Bernardo Araya

Bernardo Araya
Personal information
Full name Bernardo Jesús Araya Ponce
Date of birth (1993-06-05) 5 June 1993 (age 33)
Place of birth Puente Alto, Santiago, Chile
Position Defender
Team information
Current team
 Peñíscola FS [es]
Number 4
Youth career
Colo-Colo (football)
Universidad de Chile (football)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012 Deportes Tocopilla (football)
2013 Palestino
2013–2014 Deportes Concepción
2018–2021 Newell's Old Boys
2021 Nantes Métropole [fr]
2022 San Lorenzo [es]
2023 Yeesco Sercesa
2024–2024 Umuarama [pt]
2024–2025 Burela FS 30
2025– Peñíscola FS [es]
International career
2013–2015 Chile U23
2015– Chile
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Bernardo Jesús Araya Ponce (born 5 June 1993) is a Chilean futsal player who plays as a defender for Spanish club Peñíscola FS [es]. Besides Chile, he has played in Spain, Argentina, France and Brazil.

Career

As a youth footballer, Araya was with both Colo-Colo and Universidad de Chile at under-17 and under-18 level, respectively. Next he spent a season with Deportes Tocopilla.

In 2013 he switched to futsal after a trial to join Chile national futsal team alongside his best friend. Having played for both Palestino and Deportes Concepción in his homeland, in 2018 he moved to Argentine side Newell's Old Boys.

As a member of Newell's Old Boys, he got three consecutive promotions and played at all categories of the Argentine futsal.

In 2021, he moved to French side Nantes Métropole [fr], becoming the first Chilean futsal player to be transferred to Europe.

Due to a serious knee injury, he returned to Argentina in 2022 and joined San Lorenzo [es], winning the league title and the Copa Argentina.

In 2023, he joined Brazilian club Yeesco Sercesa in the Liga Gaúcha, becoming the first Chilean to play in the Brazilian futsal and winning the Série Ouro of the Federação Gaúcha. The next season, he switched to Umuarama [pt], becoming the first Chilean to play in the LNF, the premier brazilian futsal league.

In August 2024, Araya joined Spanish club Burela FS in the Primera División de Futsal becoming the first Chilean to play in the Spanish futsal. On 2 July 2025, he switched to Peñíscola FS [es].

International career

Araya has taken part of the Chile national futsal team since under-23 level, becoming the team captain at senior level.

Personal life

Araya is the younger brother of Karen Araya, a Chilean professional footballer.

Honours

Yeesco Sercesa

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Stanisci, Juan (23 September 2022). "Bernardo Araya: a la conquista de Sudamérica". Lástima a nadie, maestro (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  2. ↑ Elias, Rodrigo (3 November 2018). "Bernardo Araya: "Vamos a dar la vida por el objetivo" • Planeta Newells". Planeta Newell's (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  3. ↑ Maldonado, Víctor (15 July 2021). "Un chileno da el gran salto de su carrera y ficha en el Nantes: "Quiero marcar un precedente"" (in Spanish). AS Chile. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  4. ↑ Ramírez, Daniel (1 March 2022). "Bernardo Araya, la estrella de La Roja de futsal que busca renacer y regresar a Europa: "Quiero volver a mi nivel y estar en las mejores ligas del mundo"". ADN (in Spanish). ADN Radio Chile. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  5. ↑ Quijada, Vicente (7 December 2022). "Bernardo Araya se coronó campeón de Futsal en Argentina". laroja.cl (in Spanish). FFCh. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  6. ↑ Almazán, Felipe (16 February 2023). "Bernardo Araya será el primer chileno en jugar en el Futsal brasileño". laroja.cl (in Spanish). FFCh. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  7. ↑ Almazán, Felipe (14 December 2023). "Bernardo Araya: "Me preocupo de poner a disposición mi experiencia para potenciar al equipo"". www.LaRoja.cl (in Spanish). FFCh. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Almazán, Felipe (17 January 2024). "¡Bernardo Araya es nuevo jugador del AFSU - Umuarama!". laroja.cl (in Spanish). FFCh. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  9. ↑ "Un capitán chileno a bordo". burelafs.org (in Spanish). Burela FS. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  10. ↑ "Bernardo Araya, cierre del Burela FS: «Si competimos a nuestro máximo nivel, podemos traernos de Cartagena los tres puntos y la salvación»". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 22 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  11. ↑ "Chileno Bernardo Araya sumará un nuevo hito en su carrera en el fútbol sala". Cooperativa (in Spanish). 2 July 2025. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "Bernardo Araya, capitán de La Roja Futsal: "Es un honor defender la camiseta de mi país"" (in Spanish). ANFP. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  13. ↑ @yeescosercesa; (14 December 2023). "CAMPEÃO SÉRIE OURO DE FUTSAL 2023" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 19 December 2023 – via Instagram.