Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile

Heraldo Muñoz, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the board of Imagen de Chile, handed the prize "Imagen de Chile" to Chile's national football team captain Claudio Bravo. The award is given to personalities or institutions that have contributed in carrying the values of our identity and showing them, through their work, to the whole world.

"Claudio represents the best traits we wish people who represent us abroad would have. He, as other ambassadors we have around the world, is an ambassador of Chile and has made us proud with his talent and as one of the best goalkeepers in the world" stated Minister Muñoz during the prize giving ceremony.

In order to give this recognition, the foundation Imagen de Chile made a study of public opinion which contained more than a thousand cases on a national level. With this in mind, 88 percent of Chileans indicated that Claudio Bravo is the best representative of the Chilean values in the National football team and has been an ambassador of the team around the world. This way, Bravo got his recognition not only as the best goalkeeper in Chilean football history, being the first team captain lifting the international titles of 'Copa América 2015' and 'Centenario 2016'. But he is also the second football referent in receiving this distinction right after Iván Zamorano.

"This is a prize given by the people, not an expert or commentator. People have voted for those who represent best our country abroad, and they have chosen Claudio Bravo because of his undoubted talent but also because he has those characteristics that we wish every important figure abroad would have: humbleness, simplicity, effort, education, responsibility, along with his exceptional talent" added the Secretary of State.

It is also important to highlight that, according to the same study, Chileans believe that for a sport figure to be an ambassador of Chilean attributes before the world he/she must characterize him/herself as being hard-working, talented and humble.