Hernán Barcos (; born 11 April 1984) 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, rugby ...

who plays as a forward for Alianza Lima. He is nicknamed ''El Pirata'' (The

Pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

) and is well known for his finishing ability, technique and strength.

Club career

Early career

Barcos debuted professionally for

Racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...

in August 2004. He then went on to play on loan for Club Guaraní (Paraguay), Olmedo (Ecuador),

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

(Serbia), and Huracán (Argentina). On 7 October 2007, Barcos scored his first

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League ( sr, Супер лига Србије / Super liga Srbije), referred to as the Mozzart Bet Super League ( sr, Моцарт Бет Супер лига / Mozzart Bet Super liga) for sponsorship reasons, is a Serbian profes ...

goals by netting twice in the late minutes versus Banat Zrenjanin, helping Red Star to get three points. He previously scored once in a

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup (Serbian: Куп Србије, Kup Srbije) is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. From 2006 to 2010, the competition was known as the Lav Cup f ...

game against Teleoptik.

Chinese Super League

In February 2009, Barcos signed a year long loan with

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association ...

side

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 ...

. However, after a disappointing half season at Shanghai, he was loaned out to

Shenzhen Asia Travel Shenzhen Football Club () is a Chinese professional association football, football club that competes in the Chinese Super League. The team is based in Shenzhen, Guangdong and their home stadium is the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre that has ...

, a fellow CSL club. He scored the first hat-trick in his career in Shenzhen's 4–0 victory over Changchun Yatai on 16 September 2009. He scored 14 goals in 14 league games with Shenzhen and won

Chinese Football Association The Chinese Football Association (CFA) is the governing body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in People's Republic of China (Mainland China). The CFA organizes the men's and women's national teams and administers the country ...

Golden Boot award in the end of the season.

LDU Quito

In early 2010, Barcos transferred to

LDU Quito Liga Deportiva Universitaria (), often referred to as Liga de Quito, LDU, is an Ecuadorian professional football club based in Quito. They play in the Serie A, the highest level of the Ecuadorian professional football league. They play their ho ...

to reinforce the squad after their leading goalscorer transferred out. He established himself as a capable striker for the squad, starting a five-game run where he scored one goal a game. Barcos, or "El Pirata" as he was nicknamed by the Liga fans, scored two vital goals against Estudiantes de La Plata in LDU's 2–1 first-leg win, winning the 2010 Recopa Sudamericana. Barcos' ended his illustrious 2010 season as

Ecuadorian Serie A The Liga Pro Betcris, simply known as the Liga Pro, or the Serie A, is a professional football league in Ecuador. At the top of the Ecuadorian football league system, it is the country's premier football competition. Contested by sixteen clubs, i ...

champion, having scored 22 league goals in 32 games, second best in the league, behind

Jaime Ayoví Jaime Javier Ayoví Corozo (; born 21 February 1988 in Eloy Alfaro, Esmeraldas is an Ecuadorian footballer who plays for Gençlerbirliği in the TFF First League. Club career Emelec Ayoví started at lower division club Paladín "S". In 20 ...

who scored 23 goals. In the 2011 Ecuadorian Serie A season, Barcos scored 25 goals in 51 matches in all competitions. On 13 August 2011, Barcos did what no other LDU Quito player had ever accomplished in any competition, he scored five goals in a single game against

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. Barcos would continue with his scoring ability, netting in seven goals in the

2011 Copa Sudamericana The 2011 Copa Sudamericana de Clubes (officially the 2011 Copa Bridgestone Sudamericana de Clubes for sponsorship reasons) was the 10th edition of the Copa Sudamericana, South America's secondary international club football tournament organize ...

. He scored an important away goal for LDU Quito in the team's first win ever in Buenos Aires in a 1–0 win against Vélez Sarsfield, thus reaching the Copa Sudamericana finals. He failed to score a single goal in the finals against

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

, and though only ended up as runner up in the competition, he and the rest of LDU Quito received support and appraisal from the club's fans. After two amazing years with the club, he had many offers from wealthy clubs. In January 2012, LDU Quito was offered $8 million from a Middle Eastern club to sign Barcos, while simultaneously also offered only $3.5 million from

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

. Even though LDU Quito was suffering from debt, they honored Barcos' wishes to play for Palmeiras, and on 17 January 2012, he signed for the Brazilian team.

Palmeiras

On 17 January 2012, Barcos joined

Brazilian Série A Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may als ...

club Palmeiras for an undisclosed fee. He scored his first goal for the club on 11 February 2012, in a 3–0 victory against Ituano, in a Paulistão match. Barcos promised to achieve a total amount of 27 goals in his first season with Palmeiras, thus showing a countdown of how many are left to go on his football shoes. On 27 February 2012, football specialist Lédio Carmona compared Barcos to lobster, playing with coach

Luiz Felipe Scolari Luiz Felipe Scolari (; born 9 November 1948), also known as Felipão ("Big Phil"), is a Brazilian football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Athletico Paranaense. Scolari was a defender during his playing days, and no ...

who had said he wanted shrimp, meaning the quality of Palmeiras' signings for the new season. Barcos helped Palmeiras reach the

2012 Copa do Brasil The 2012 Copa do Brasil (officially the Copa Kia do Brasil 2012 for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th edition of the Copa do Brasil. It began on March 7 and ended on July 11. The competition was contested by 64 teams, either qualified through thei ...

finals by scoring four goals in eight cup games. On 1 August 2012, Barcos scored a double in Palmeiras' debut in the Copa Sudamericana against

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood ('' bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of ...

. He scored another double against Botafogo again, this time in a league match a week later, winning 2–1. Despite Palmeiras' relegation and interest of European clubs, Barcos via Twitter confirmed he would continue to play for club in 2013. In his words: ''"I have the dream to play a World Cup, but the only way to leave Palmeiras is receiving a irrecusable deal, that the club cannot say 'no'. I will stay in Palmeiras for love and for liking Palmeiras"''. Palmeiras confirmed Barcos would stay for the 2013 season, having been relegated to Serie B, though he was able to participate in the 2013 Copa Libertadores. For Barcos, the fans of Palmeiras and

Gilson Kleina Gilson Kleina (born 30 March 1968) is a Brazilian football coach, currently in charge of Portuguesa. Managerial career Born in Curitiba, Kleina started his career at Coritiba's youth setup, as a fitness coach. He later acted as Abel Braga's assi ...

's permanency on club were fundamental points to stay on the ''Verdão''.

Grêmio

Barcos became Gremio's shock-signing for the 2013 season, wanting to arm a strong side for the 2013 Copa Libertadores. His debut came on 14 February, also scoring from the penalty spot, in a 2–1 home loss in a group-stage match up against Chilean Primera División side

Huachipato Club Deportivo Huachipato is a Chilean football club based in Talcahuano that is a current member of the Chilean Primera División. The club was founded 7 June 1947 and plays its home games at the Estadio CAP, which has a capacity of 10,500 p ...

. In August 2014, he scored twice in a match against Corinthians, becoming the top foreign goalscorer for Grêmio with 36 goals.

Later career

On 16 February 2015, Barcos transferred to

side

Tianjin Teda Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Football Club is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Tianjin, and their home stadium is t ...

. After a prolific goalscoring season, he transferred to Portuguese side

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

. However, after a brief spell in Europe, the centre-forward returned to the Argentine Primera División, joining Vélez Sarsfield. Barcos debuted for Vélez in a 2–0 defeat to

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 ...

for the first fixture of 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. ...

and scored his first goal in a 2–1 victory against Colón for the 6th fixture.

Return to LDU Quito

On 14 January 2017,

announced the return of Barcos to the Ecuadorean capital. He was to be incorporated to the team to complete the new squad for the 2017 campaign in time for La Noche Blanca, the derby game against Deportivo Cali. The loan deal will last until the end of 2017.

Bashundhara Kings

On 2 February 2020, Bangladesh Premier League defending champions Bashundhara Kings confirmed that Barcos will be part of the team for AFC Cup and the 2nd leg of the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

FC Messina

On 30 October 2020, Barcos was formally introduced as a new signing for Italian

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...

club FC Messina. He however left Messina on 23 December 2020, without making a single appearance, due to unsolved bureaucratic issues regarding his non-EU citizen status.

International career

On 23 August 2012, Barcos was called up for the matches against

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

and

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 ...

for the

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...

but he ended up being an unused substitute in them. Instead, he made his national team debut on 19 September 2012, as a starter in a match against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

for the Superclásico de las Américas. In October 2012, Barcos also came on as a late substitute in World Cup qualifying matches against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Personal life

On 16 February 2012, after a comparison with Brazilian singer

Zé Ramalho Zé Ramalho (born José Ramalho Neto on October 3, 1949 – Brejo do Cruz, Paraíba, Brazil) is a Brazilian composer and performer. Zé Ramalho has collaborated with various major Brazilian musicians, including Vanusa, Geraldo Azevedo and A ...

made by Léo Bianchi, journalist of

Rede Globo TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV stati ...

, Barcos cursed the reporter, calling him "boludo", a popular scold in Argentina.

Career statistics

Honours

LDU Quito *

: 2010,

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* Recopa Sudamericana: 2010 Palmeiras *

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de P ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Cruzeiro *

Alianza Lima * Liga 1:

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Individual * Chinese Super League Golden Boot: 2009 * Ecuadorian Serie A top scorer: 2010 * Ecuadorian Serie A top scorer: 2017 * League 1 (Peru) Best player of the year: 2021, 2022

Notes

References

External links

* * * * *
Hernán Barcos
at the

Ecuadorian Football Federation The Ecuadorian Football Federation ( es, Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol or ) is the governing body of football in Ecuador. Its headquarters are in Quito, and it organizes the country's various football competitions and oversees the Ecuador ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barcos, Hernan 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Córdoba Province, Argentina Association football forwards Argentine footballers Argentina international footballers Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers Club Guaraní players C.D. Olmedo footballers Red Star Belgrade footballers Club Atlético Huracán footballers Shanghai Shenhua F.C. players Shenzhen F.C. players L.D.U. Quito footballers Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras players Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players Tianjin Jinmen Tiger F.C. players Sporting CP footballers Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield footballers Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Atlético Nacional footballers Argentine expatriate footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Argentine expatriate sportspeople in China Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Ecuador Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Expatriate footballers in Brazil Expatriate footballers in China Expatriate footballers in Ecuador Expatriate footballers in Paraguay Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Serbia Expatriate footballers in Colombia Argentine Primera División players Paraguayan Primera División players Ecuadorian Serie A players Serbian SuperLiga players Chinese Super League players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Primeira Liga players Categoría Primera A players