| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christian Bolaños Navarro | ||
| Date of birth | 17 May 1984 | ||
| 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). |
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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.
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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.
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]
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.
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.
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.
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.
| 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 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
| 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 | |
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