Club career
Journeyman
In July 2004, Sporting CP bought 50% of his playing rights [6] and Pinilla, having spent much of the season on a low note, finished it with five goals, notably a hat-trick in a 3–0 away win against S.C. Braga on 1 May 2005. [7]
However, he was also unable to settle at Sporting [8] and, in January 2006, would move on loan, finishing the campaign at Racing de Santander. [9] On 26 February 2006 he netted his only goal for the Cantabria team, a penalty kick in a 2–2 draw at Deportivo Alavés. [10]
In 2006–07, Pinilla was once again loaned, now to Heart of Midlothian. [11] His time with the Edinburgh club was beset by injuries, resulting in him only playing a handful of times for the first team; in February 2007, he returned to Universidad de Chile. [12]
Pinilla returned to Hearts for pre-season training ahead of the 2007–08 season, with Hearts buying out Sporting's half of his rights. [13] However, his return to playing football with Hearts had a major setback when it was revealed the player had a fractured scaphoid wrist bone, a hidden injury sustained while still in Chile; [14] this put him out of action for a six further weeks.
On 9 January 2008, it was reported that Pinilla had sustained another injury in training that sidelined him for the rest of the campaign. [15] On 6 May, his agent stated that he had signed a deal which would keep him at Tynecastle Park until 2011, [16] after his contract with Inter expired the following month. However, on 1 July, Hearts announced that they had released the forward. [17] [18]
Pinilla joined Brazil's CR Vasco da Gama in early September 2008, signing a contract until the end of the season. [19] He played his first match with his new club in a 1–0 home defeat to CR Flamengo, in a derby. [20]
After Vasco was relegated to the Série B, Pinilla left and moved to Cyprus' Apollon Limassol FC as a free agent. [21]
Back to Italy and Serie A
Pinilla returned to Italy in August 2009, joining Serie B's F.C. Grosseto S.S.D. on a free transfer. At the Tuscan club, his once promising career got back on track, as he scored 24 goals in 24 games – including a series of 12 consecutive matches netting, a competition record [22] – and finished the campaign as the second best scorer despite missing more than a third of the fixtures through different injuries.
In June 2010, U.S. Città di Palermo announced the signing of Pinilla. [23] He scored five league goals in his first 12 appearances, being an important attacking unit in a side that also included Abel Hernández, Massimo Maccarone and Fabrizio Miccoli. [24]
On 11 September 2011, in the season's opener, Pinilla was brought from the bench to score the 4–2 for Palermo against his former team Inter, in an eventual 4–3 home win. [25] On 25 January of the following year he was loaned to Cagliari Calcio in the same league, with the Sardinians having the option of making the move permanent in June. [26]
Pinilla joined Cagliari on a permanent basis on 2 July 2012. [27] Two years later, after an average of seven league goals per season, he moved to Genoa C.F.C. on a 2+1 years deal. [28]
Whilst at the service of Atalanta BC, on loan, Pinilla scored arguably one of the best goals of the season in Italy on 4 April 2015, after netting through a bicycle kick in a 1–2 home loss to Torino FC. [29] He added a further five during his five-month tenure, being crucial as his team narrowly avoided relegation as 17th.
On 5 January 2017, Pinilla returned to Genoa on a loan with an obligation to buy, replacing Leonardo Pavoletti who left for S.S.C. Napoli. [30]
Return to Universidad
On 21 July 2017, aged 33 and ten years after last leaving the club, Pinilla terminated his contract with Genoa and returned to Universidad de Chile. [31] He retired in February 2021, following a two-year spell at Coquimbo Unido who were relegated from the Chilean Primera División at the end of the 2020 season. [32]
International career
Pinilla earned the first of his 45 caps for Chile on 30 March 2003 in a friendly against Peru, closing a 2–0 win through a header, [33] and later led his country's scoring in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with three goals. [34] However, on 27 February 2007, whilst on loan to Universidad de Chile, he was caught in a hotel with María José López, the model wife of national team captain Luis Antonio Jiménez. [35]
Subsequently, Pinilla announced his decision to retire from the international scene. [36] In August 2010 he returned to the team, being recalled by manager Marcelo Bielsa for an exhibition game with Ukraine. [37] He was also picked for a match against Uruguay later in November of the following year, only to be called off due to injury. [38]
Pinilla was selected for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. [39] He made his debut in the tournament on 14 June, playing two minutes in a 3–1 group stage victory over Australia and being involved in Jean Beausejour's goal. [40] Again from the bench, he appeared in the round-of-16 against the hosts: his 119th minute shot hit the bar with the score at 1–1, and he later missed his penalty shootout attempt in an eventual elimination. [41]
Pinilla was a member of the squad which won the 2015 Copa América on home soil for their first continental honour, contributing two late substitute appearances. [42] [43] On 29 March 2016, he and Arturo Vidal scored twice each in a 4–1 away defeat of Venezuela in qualification for the 2018 World Cup. [44]
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