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Celso Borges facts for kids

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal family name is Borges and the second or maternal family name is Mora.
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Celso Borges
Celso Borges - Gold Cup 2015.jpg
Borges with Costa Rica at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Personal information
Full name Celso Borges Mora
Date of birth (1988-05-27) 27 May 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth San José, Costa Rica
Height 1.82 m
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Alajuelense
Number 5
Youth career
Saprissa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2006–2009 Saprissa 86 (7)
2009–2012 Fredrikstad FK 76 (34)
2012–2015 AIK 79 (26)
2015 → Deportivo La Coruña (loan) 17 (4)
2015–2018 Deportivo La Coruña 90 (12)
2018–2020 Göztepe 53 (2)
2020–2021 Deportivo La Coruña 20 (2)
2021– Alajuelense 74 (4)
National team
2005 Costa Rica U17 4 (1)
2007 Costa Rica U20 3 (0)
2008–2023 Costa Rica 163 (27)
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 January 2024 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Celso Borges Mora (born 27 May 1988) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Liga FPD club Alajuelense. With 163 international appearances, he is the most capped player in Costa Rica's history.

Early years

His father is Alexandre Guimarães, Brazilian-born, Costa Rican-raised ex-footballer and coach. He was born in Costa Rica's capital city San José and during his high school years, he attended Saint Clare High School, where he also took part in the school's team. His studies were often interrupted by his football training and playing outside the country.

Club career

Saprissa

At the age of 18, Borges made his professional debut for Saprissa on 15 January 2006. He won five national championships with Saprissa.

Fredrikstad FK

On 18 January 2009, Fredrikstad FK sporting director Tor-Kristian Karlsen confirmed that Borges had signed for them, joining on 1 July when Borges's contract with Saprissa expired. Fredrikstad later agreed to pay 1 million kroner (€125,000 ) to Deportivo Saprissa so Borges could join the team immediately and play for Fredrikstad, when the season started on 14 April, against the former league champion Stabæk. In March 2011, Borges stated he would leave Fredrikstad during or after the 2011 season.

AIK

On 1 January 2012, it was confirmed that Borges, as a free agent, was to leave Fredrikstad FK signing a three-year contract with the Swedish football club AIK Stockholm.

He received the vacant number 10 jersey, last worn by Martin Kayongo-Mutumba.

On 1 April 2012, Borges made his first match for AIK, in a match against Mjällby AIF. He got his first goal for the club in the next game, scoring the game-winning goal against Kalmar FF. During the first half of the season he was used as a striker by manager Andreas Alm. But after the summer vacation he dropped down and started playing as a central midfielder and subsequently was the team's first choice in central midfield. He finished the season ending up as the team's best goalscorer.

Deportivo La Coruña

On 14 January 2015, Borges joined Deportivo de La Coruña, signing with them until the end of the season, with an option of a two-year extension. He scored twice in his first official appearance for Dépor, having started in a 1–2 away win against Rayo Vallecano on 30 January which also marked his La Liga debut.

International career

Bras-Cos (21)
Borges disputing a ball against Brazil's Gabriel Jesus

Borges currently holds the appearance record for the Costa Rica national football team with 163 caps, scoring 27 goals. He has represented his country in over 50 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup finals. He has also played at the 2011 and 2013 Copa Centroamericana, as well as at the 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cups, and the Copa América Centenario.

Borges played in the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Peru, in which he scored a goal and was considered among the best players of the tournament. After the tournament he was picked as one of ten players to watch out for in the future. Borges also participated in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Canada.

He made his debut for the Costa Rican senior team in a June 2008 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Grenada and, in September of the same year, scored his first international goal against Suriname.

After featuring prominently during the team's unsuccessful 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, Borges helped the team to a second-place finish at the 2011 Copa Centroamericana, as well as the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup later that year.

In June 2014, Borges was named in Costa Rica's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. During the round of 16, Borges was the first of five Costa Rican players to successfully convert his kick in a 5–3 penalty shootout win over Greece.

In May 2018 he was named in Costa Rica's 23 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Personal life

Through his father, Borges was also a Brazilian national until 2017, when he relinquished his Brazilian nationality to become a Spanish citizen.

Borges is usually considered one of the most educated players of the Costa Rica national football team. El País' Diego Torres described him as "the brain of Costa Rica" and "a gleaned midfielder with elegant diction", while La Nación's Antonio Alfaro called him "the exemplary Costa Rican player." Aside from his native Spanish, Borges can also speak English, Portuguese and Swedish.

A heavy metal fan, citing Slipknot, Metallica, Dream Theater and Killswitch Engage as his favorite bands, Borges plays the drums, and has covered System of a Down's "Toxicity" alongside Peruvian musician Kurt Dyer.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Saprissa 2005–06 Costa Rican Primera División 2 0 — 2 0
2006–07 Costa Rican Primera División 35 2 — 35 2
2007–08 Costa Rican Primera División 25 0 — 6 1 31 1
2008–09 Costa Rican Primera División 24 5 — 5 1 29 6
Total 86 7 — 11 2 97 9
Fredrikstad FK 2009 Tippeligaen 22 7 2 1 1 1 25 9
2010 Adeccoligaen 29 14 2 1 — 31 15
2011 Tippeligaen 25 8 5 7 — 30 15
Total 76 29 9 9 1 1 86 39
AIK 2012 Allsvenskan 29 8 — 12 1 41 9
2013 Allsvenskan 24 8 3 0 — 27 8
2014 Allsvenskan 26 6 — 3 0 29 6
Total 79 22 3 0 15 1 97 23
Deportivo La Coruña (loan) 2014–15 La Liga 17 3 — 17 3
Deportivo La Coruña 2015–16 La Liga 24 3 — — 24 3
2016–17 La Liga 34 6 4 0 — 38 6
2017–18 La Liga 32 3 — — 32 3
Total 107 15 4 0 — 111 15
Göztepe 2018–19 Süper Lig 32 1 3 1 — 35 2
2019–20 Süper Lig 21 1 6 0 — 27 1
Total 53 2 9 1 — 62 3
Deportivo La Coruña 2020–21 Segunda División B 20 2 2 0 — 22 2
Deportivo total 127 17 6 0 — 133 17
Career total 421 77 27 10 27 4 475 91

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Costa Rica 2008 7 2
2009 15 5
2010 3 0
2011 10 1
2012 5 1
2013 20 5
2014 13 5
2015 14 0
2016 11 2
2017 10 0
2018 10 0
2019 12 2
2020 1 0
2021 15 3
2022 12 1
2023 5 0
Total 163 27
Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Borges goal (includes unofficial goals scored).
List of international goals scored by Celso Borges
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 6 September 2008 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica  Suriname 5–0 7–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 11 October 2008 André Kamperveen Stadion, Paramaribo, Suriname  Suriname 2–0 4–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
3. 3 June 2009 Estádio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica  United States 2–0 3–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
4. 6 June 2009 Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet, Trinidad and Tobago  Trinidad and Tobago 2–1 3–2 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
5. 3–2
6. 7 July 2009 Mapfre Stadium, Columbus, United States  Jamaica 1–0 1–0 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup
7. 19 July 2009 AT&T Stadium, Arlington, United States  Guadeloupe 1–0 5–1 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup
8. 21 January 2011 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Panama 1–0 1–1 2011 Copa Centroamericana
9. 16 October 2012 Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica  Guyana 6–0 7–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
10. 20 January 2013 Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica  Nicaragua 2–0 2–0 2013 Copa Centroamericana
11. 19 June 2013 Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica  Panama 2–0 2–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
12. 14 August 2013 Estadio Quisqueya, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic  Dominican Republic 1–0 4–0 Friendly
13. 2–0
14. 6 September 2013 Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica  United States 2–0 3–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
15. 6 June 2014 PPL Park, Chester, United States  Republic of Ireland 1–1 1–1 Friendly
16. 3 September 2014 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington D.C., United States  Nicaragua 1–0 3–0 2014 Copa Centroamericana
17. 7 September 2014 Cotton Bowl, Dallas, United States  Panama 1–2 2–2 2014 Copa Centroamericana
18. 14 October 2014 Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea  South Korea 1–0 3–1 Friendly
19. 2–1
20. 29 March 2016 Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica  Jamaica 1–0 3–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
21. 11 June 2016 NRG Stadium, Houston, United States  Colombia 3–1 3–2 Copa América Centenario
22. 16 June 2019 Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica  Nicaragua 2–0 4–0 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup
23. 6 September 2019 Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica  Uruguay 1–1 1–2 Friendly
24. 12 July 2021 Exploria Stadium, Orlando, United States  Guadeloupe 3–1 3–1 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup
25. 16 July 2021 Exploria Stadium, Orlando, United States  Suriname 2–1 2–1 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup
26. 10 October 2021 Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica  El Salvador 2–1 2–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
27. 24 March 2022 Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica  Canada 1–0 1–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Deportivo Saprissa

Alajuelense

  • CONCACAF Central American Cup: 2023

Costa Rica

  • Copa Centroamericana: 2013, 2014

Individual

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Celso Borges para niños

  • List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
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