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
El Pato Yáñez incident
In 1989, during the infamous incident involving the goalkeeper Roberto Rojas in a match against Brazil, Yáñez, under the frustration of believing his team was subject to unfairness, performed a gesture to the Brazilian fans by holding his genitals with both of his hands and his middle body slightly bent towards the front in an act of sexual intercourse. The moment was captured by Chilean national television, and as years have passed, the offensive gesture, when repeated or remembered, is known as "Pato Yáñez".
Post-retirement Following his retirement from football, Yáñez has mainly worked in TV and radio media as a football commentator. He has worked for the Chilean TV channels TVN, Canal 13, Chilevisión, Telecanal and , in addition to the Canal del Fútbol from 2014 to 2019. Also, he has worked for the international channels Fox Sports Chile, and ESPN Chile. In radio media he has worked for Radio Agricultura and Radio Bío-Bío. (1):
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
People in Patricio Yáñez's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Patricio Yáñez's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Patricio Yáñez?
Chilean footballer
When was Patricio Yáñez born?
Patricio Yáñez was born on 20 January 1961 in Quillota, Valparaíso.
What is Patricio Yáñez's occupation?
Patricio Yáñez is an association football player and association football coach.
What nationality is Patricio Yáñez?
Patricio Yáñez is Chilean.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Patricio Yáñez. https://biography.guide/patricio-yanez/
MLA: "Patricio Yáñez." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/patricio-yanez/.
Chicago: "Patricio Yáñez." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/patricio-yanez/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-21 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence
Page generated 2026-09-27 04:59 UTC