Federico Bessone Luna (born 23 January 1984), also known as Fede Bessone, is an Argentine

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former professional player who is the sporting director of Andorran club

FC Santa Coloma FC Santa Coloma is an Andorran professional football club based in Santa Coloma, parish of Andorra la Vella, that competes in the Primera Divisió. It is the most successful team in both Primera Divisió and Copa Constitució, having won b ...

Playing career

Early career

Born in

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

, Bessone spent four years as a youth player at Spanish club

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, alongside

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

, who he had grown up with. He later played for Espanyol B and Gimnàstic.

Swansea City

Bessone moved from Espanyol B to Welsh team

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

in June 2008, on a free transfer. On 20 November 2009, Bessone scored his first goal for Swansea in a 1–0 win over League rivals

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

, helping Swansea climb to third in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

, the highest position they had reached in over 26 years.

Move to England

After the 2009–10 season finished Bessone was offered a new deal at Swansea but turned it down in favour of joining

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

; he signed a three-year contract and became their fourth signing of the summer. On 21 January 2011, Bessone moved to

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

on a loan deal until the end of the season, with the option of a permanent transfer. In February 2011, Bessone gave an interview to the ''Yorkshire Evening Post'' where he admitted his performances for Leeds has been "opened to close scrutiny." In May 2011, Bessone was transfer listed by Leeds United, and he was linked with a move to Charlton. After failing to find a new club, Bessone returned to training with Leeds United in June 2011, and he was later named in their squad for a friendly tour of Scotland.

Return to Swansea

On 31 August 2011, Bessone had his contract with Leeds cancelled by mutual consent, and he re-joined Swansea that same day, to provide defensive cover for the injured Alan Tate. The transfer was initially delayed while awaiting international clearance from FIFA. Bessone only made one

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

appearance in his second spell at Swansea, appearing as a late substitute against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

Return to England

Bessone signed with

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

on 31 August 2012, Bessone signed with

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

on 28 March 2013 for defensive cover as left back

Jonathan Grounds Jonathan Martin Grounds (born 2 February 1988) is an English football coach and former professional player who played as a left back or centre back. Grounds began his career with his local club, Middlesbrough, but never became a regular member ...

was one yellow card away from a two match ban towards the end of the season. Bessone was released at the end of the season without playing a single game for the club.

United States

On 9 September 2013, Bessone signed with

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. Out of contract, Bessone was released in January 2014 without playing a single game for the club.

Millwall

On 18 February 2014, he signed a short-term contract with

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

AE Prat

For the 2016–17 season he returned to Spain with

AE Prat Associació Esportiva Prat is a Spanish football team based in El Prat de Llobregat, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1945 it plays in , holding home games at ''Estadi Sagnier'', with a 500-seat capacity. History The club w ...

FC Andorra

In December 2018 he signed for

FC Andorra Futbol Club Andorra is a professional football club based in Andorra la Vella, Andorra, that currently competes in , in the Spanish league system. The club was founded in 1942 and currently plays its home fixtures at Estadi Nacional. In spite ...

. He then signed for IC d'Escaldes.

Coaching career

For the 2021–22 season Bessone was manager of

Inter Club d'Escaldes Inter Club d'Escaldes is an Andorra, Andorran professional association football, football club based in Escaldes-Engordany. The club currently plays in Primera Divisió, where it is a three-time champion. History Inter Club d'Escaldes was foun ...

. For the 2022–23 season Bessone was manager of

Atlètic Club d'Escaldes Atlètic Club d'Escaldes, also commonly known as Atlètic d'Escaldes, is an Andorran professional football club based in Escaldes-Engordany, currently playing in Primera Divisió. History Atlètic Club d'Escaldes was founded on 20 May 2002 in ...

. For the 2023–24 season Bessone joined

to assist first team manager

Dmitri Cheryshev Dmitri Nikolayevich Cheryshev (; born 11 May 1969) is a Russian professional football manager and a former forward. He is the manager of Tajikistani club Ravshan Kulob. During his 16-year senior career, he was mainly associated with Dynamo Mo ...

, combining roles of coaching and first team analysis.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bessone, Federico 1984 births Living people Footballers from Córdoba, Argentina Argentine men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players FC Barcelona C players RCD Espanyol B footballers Gimnàstic de Tarragona footballers Premier League players English Football League players Swansea City A.F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Sporting Kansas City players Millwall F.C. players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Wales Expatriate men's footballers in England Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Wales Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United States AE Prat players FC Andorra players Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Andorra Expatriate men's footballers in Andorra Inter Club d'Escaldes players 21st-century Argentine sportsmen