Nélson Alejandro Saavedra Sánchez (born 6 April 1988) is a Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an professional footballer who plays for Unión San Felipe

Unión San Felipe

Unión San Felipe is a Chilean Football club, their hometown is San Felipe in the V Región of Valparaíso. They are playing in top level of the Chilean football league, the Primera División....

, as a right back

Defender (association football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

.

Club career

Born in Santiago

Santiago, Chile

Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

, Saavedra began his professional career in the 2008 season with Palestino

Club Deportivo Palestino

Club Deportivo Palestino, is a professional football club based in the city of Santiago, Chile. The club was founded in 1920 and plays in the Primera División de Chile...

. Saavedra went on trial with Spanish giants Real Madrid

Real Madrid C.F.

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...

 in January 2009, but a move never materialised. Instead, he moved on loan to Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

's Vitória

Esporte Clube Vitória

Esporte Clube Vitória, usually known simply as Vitória, is a Brazilian football team from Salvador in Bahia, founded on May 13, 1899.Vitória's home games are played at the club's own stadium . They play in red and black horizontal striped shirts, black shorts and black socks...

 for the 2009 season, but after failing to appear for his new club, he signed on loan for São Paulo. Saavedra never appeared for São Paulo either, and began the 2010 season on loan at a third Brazilian club, Atlético Goianiense

Atlético Clube Goianiense

Atlético Clube Goianiense, usually known as Atlético Goianiense or just Atlético, is a Brazilian football team from the city of Goiânia, Goiás state. Atlético Goianiense is the oldest Goiânia city football club. The club is the first team of its state to win a national competition, which was the...

.

International career

Saavedra represented Chile

Chile national under-20 football team

Chile national U-20 football team, also known as Chile Sub-20 or La Rojita, is part of the Federación de Fútbol de Chile. The U-20 team is considered to be the breeding ground for future Chile national soccer team players...

 at the 2009 Toulon Tournament

2009 Toulon Tournament

The 2009 Toulon Tournament was the 37th edition of the Toulon Tournament, and was held from 3 June to 12 June 2009. The tournament concluded with the final between France and Chile at Stade Mayol in Toulon as Chile won their first title after the final score of 1–0, scored by Gerson Martínez...

, making three appearances as his team won the gold medal.