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 División (6 with Gimnasia La Plata and 10 with Boca Juniors). With these two teams, he won a total 17 official titles (one with Gimnasia and 16 with Boca). In 2007, Barros Schelotto left Boca Juniors for

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

in the Major League Soccer, his first move outside his native country. The forward won three league and cup titles with

, as well as two individual awards, before moving back to Gimnasia La Plata in 2011.

Playing career

Club

Argentina

Born with a twin brother, Gustavo, Barros Schelotto was hence nicknamed ''El Mellizo'' ("the twin"). He started playing professionally at the end of 1991 with his hometown team

Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (; ''La Plata Gymnastics and Fencing Club''), also known simply as Gimnasia, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1887 as "Club de Gimnasia ...

, where he scored 45 goals in 181 matches in five seasons and in 1993 won the AFA Centenario Cup. On 14 September 1997 he transferred to ''

Primera División Argentina Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, c ...

'' 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. Barros Schelotto remains one of Boca's top scorers in international matches with 25 goals, with just one goal behind former teammate

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 ...

. In 1996, he was offered to play for River Plate, but after club icon

Enzo Francescoli Enzo Francescoli Uriarte (; born 12 November 1961), nicknamed "El Príncipe" ("The Prince"), is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a attacking midfielder. He is regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and as one of ...

was not happy with the potential signing, the deal collapsed. In mid-1997, Boca Juniors showed interest for him and his brother Gustavo. It was like that that Barros Schelotto twins arrived to Boca teaming up to a former rival:

, Gimnasia's archrival Estudiantes de La Plata former player. The three of them were repeatedly recommended to Boca by

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...

, who was playing his last season for the Buenos Aires team, retiring on October the same year. Once in Boca, he made his debut as a substitute for

Claudio Caniggia Claudio Paul Caniggia (; born 9 January 1967) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as forward or winger. Caniggia played 50 times for the Argentina national team. He appeared in three World Cups, and was a member of both ...

, scoring against Newell's Old Boys in a 2–1 victory. With

Carlos Bianchi Carlos Arcesio Bianchi (born 26 April 1949), nicknamed ''El Virrey'' (''The Viceroy''), is an Argentine former football player and manager. A prolific goalscorer, although he had a bright career as a forward in Argentina and France, Bianchi is ...

as Boca Juniors' coach, Barros Schelotto got his traditional 7 shirt and kept it until 2006–07 season. He and former rival Martin Palermo became a successful attacking duo, who highly contributed in the 1998–99 title-winning season. He missed the 2001 and 2003 clubs international achievements due to injuries. In 2003, he was a key piece in the winning Copa Libertadores side, with his peak performance at the Round of 16 match against Brazilian team Paysandú, where he scored a hat-trick and assisted

Marcelo Delgado Marcelo Alejandro Delgado (born 24 March 1973) is a retired Argentine footballer, best known for his nickname "Chelo". He usually played as a deep-lying forward. He has been capped for Argentina and played at the 1996 Olympic Games and the 1 ...

's goal. In the second half of 2003 he again suffered from injuries and could only play for 46 minutes in the

Copa Intercontinental The European/South American Cup, more commonly known as the Intercontinental Cup and from 1980 to 2004 as the Toyota European/South American Cup (abbreviated as Toyota Cup) for sponsorship reasons, was an international football competition end ...

winning match against

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

, when he replaced

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 ...

. With

Alfio Basile Alfio () is an Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Alfio Basile, Argentina football coach * Alfio Bonanno, Australian tenor * Alfio Caltabiano, Italian actor * Alfio Contini, Italian cinematographer * Alfio Fazio, Italian ...

as Boca coach, his participation in the first team was gradually lowering. He even was out of some first team matches and had to play for the second team to maintain his performance level. He scored 87 goals in 302 games for Boca Juniors.

United States

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 19 April 2007 he announced he would sign a two-year contract with Major League Soccer's

. Barros Schelotto made his debut in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

on 5 May, as a 75th-minute replacement, as the Crew lost the match against Kansas City Wizards 1–0. On 12 May 2007 he made his home debut in a game against

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. G ...

. The game was tied 1–1, and Schelotto had the assist for the Crew goal. Barros Schelotto quickly became 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, also adding 5 goals, in 22 games. Barros Schelotto had a strong MLS season in 2008, being chosen ''Player of the week'' four times, ''Player of the month'' once, and recording 19 assists and 7 goals during the regular season. He was awarded the Major League Soccer MVP on 20 November 2008. Barros Schelotto capped off his 2008 MLS campaign with an MVP performance in the

2008 MLS Cup MLS Cup 2008 was the 13th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS). The soccer match took place on November 23, 2008, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, near Los Angeles. It was contested betw ...

which Columbus won 3–1 against

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

at the

Home Depot Center Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignit ...

on 23 November 2008, behind Barros Schelotto's 3 assists. For his performance in the 2008 MLS season in which he displayed his leadership, vision, passing, scoring and positioning; Barros Schelotto was named

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

Latino's Sportsman of the Year He became the Crew's first ever

Designated Player The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee ...

on 2 December 2008. On 16 November 2010, Barros Schelotto's option was not picked up by the team, along with several other veterans of the club, effectively ending his career in Columbus. Barros Schelotto elected to participate in the 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft and became a free agent in Major League Soccer when he was not selected in the Re-Entry draft.

Return to Argentina

Barros Schelotto had decided to retire but on 13 January 2011, he went back on that decision and decided to see out his career with his childhood club

Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (; ''La Plata Gymnastics and Fencing Club''), also known simply as Gimnasia, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1887 as "Club de Gimnasia ...

. He returned 14 years after leaving the club in 1997 to join Boca Juniors. Barros Schelotto declined to accept a wage from the club and as such he was contracted unpaid, "''ad honorem''". Barros Schelotto's spell at the club lasted 6 months. In that time he played 17 matches, primarily as a winger, and scored 3 goals. His last goal came against Boca Juniors, this was not only his last goal for Gimnasia but also his 110th goal in the Primera Division. As a result of his contributions to the club and his playing abilities, Barros Schelotto is revered by the fans as a club great.

International

Barros Schelotto obtained ten senior caps for the Argentina national football team between 1995 and 1999, and also won the gold medal in the under-23 Panamerican Games in 1995.

Coaching career

Following his retirement in 2011, he and fellow Argentine, Gino Padula, established SP Soccer Academy in

Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin and Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, the population was 39,190 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

Lanús

In July 2012, Barros Schelotto took his first job as a manager, taking charge of

Club Atlético Lanús Club Atlético Lanús () is an Argentine sports club from the Lanús district of Greater Buenos Aires. Founded in 1915, the club's main sports are football and basketball. In both sports, Lanús plays in Argentina's top divisions: Primera Divis ...

replacing former manager

Gabriel Schürrer Gabriel Francisco Schürrer Peralta (born 16 August 1971) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a central defender. He spent the better part of his career in Spain, appearing for five different clubs in nearly one fu ...

Palermo

On 11 January 2016, Barros Schelotto was named as new coach of Italian side Palermo after his contract with Lanús had ended. Due to bureaucratic issues related to his appointment as head coach, however, Palermo was forced a few days later to hire Giovanni Tedesco, who already had the required coaching badges, as new "official" head coach, with Schelotto working alongside him and sitting on the bench during league games as "team manager". On 10 February 2016, Palermo confirmed Schelotto's resignation from his role at the club after UEFA refused to hand him a coaching badge.

Boca Juniors

On 1 March 2016, Barros Schelotto signed with his former club Boca Juniors. With Barros Schelotto at the helm, Boca reached the semifinals of the

2016 Copa Libertadores The 2016 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2016 Copa Bridgestone Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 57th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. ...

, and won the

2016–17 Argentine Primera División The 2016–17 Argentine Primera División – Torneo de la Independencia was the 127th season of top-flight professional football in Argentina. The tournament was named in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Independence of Argentina. ...

despite many issues, including club legend

's exit with a multi-million-dollar deal to

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in ...

. Barros Schelotto's Boca also won the

2017–18 Argentine Primera División The 2017–18 Argentine Primera División - Superliga Argentina (officially the Superliga Quilmes Clásica for sponsorship reasons) was the 128 season of top-flight professional football in Argentina. The season began on 25 August 2017 and ende ...

. Despite the back-to-back league titles, the club lost the

2018 Copa Libertadores finals The 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals was the two-legged final to decide the winners of the 2018 Copa Libertadores, the 59th edition of the Copa Libertadores, South America's premier international club football tournament organised by CONMEBOL. The ...

against rivals River Plate, and a few days later Boca Juniors president Daniel Angelici decided not to renovate his contract for 2019.

LA Galaxy

On 2 January 2019,

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side LA Galaxy named Barros Schelotto as their new head coach. On 29 October 2020, Barros Schelotto was relieved of his duties as head coach.

Paraguay national team

On 20 October 2021, Barros Schelotto is confirmed as coach of the

Paraguay national football team The Paraguay national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Paraguay) represents Paraguay in men's international Association football, football competitions, and are controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association (Asociación Paraguaya ...

Personal life

Barros Schelotto's

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

brother, Gustavo, was a teammate of his at Gimnasia La Plata, and also briefly at Boca Juniors. Since 2012, they work together with Guillermo as head coach and Gustavo as assistant coach. Barros Schelotto and his wife, Matilde, have three young sons, Máximo, Nicolás, and Santiago.Columbus Crew profile
His nephews

Juan ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...

, Salvador, and Tomás Cataldi and Bautista Barros Schelotto are footballers. His father, Hugo Barros Schelotto, was one of Gimnasia y Esgrima's presidents in the 1980s.

Career statistics

Coaching statistics

Honours

Player

Argentina * Pan American Games:

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata *

Copa Centenario de la AFA The Copa Centenario de la AFA was an official List of Argentine football national cups, Argentine football cup competition contested by teams playing in Argentine Primera División, Primera División. The championship was organized by the Argentine ...

: 1993 Boca Juniors * Copa Libertadores (4):

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, 2001, 2003, 2007 * Copa Sudamericana (2): 2004, 2005 * Recopa Sudamericana (2): 2005, 2006 * Primera División (6): 1998 Apertura, 1999 Clausura, 2000 Apertura, 2003 Apertura, 2005 Apertura, 2006 Clausura * Intercontinental Cup (2):

, 2003 Columbus Crew *

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* Supporters' Shield (2):

, 2009 * Eastern Conference (Playoffs):

* Eastern Conference (Regular season) (2):

, 2009 Individual * MLS Player of the Month: July 2007, August 2008, June 2009 * Major League Soccer MVP: 2008 *

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...

: 2007, 2008 *

MVP: 2008

Manager

Lanús * Copa Sudamericana:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Boca Juniors * Primera División (2): 2016–17, 2017–18

References

External links

*
Footballdatabase profile and statisticsSchelotto & Padula Soccer Academy Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barros Schelotto, Guillermo 1973 births Living people Footballers from La Plata Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United States Argentine footballers Argentine expatriate footballers Association football wingers Boca Juniors footballers Columbus Crew players Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata footballers Argentine Primera División players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate football managers in Italy Club Atlético Lanús managers Boca Juniors managers LA Galaxy coaches Argentina international footballers 1999 Copa América players Argentine twins Twin sportspeople Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Designated Players (MLS) Pan American Games gold medalists for Argentina Pan American Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1995 Pan American Games Argentine football managers Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Barros Schelotto/Cataldi family Paraguay national football team managers