Christian Bolaños

Christian Bolaños
Personal information
Full name Christian Bolaños Navarro
Date of birth 17 May 1984 (1984-05-17) (age 27)
Place of birth Hatillo de San José, Costa Rica
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Right winger
Club information
Current club Copenhagen
Number 30
Youth career
Saprissa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2007 Saprissa 138 (10)
2007–2008 OB 24 (3)
2008–2010 Start 45 (13)
2010– Copenhagen 41 (6)
National team
2005– Costa Rica 35 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 December 2011.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 April 2011

Christian Bolaños Navarro (born 17 May 1984 in Hatillo de San José) is a Costa Rican footballer who currently plays as a winger for Danish Superliga side F.C. Copenhagen and the Costa Rican national team.

His brother Jonathan is also a footballer.

Contents

Style of Play

As a player, Christian is a very skilled dribbler and fast player who usually is able to run from his opponent and make deadly crosses. He also commands a very delicate kicking technique and is capable of shooting with both legs. He is also a decent freekick taker and is known to be a player who is capable of making the crucial pass that opens the defense. Despite his small hight and tendency to dribble, Christian is rarely staying down for long on the pitch and has a physique that can match most wingbacks.

Club career

Deportivo Saprissa

With Saprissa he has already won four national championships as well as a UNCAF Cup title and a CONCACAF Champions Cup title. Bolaños participated in the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup with his team, and was awarded by FIFA as the third best player of the tournament. Following this success he was invited to attend a ten day trial with Liverpool, although he was not signed on a permanent basis.

On 9 August 2006, he signed a one year loan deal with Premier League side Charlton Athletic. However, he failed to obtain a work permit having not played enough games for his country, and the deal fell through.[1]

OB

On June 2, 2007, he signed a 3-year contract with the Danish side OB in the top-flight Danish Superliga championship. Struggling to make an impact on the strong Danish midfield, Bolaños was a target for other clubs.

Start

On November 6, 2008, he signed a contract with newly promoted Norwegian side Start starting January 1, 2009.

In IK Start's first test against a Norwegian Premier League side, Bolaños received rave reviews from the media after outplaying Norwegian international Trond Erik Bertelsen of Viking, who a few days earlier had controlled Bastian Schweinsteiger during Norway's win against Germany. Start coach Knut Tørum said after the game that he will be playing on the right wing during the 2009 season.[2] In his first official match for Start, Bolaños scored two goals against Strømsgodset.

FC Copenhagen

On August 30, 2010, he signed a 4-year long contract with the defending champions of Denmark, FC Copenhagen at a cost of 1 mill. euros, or 7,5 mio. DK kroner.

International

With the Costa Rican national team, he played in the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Trinidad and Tobago and the Qualifications for the 2006 FIFA World Cup that was held in Germany. He was expected to play a key role in Costa Rica's qualification attempts for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Costa Rica went on to the play-offs, unfortunately for Bolaños, Costa Rica's qualification hopes were cut short, when they lost the two-legged play-off to Uruguay. As at June 4, 2007, he has 20 international caps and a single goal.

He is also known as the only player from Costa Rica ever to play in the UEFA Champions League group stages and has played against teams like Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona.

Career statistics

Club

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Costa Rica League Cup North America Total
2001-02 Saprissa Primera División 17 1 ? ? ? ? ? ?
2002-03 21 1 ? ? ? ? ? ?
2003-04 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
2004-05 33 1 ? ? ? ? ? ?
2005-06 34 2 ? ? ? ? ? ?
2006-07 33 5 ? ? ? ? ? ?
Denmark League Danish Cup Europe Total
2007-08 OB Danish Superliga 22 3 1 0 4 0 26 3
2008-09 2 0 3 0 5 0
Norway League Norwegian Football Cup Europe Total
2009 Start Tippeligaen 25 7 2 1 27 8
2010 20 6 5 0 25 6
Denmark League Danish Cup Europe Total
2010-11 F.C. Copenhagen Danish Superliga 24 6 0 0 3 0 27 6
2011-12 15 0 0 0 0 0 15 0
Total Costa Rica 138 10 ? ? ? ? ? ?
Denmark 49 9 1 0 10 0 60 9
Norway 45 13 7 1 52 14
Career total 210 26 ? ? ? ? ? ?

International

National team Season Apps Goals
Costa Rica 2005 12 1
2006 6 0
2007 4 0
2008 1 0
2009 1 2
Total 24 3

Honours

Saprissa

Individual

References

External links