- Christian Bolaños
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Christian Bolaños 
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 39 (6) National team‡ 2005– Costa Rica 35 (3) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 November 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 April 2011Christian 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 ? ? ? ? ? ? - Statistics taken from National Football Teams
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
- Primera División winner: 2003-04, 2005-06, 2006-07
- Costa Rican short championship winner: 2003-04 Apertura, 2005-06 Apertura, 2005-06 Clausura, 2006-07 Apertura, 2006-07 Clausura
- FIFA Club World Cup third place: 2005
- CONCACAF Champions League
- Copa Interclubes UNCAF
- Danish Superliga: 2010-11
Individual
- FIFA Club World Cup bronze ball: 2005
References
- ^ "Charlton fail with Bolanos permit". BBC. 2006-08-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/charlton_athletic/5293056.stm. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
- ^ http://www.vg.no/sport/fotball/norsk/artikkel.php?artid=558593
External links
- (Danish) F.C. Copenhagen profile
- (Danish) OB profile
- (Danish) Career statistics at Danmarks Radio
- (Norwegian) IK Start profile
- YouTube Bolaños in Saprissa
- FootballDatabase profile
- National Football Teams
Costa Rica squads Costa Rica squad – 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup 
Costa Rica squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Mesén • 2 Drummond • 3 Marín (c) • 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
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: MedfordCosta Rica squad – 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup F.C. Copenhagen – current squad 1 K. Christensen · 2 Jacobsen · 3 Bengtsson · 5 Ottesen · 6 Claudemir · 7 Bergvold · 8 Grindheim · 9 Nordstrand · 11 Santin · 12 Larsson · 13 Diouf · 14 N'Doye · 15 Thomsen · 16 T. Kristensen · 17 Sigurðsson · 18 Zohore · 19 Oviedo · 20 Vingaard · 21 Wiland · 22 Absalonsen · 23 Frederiksen · 24 Toutouh · 25 Zanka · 26 Gamboa · 27 Delaney · 28 Özdogan · 30 Bolaños · Manager: Nilsson
Categories:- 1984 births
- Living people
- Costa Rican footballers
- Costa Rica international footballers
- Deportivo Saprissa players
- Odense Boldklub players
- IK Start players
- F.C. Copenhagen players
- 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 2006 FIFA World Cup players
- 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- Danish Superliga players
- Norwegian Premier League players
- Costa Rican expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Denmark
- Expatriate footballers in Norway
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