Guillermo Barros Schelotto

Guillermo Barros Schelotto

Personal information
Full name	Guillermo Barros Schelotto
Date of birth	4 May 1973 (1973-05-04)
Place of birth	La Plata, Argentina
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position	Forward Attacking Midfielder Winger (retired)
Youth career
0000–1991	Gimnasia La Plata
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–1997	Gimnasia La Plata	178	(44)
1997–2007	Boca Juniors	211	(62)
2007–2010	Columbus Crew	102	(33)
2011	Gimnasia La Plata	18	(3)
Total		509	(142)
National team‡
1995–1999	Argentina	10	(0)
Honours Competitor for Argentina Men's football Pan American Games Gold 1995 Mar del Plata Team competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 October 2010. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 27 October 2009

Guillermo Barros Schelotto (born 4 May 1973) is a former Argentine football forward.

Barros Schelotto, nicknamed "Guille" or "Melli" (short for "mellizo", Spanish word for "twin"), played 16 years of his professional career in the Argentine Primera División (6 with Gimnasia y Esgrima 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 in the Major League Soccer, therefore having his first experience outside his native country. The forward won another 3 titles in the United States' team, as well as two individual awards.

Barros Schelotto is planning his return to Columbus, Ohio to begin work with his new soccer academy. The Schelotto and Padula Soccer Academy is a partnership with former Columbus Crew teammate and fellow Argentinian Gino Padula.

Career

Argentina

Born with a twin brother, Gustavo, 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, 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 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, just one goal behind former teammate Martín Palermo.

In 1996, he was offered to play for River Plate, but after club icon Enzo Francescoli 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: Martín Palermo, Gimnasia's archrival Estudiantes de La Plata former player. The three of them were repeatedly recommended to Boca by Diego Maradona, 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, scoring on 14 September 1997 against Newell's Old Boys in a 2-1 victory.

With Carlos Bianchi as Boca Juniors' coach, Guillermo 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's goal. In the second half of 2003 he again suffered from injuires and could only play for 46 minutes in the Copa Intercontinental winning match against AC Milan, when he replaced Carlos Tévez. With Alfio Basile 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 Columbus Crew.

Barros Schelotto made his debut in the United States 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. 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 which Columbus won 3-1 against New York Red Bulls at the Home Depot Center on 23 November 2008, behind Barros Schelotto's 3 assists. For his performance in the 2008 MLS season, Barros Schelotto was named Sports Illustrated Latino's Sportsman of the Year He became the Crew's first ever Designated Player 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.

International

Barros Schelotto has ten caps for the Argentina national football team, and won the gold medal in the under-23 Panamerican Games.

Honors

Argentina

• Pan American Games (1): 1995

Boca Juniors

• Copa Libertadores (4): 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007
• Copa Sudamericana (2): 2004, 2005
• Recopa Sudamericana (2): 2005, 2006
• Primera División Argentina (6): Apertura 1998, Clausura 1999, Apertura 2000, Apertura 2003, Apertura 2005, Clausura 2006
• Intercontinental Cup (2): 2000, 2003

Columbus Crew

• Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2008
• Major League Soccer Supporters Shield (2): 2008, 2009
• Major League Soccer Eastern Conference Playoffs (1): 2008
• Major League Soccer Eastern Conference Season (2): 2008, 2009

Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata

• Copa Centenario de la AFA (1): 1993

Individual

• Major League Soccer MVP: 2008
• MLS Best XI: 2007, 2008
• MLS Cup MVP: 2008

Personal

His twin brother, Gustavo, was a teammate of his at Gimnasia, and also, briefly, at Boca Juniors. Barros Schelotto and his wife, Matilde, have three young sons, Máximo, Nicolás and Santiago.

In May 2006 his biography, "Guillermo, el terrible. Historia de un ídolo" ("Guillermo the menace. History of an idol") was published; it was written by Pablo Vicente and Sergio Maffei with a prologue by César Luis Menotti, and it also included comments from figures such as Carlos Bianchi, Carlos Griguol, Diego Maradona, Oscar Tabárez and Daniel Passarella.

See also

• List of current MLS players
• List of current MLS players with national team caps

External links

• MLS player profile
• Footballdatabase profile and statistics
• Schelotto & Padula Soccer Academy Official Website