Javier Margas

Chilean footballer (born 1969)

Javier Luciano Margas Loyola (born 10 May 1969) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a defender.

Margas was born in Santiago de Chile. He experienced the most successful period in his career with his first club Colo Colo, where he was part of four league championship winning squads. He was also part of the club's first Copa Libertadores win in 1991, and also won two other international tournaments.

In 1996 Margas joined Club América in Mexico but didn't settle, returning to Chile in 1997.

Margas then joined Universidad Católica, where he was part of the squad that won the 1997 Apertura.

Margas' last years as a player were spent with West Ham United. He scored once during his spell with West Ham, in a 5–0 win over Coventry City in April 2000. In 2001, Margas gained notoriety for disappearing from England without a trace and many weeks passed before he was found in his home country, having effectively retired from football. He briefly trained with Universidad de Chile before ultimately retiring for good.

Margas played 63 times for the Chile national team. He played in Chile's four games at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Margas was famous for dyeing his hair in different colours and shapes (most notably with the Chilean flag colours). Since retiring from football, Margas has worked as a youth coach at Colo Colo, appeared on a reality TV show called Expedición Robinson, ran his own business, and bought former dictator Augusto Pinochet's armoured car. His daughter, Catalina, was a Chile international footballer at under 17 level and took part in the 2008 South American U 17 Women's Championship. His son, Luis, is a central defender from the Santiago Wanderers youth system and was called up to the first team in May 2023 at the age of seventeen.

Scores and results list Chile's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Margas goal. + List of international goals scored by Javier MargasNo. DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition 3 February 1996 Cochabamba, Bolivia 1–1 Friendly 2 June 1996 Barinas, Venezuela 1–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification 9 October 1996 Asunción, Paraguay 1–2 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification 7 November 1997 Antofagasta, Chile 4–1 Friendly 22 April 1998 Santiago, Chile 2–2 Friendly 26 April 2000 Lima, Peru 1–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification