Mauro Boselli (born 22 May 1985) is an Argentine professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

who plays as a striker for

Estudiantes de La Plata Club Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "Students from La Plata"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata , is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, whe ...

. Boselli began his career at Argentine First Division clubs

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in th ...

and Estudiantes before moving to England in 2010 to join

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

. He has also made four appearances for the

Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina. Nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' ('The White and ...

. His style of play has been described by Roberto Martínez as "a clever player and natural finisher ... who can create havoc in the penalty area." Boselli is a two-time

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

winner, being champion with Boca Juniors in

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and with Estudiantes de La Plata in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

. Boselli was the leading goal scorer of the 2009 Copa Libertadores. Boselli also obtained the

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...

with Boca Juniors in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

. Boselli was runners-up with Boca Juniors in the

2007 FIFA Club World Cup The 2007 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2007 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament played in Japan from 7 to 16 December 2007. It was the fourth FIFA Club World Cup, a tourn ...

Club career

Early career

Boselli began playing small sided football at Sportivo Pereyra de Barracas and then to the youth system of All Boys.

Boca Juniors

At the age of 11, Boselli entered the Boca Juniors youth teams. In 2002, Boselli went to Spain with Boca Juniors for a youth tournament and played the final before a game disputed between

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and

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, when Roma's coach

Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career whi ...

asked Boselli if he was

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and if he held a community passport. At Boca Juniors, Boselli played in 30 reserve games before jumping to the first squad. In 2003, Boselli featured in the Boca Juniors under-20 side with Brazilian midfielder

Eduardo Martins Nunes Eduardo Martins Nunes (born March 20, 1984 in Alegrete, Rio Grande do Sul) or simply Nunes, is a Brazilian defensive midfielder. He currently plays for Brasil de Pelotas. Honours *Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: 2005 *Campeonato Gaúcho Th ...

. Boselli debuted in the first-team's pre-season when he was 16. Boselli made his debut for

in a 7–2 defeat to

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the English- ...

on 6 July 2003, for the last fixture of the 2003 Clausura. In this task, however, many youth team players made their presentation seeings as the starting squad were celebrating winning the 2003 Copa Libertadores days earlier. In the club's 2004 under-20 side, Boselli shared the squad with teammates as Fernando Gago, Andrés Franzoia and Eduardo Casais. In 2004, Boselli formed a Boca Juniors winning team with

Carlos Tevez Carlos Alberto Tevez (; born 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player. A quick, tenacious, powerful, hard-working and dynamic forward in his prime, Tevez was capable of playing as a striker, as a wing ...

Guillermo Barros Schelotto Guillermo Barros Schelotto (; born 4 May 1973) is an Argentine football manager and former forward who currently manages the Paraguay national team. Barros Schelotto played 16 years of his professional career in the Argentine Primera Divisi ...

Pablo Ledesma Pablo Martín Ledesma (born 4 February 1984) is a retired Argentine professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A well balanced player, who was able to play both on the right wing and in the centre. He was mainly known for his speed and ...

Diego Cagna Diego Sebastián Cagna (born 19 April 1970) is an Argentine football coach and former player who played as midfielder. Club career Cagna was born in Buenos Aires. His first professional first division match was in December 1988, with Argentinos ...

Sebastián Battaglia Sebastián Alejandro Battaglia (born 8 November 1980) is an Argentine former footballer who played as a midfielder and manager. He spent most of his career with Argentine club Boca Juniors, but also had a brief spell with Spanish side Villarr ...

, Jonathan Fabbro,

Rolando Schiavi Rolando Carlos Schiavi (; born 18 January 1973) is a retired Argentine football defender, most recognized for his time spent playing for Boca Juniors. Club career Schiavi started his career in the lower leagues with Argentino de Rosario, befor ...

Roberto Abbondanzieri Roberto Carlos "Pato" Abbondanzieri (born Abbondancieri on 19 August 1972) is an Argentine professional former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent most of his career at Boca Juniors in his homeland, as well as Getafe of La Liga and ...

, youth graduate Neri Cardozo and

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

Fabián Vargas Fabián Andrés Vargas Rivera (born 17 April 1980) is a Colombian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his professional career playing for América de Cali and Boca Juniors, making ...

. In 2005, Boselli noted 2 goals in 11 appearances for the first-team. He did, though, share the team with

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player Mikael Yourassowsky.

Loan to Málaga

He subsequently spent the 2005–06 season on loan at Málaga B in the Spanish

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the L ...

, scoring 5 goals in 32 games. At Málaga, Boselli was one of three South American players in the team, including

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

vian Juan González-Vigil and Brazilian Tiago Marchiori.

2006–2008

After returning to Boca Juniors, Boselli struggled to become a regular in the first team, being behind

Martín Palermo Martín Palermo (; born 7 November 1973) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Platense. Palermo played for Boca Juniors and the Argentina national team. A prolific goalscorer ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

player

Rodrigo Palacio Rodrigo Sebastián Palacio Alcalde (; born 5 February 1982) is a Argentine basketball player and former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is the son of José Ramón Palacio, a historic player of Club Olimpo during the 1980s ...

in the coaches' consideration. On 12 December 2007, Boselli came on as a substitute in the 90th minute for Rodrigo Palacio in Boca Juniors' 1-0 semi-final victory against

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n club

Étoile Sportive du Sahel Étoile may refer to: Places ;France * Charles de Gaulle – Étoile, station of the Paris Métro * Étoile-Saint-Cyrice, commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in France * Étoile-sur-Rhône, commune in the Drôme department in France * L'Ét ...

in the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup. Whilst at Boca, the club rejected many loan offers and permanent signing deals, including from

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and

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also b ...

, always saying that Boselli was not for sale. Six months before departing Boca Juniors, Boselli signed a 4-year contract with the club. Boselli's final game for Boca Juniors was a 6–2 victory against Tigre in the 2008 Torneo Clausura. Boselli departed the club at the middle of 2008, disputing a total of 59 official games and starting in 21 of them.

Estudiantes

In July 2008,

bought 50% of Boselli's transfer rights from Boca, allowing the forward to move to the

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...

outfit. In his first season at Estudiantes, he reunited with former Boca Juniors colleague Rolando Schiavi, and also formed the team with

Juan Sebastián Verón Juan Sebastián Verón (; born 9 March 1975) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current chairman of Estudiantes de La Plata, where he had served as Director of Sports. A former midfielder, Verón's career started in Estudiantes, c ...

. In Estudiantes, Boselli started strongly with 8 goals in 15 league games during his first tournament, the 2008 Apertura. In 2009, he won the

with Estudiantes. During the competition, Boselli scored 8 goals, finishing as the overall top scorer of the tournament. He also helped the team by scoring the winning goal in the tournament's final against Cruzeiro, in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

. In total, Mauro Boselli scored 49 goals at Estudiantes de La Plata since June 2008. He hit 32 goals in the

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; en, "First Division"), known officialy as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Binance for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). T ...

and a further 17 goals in international cups: 12 in the

, four in the

and one in the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

. Boselli revealed that Estudiantes coach

Alejandro Sabella Alejandro Javier Sabella (; 5 November 19548 December 2020) was an Argentine football player and manager. Born in Buenos Aires, he began his playing career with River Plate in his home country before moving to England in 1978 to play for Sheff ...

prepared the squad for six months before playing against 2008/09 UEFA Champions League winners Barcelona, including 15 to 30 minute training sessions on the Tuesdays and Thursdays focusing on how Estudiantes was going to play against Barcelona.

Wigan Athletic

On 29 June 2010, Boselli signed a four-year deal with

for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut in the opening game of the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

season against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

, and scored his first competitive goal for the club against

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

on 26 October 2010. However, following his first goal for the club, Boselli found settling into the English Premier League difficult. In March 2012, Wigan fans voted Boselli as the club's worst ever foreigner.

Genoa

Having struggled to adapt to English football, Boselli was loaned to Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

side

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

on 13 January 2011 for the remainder of the 2010–11 season. At Genoa, he teamed up with former Boca Juniors teammate Rodrigo Palacio. He made seven appearances and scored two goals for Genoa, including a match-winning goal in stoppage time against rival club

U.C. Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s ...

Estudiantes

Before returning to Wigan from his season-long loan at Genoa, Boselli expressed interest in a permanent move to the Italian side. However, he later stated his main aim was to return to Argentina, and was subsequently loaned out to former club Estudiantes for the 2011–12 season. Boselli finished as the club's top goalscorer in both the Apertura and Clausura tournaments, featuring in 29 games and netting 11 goals.

Wigan

Boselli returned to Wigan after a year and a half on loan at two different clubs. He was issued the squad number 19 as

Franco Di Santo Franco Matías Di Santo (; born 7 April 1989) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Chilean Primera División club Universidad Católica. Di Santo began his career at Chilean club Audax Italiano, earning a £ ...

had taken his original number 9 shirt. After appearing on the bench for the first two league games, briefly appearing away at Southampton in a 2–0 win as an 89th-minute substitute, Boselli returned to starting action by starting for Wigan in a League Cup tie away at Nottingham Forest. Boselli scored the first goal in a 4–1 victory and impressed during the night. It was his second ever goal for Wigan. On 25 September 2012 Boselli scored twice in a 4–1 win away at West Ham in the third round of the League Cup. On 15 January 2013, Boselli grabbed his 4th goal of the season in a 1–0

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

Third Round Replay win away at Bournemouth.

Palermo

In the post match interview following the FA Cup game against Macclesfield on 26 January 2013, Wigan manager Roberto Martínez confirmed that Boselli had agreed to a further loan spell, this time back in Italy at

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...

. The move was finalized and officially confirmed by the Sicilian club two days later, on 28 January.

Club León

In June 2013, he moved to

Club León Club León Fútbol Club, also known as León, is a Mexican professional football club based in León, Guanajuato, that competes in the Liga MX, the top flight of Mexican football. León has won the Primera División de México/Liga MX title ...

in Mexico. In his first game for Leon, Boselli scored a double, his first goals, in the Copa MX against Dorados. Three days later, he debuted in the Liga MX, scoring in a 2–1 victory against Atlas. In December 2013, León became champion of

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

Apertura 2013, being a key player for the championship and most games played during the season. Yet again, in the Clausura 2014, he was a key player the next year, when León became champions for the second year in a row making them the second Mexican team to become "bicampeones" in the 6 months modalilty tournament. (Also León won the first "bicampeón" in the 1950s, one year tournament). He is currently the club's second highest goalscorer in its entire history, with 130 goals scored in all competitions. In 2018, whilst at Leon, Boselli reached marking 200 career goals. Boselli achieved two Liga MX titles for Leon.

Corinthians

In January 2019, he moved to two-time

winner

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author ...

in Brazil. For 2019, Boselli disputed 26 games, scored 8 goals and gave two assistances for Corinthians between the local tournament and the Copa Sudamericana, he also won the 2019 Paulista Championship.

Cerro Porteño

During the Paraguayan superclasico played in August 2021, Boselli scored for Cerro Porteño in a 3–0 victory against Olimpia Asunción. In September 2021, Boselli departed to Argentina for family matters with permission from Cerro Porteño and was absent from the team, which resulting in the passing of his mother as communicated by the club. In the same month, Cerro Porteño confirmed Boselli's continuity at the club for 2022. This was automatically assured in Boselli's first contract, in reaching a quantity of games would assure a contract extension. This was automatically assured in Boselli's first contract, in reaching a quantity of games would assure a contract extension.

Estudiantes de LP

Boselli departed Cerro Porteño for Estudiantes de La Plata. The transfer was officially complete on 6 January of Paraguay's 2022 summer transfer window.

International career

In 2005, Boselli was part of the Argentina U-20 national team that finished third in the

South American Youth Championship The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and es, Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or pt, Juventude da América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American f ...

(therefore qualifying for that year's

U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 wh ...

). However, Boselli was not part of the final World Cup squad. On 27 September 2009, Boselli was called for a local league based Argentina national team (replacing injured Esteban Fuertes) to play a friendly match against

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. Three days later, on 30 September, Boselli debuted with the national team, being brought in as a substitute in the 57th minute of the match. Boselli scored his first goal for Argentina- from the penalty spot- in a 4–1 defeat to Nigeria on 1 June 2011.

Personal life

When he finished secondary, Boselli studied sports periodism.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

, - , 1. , , 1 June 2011 , ,

Abuja Stadium Moshood Abiola National Stadium (formerly known as National Stadium, Abuja) is a multipurpose national sports stadium located in Abuja, in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. The stadium serves as a home to the Nigerian national football t ...

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

, , , , 1–4 , , 1–4 , , Friendly

Honours

Club

Boca Juniors *

Estudiantes LP *

Wigan Athletic *

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León *

(2): Apertura 2013, Clausura 2014 Corinthians *

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional association football, football league in the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. Run b ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Individual * Copa Libertadores top scorer:

(with Estudiantes) * Argentine Primera División top scorer: 2010 Clausura (with Estudiantes) *

top scorer (4): Apertura 2013, Apertura 2014, Apertura 2015, Apertura 2017 *

Best XI: Apertura 2015, Apertura 2017

References

External links

MAURO BOSELLI Sitio Oficial
*
Argentine Primera statistics
at Fútbol XXI * *
Statistics
at Football-Lineups * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boselli, Mauro 1985 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine footballers Argentina international footballers Argentina under-20 international footballers Argentine expatriate footballers Association football forwards Boca Juniors footballers Atlético Malagueño players Estudiantes de La Plata footballers Wigan Athletic F.C. players Genoa C.F.C. players Palermo F.C. players Club León footballers Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Cerro Porteño players Argentine Primera División players Premier League players Serie A players Liga MX players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Mexico Expatriate footballers in Brazil Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil