This article is part of the Guardian's World Cup 2014 Experts' Network, a co-operation between 32 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Brazil. theguardian.com is running previews from four countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 12 June.
Miiko Albornoz
One of the stars of Chile was actually born in Stockholm in Sweden. His father, born in Valparaíso, emigrated to Europe in the early 1980s, but always kept his son Miiko connected with their South American roots.
He showed prowess on the football field from an early age and at 15 he caught the attention of Chelsea's scouts, where he went on trial for a week. But he decided not to move away from his family and to continue his education in Sweden, where he went through all the youth ranks of the national team, from the under-15s to under-21s.
The turning point came in December 2013. Albornoz had to choose between his two homelands. Sweden summoned him the Malmo midfielder for the senior team, but turned down the invitation and decided to play for Chile and live the dream of going to the World Cup in Brazil.
He speaks fluent Spanish – albeit with a strong Nordic accent - but wanted to show his total commitment to his new team. During the flight to Santiago, he searched for the anthem of the country and learned it. Then all fears were gone on his superb debut, a 4-0 win over Costa Rica, sealed with a goal from Albornoz.
The 23-year-old's qualities have attracted the attention of several teams in the Premier League and Italy. His time at Malmo has come to an end. After the World Cup in Brazil, Miiko Albornoz expects to make the leap to one of the major European leagues.
Jorge Valdívia
Chile's most talented midfielder of his generation, Valdívia has displayed his skills in his own country, Brazil and the Middle East. His biggest success, though, came at Palmeiras, one of the most popular teams in Brazil. Valdívia led the Verdao – to the Brazilian championship and the fans made him an idol. However in June 2012 his success and good fortune had an ugly turn when he and his wife, the Chilean model Daniela Aranguiz, were kidnapped in São Paulo and forced to pay more than £5,000 to be freed.
Even though neither of them was hurt, Valdívia and his wife wanted to go back to the safety of Chile. Palmeiras increased security for Valdívia's family and he is still playing in Brazil, but hopes that the World Cup will be his chance to seal a move to Europe.
Alexis Sánchez
Barcelona's striker Alexis Sánchez was born in Tocopilla, a small city in the north of Chile which was founded in the 1800s as a harbour for sulphur shipments to Europe and the United States. Since then Tocopilla has remained anonymous to the rest of the world, until Alexis Sánchez began scoring goals in Italy for Udinese and then in Spain.
Despite the fame and the money, Alexis does not forget where he came from and every Christmas he travels from Europe to Tocopilla to bring back presents for the children of his hometown.
Eduardo Vargas
His beginnings in football are quite similar to those of many South American players: brought up in a modest family in a working class neighbourhood, overcoming many obstacles to get to the elite. But for Eduardo Vargas television played a major role in his career to become one of the leading players in South American football.
As a child he played in the junior teams of clubs like Palestino or Universidad Católica, but never got the necessary continuity, because it was very difficult to travel across the city to attend training, far from his native district.
His talent was in danger of being lost. But football always gives a second chance. Vargas had the chance to participate in a television reality show that was looking to unearth new football talent. The program was a success and even though Vargas did not win, everyone had noted his quality and soon 'Edu' was playing in the first division of Chilean football at the age of just 17. Quick, skilful and with a great shot, in little more than a year he had impressed fans across the country. So Universidad de Chile paid approximately $1m for his services in 2010. The arrival of Jorge Sampaoli as manager catapulted him to the top of the continent after he scored 11 goals in their 2011 Copa Sudamericana triumph. That did not go unnoticed in Europe, and Napoli gambled with a $14.8m (£8.8m) move for the striker. However, Vargas, still only 24, has dropped out of favour at Napoli, and spent last season on loan with Valencia in Spain.
Arturo Vidal
Juventusmidfielder Arturo Vidal is not followed in Chile only by the football fans, but also by those who enjoy horse racing and even bet on it. Vidal is a well known fanatic of this sport and every time he goes to Chile it is not unsual to see him at the racetrack, and even checking how his horses are before every race. He has become a successful breeder and a risky investor, buying some of the best horses the market has to offer.
This article was written by the editorial team at the Chilean television station TVN
