Guillermo Barros Schelotto

Football player infobox
playername = Guillermo Barros Schelotto


fullname = Guillermo Barros Schelotto
nickname = El Mellizo ("The Twin"), Guille, Chapita
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1973|5|4
cityofbirth = La Plata
countryofbirth = Argentina
currentclub = Columbus Crew
clubnumber = 7
position = Attacking midfielder/winger/second striker
youthyears = ?
youthclubs = Gimnasia Esgrima La Plata
years = 1991–1996 1996–2007 2007–| clubs = Gimnasia Esgrima La Plata Boca Juniors Columbus Crew
caps(goals) = 181 (45) 196 (62) 045 (11)
nationalyears = 1998–2002
nationalteam = Argentina
nationalcaps(goals) = 010 0(0)
pcupdate = 27 July 2008
ntupdate = 17 April 2008

Guillermo Barros Schelotto (born May 4, 1973 in La Plata) is an Argentine football player. He is a playmaker or winger who currently plays for the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer.

Barros Schelotto is one of Boca's top scorers in international matches with 25 goals, just one goal behind former teammate Martín Palermo. With the Argentina national football team he played 10 matches, and won the gold medal in the under-23 Panamerican Games.

He has a twin brother, Gustavo, with whom he played at Gimnasia, and also at Boca Juniors for a short period of time.

Playing career

"El Mellizo" ("the twin") started playing professionally at the end of 1991 with Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata, where he scored 45 goals in 181 matches, and in 1993 won the AFA Centenario Cup. On September 14, 1997 he transferred to "Primera División Argentina" powerhouse Boca Juniors, for whom he played for almost 10 years. He was considered an idol by Boca fans and in his later years at the club showed his experience whenever he stepped on the pitch.

In the "Superclásico" against Club Atlético River Plate in March 26, 2006, Barros Schelotto came on as a substitute with 10 minutes to go, and won the penalty that tied the match. [ [http://old.ole.clarin.com/jsp/v4/pagina.jsp?pagId=1166072 "G-Spot"] - Diario Olé es icon] At the end of the game he was carried out on his teammates' shoulders.

On May 2006 his biography, "Guillermo, el terrible. Historia de un ídolo" ("Guillermo the menace. History of an idol") was published, written by Pablo Vicente and Sergio Maffei, with prologue by César Luis Menotti and comments from figures such as Carlos Bianchi, Carlos Griguol, Diego Maradona, Oscar Tabárez and Daniel Passarella.

Close to the end of his contract with Boca in 2007, it was rumored that he would leave the club to join a team where he would get more playing time. On April 19, 2007 he announced he would sign a two-year contract with Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew. [ [http://www.ole.clarin.com/notas/2007/04/19/um/01402926.html "See you soon"] - Diario Olé es icon]

Barros Schelotto made his debut in the US on May 5, as a 75-minute replacement, as the Crew lost the match against Kansas City Wizards 1-0. On May 12, 2007 he made his home debut in a game against Chivas USA. The game was tied 1-1 and Schelotto had the assist for the Crew goal. Since then, he went on to become a team leader and fan favorite in Columbus, helping to turn their season around. In the 2007 season he led the team with 11 assists, adding 5 goals in 22 games.

In 2008 Schelotto had a strong MLS season, being chosen "Player of the week" four times, "Player of the month" once, recording 18 assists and 6 goals with seven games left in the regular season.

National titles

International titles

ee also

*List of current MLS players

References

External links

* [http://www.footballdatabase.com/site/players/index.php?dumpPlayer=978 Footballdatabase profile and statistics]
* [http://columbus.crew.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t102&player=barrosschelotto_g&playerId=bar597951&statType=current Columbus Crew profile]
* [http://geocities.com/sjprec Official fan page]