Álvaro Saborío

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Álvaro Alberto Saborío Chacón (born March 25, 1982) is a Costa Rican football player, who currently plays as a striker for Bristol City, on loan from FC Sion of Switzerland.

[edit] Career

[edit] Deportivo Saprissa

Saborio began his professional career with Deportivo Saprissa in his native Costa Rica, although he played for a couple of seasons in some youth Mexico's clubs.^[1] Saborío was the leading goal-scorer of the 2003-2004 Costa Rican season, finishing the year with 25 goals, five above Whayne Wilson.

With Saprissa, he has won a national championship and a CONCACAF Champions Cup, and was part of the team that played the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup, where Saprissa finished third behind São Paulo Futebol Clube and Liverpool F.C. At the tournament, he scored two goals and ended up tied with three other players as the top scorers.

[edit] FC Sion

He moved to Switzerland outfit FC Sion after playing for Costa Rica at the 2006 World Cup. He has formed a good partnership at FC Sion with Poland's Zbigniew Zakrzewski.

His performances in Switzerland have reportedly caught the eye of Stoke City's manager Tony Pulis who aimed to sign him in the summer of 2009, however he instead joined Bristol City on loan.

Álvaro's Signature

[edit] Bristol City

Saborío played his first game for Bristol City in a Championship match on Septermber 13 against Coventry City making an impact by setting up fellow striker Nicky Maynard. Saborío also picked up his first yellow card in English football as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.^[2] Saborio scored his first goal for Bristol City in their 1-1 draw with Scunthorpe United.^[3]

[edit] International career

He is also an important player for the Costa Rica national football team at numerous levels. He represented the U-23 team at the 2004 Olympics, scoring the Qualifying goal that took them there, and subsequently starting three of four games for the team, scoring a goal against Portugal. He has also been capped for the full national team 22 times bagging 7 goals, playing for the team during 2006 World Cup Qualifying.

Saborío, better known as "le Gigì", has been notably recognized for his accomplishments with Deportivo Saprissa, and the high amount of goals he has scored in a short period. But after a year at the club his Costa Rican Coach got a hold of him and he took part in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was mostly a substitute for Costa Rica national football team, behind Rónald Gómez and former Man City forward Paulo César Wanchope. He has 53 caps for Costa Rica and has managed to score 18 goals.^[4]

[edit] Personal life

Saborío can speak five languages: Mekatelyu, Portuguese, Spanish, French and English.^[5]

[edit] Career League Statistics

Updated on November 22 2009

[edit] Honours

• Primera División de Costa Rica (2):
  • 2003-04, 2005-06

• CONCACAF Champions' Cup (1):
  • 2005

• Copa Interclubes UNCAF (1):
  • 2003

• Swiss Cup (1):
  • 2009

[edit] References

Costa Rica squads v • d • e Costa Rica squad – 2004 Summer Olympics 1 Bolivar • 2 Rodríguez • 3 Salazar • 4 Umaña • 5 Myrie • 6 Wilson • 7 Scott • 8 López • 9 Brenes • 10 Granados • 11 Saborío • 12 Araya • 13 Vallejos • 14 Villalobos • 15 Díaz • 16 Hernández • 17 Arrieta • 18 Drummond • Coach: Kenton v • d • e Costa Rica squad – 2004 Copa América 1 Bolívar • 2 Umaña • 3 Marín • 4 Castro • 5 Wilson • 6 Oviedo • 7 Solís • 8 Fonseca • 9 Saborío • 10 Centeno • 11 Gómez • 12 L. González • 13 Hernández • 14 Badilla • 15 Díaz • 16 Bennett • 17 Bryce • 18 Porras • 19 Wright • 20 Sequeira • 21 Herron • 22 R. González • Coach: Pinto v • d • e Costa Rica squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Mesén • 2 Drummond • 3 Marín • 4 Umaña • 5 Martínez • 6 Fonseca • 7 Bolaños • 8 Solís • 9 Wanchope • 10 Centeno • 11 Gómez • 12 González • 13 Bernard • 14 Azofeifa • 15 Wallace • 16 Hernández • 17 Badilla • 18 Porras • 19 Saborío • 20 Sequeira • 21 Núñez • 22 Rodríguez • 23 Alfaro • Coach: Guimarães v • d • e Costa Rica squad – 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup 1 Alfaro • 2 Drummond • 3 Cordero • 4 Umaña • 5 Fernández • 6 Núñez • 7 Fonseca • 8 Rodríguez • 9 Solís • 10 Centeno • 11 Barrantes • 12 González • 13 Alemán • 14 Azofeifa • 15 Wallace • 16 Bolaños • 17 Badilla • 18 Porras • 19 Saborío • 20 Chinchilla • 21 Gabriels • 22 Camacho • 23 Lewis • Coach: Medford v • d • e Costa Rica squad – 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup 1 Navas • 2 Delgado • 3 Fernández • 4 Salazar • 5 Borges • 6 Oviedo • 7 Brenes • 8 E.Granados • 9 Saborío • 10 Centeno • 11 Herron • 12 L.González • 13 Segares • 14 Alonso • 15 Wallace • 16 Sirias • 17 Herrera • 18 R.González • 19 W.Granados • 20 Marshall • 21 Ledezma • 22 Arias • 23 Cambronero • Coach: Kenton