Jean Beausejour facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Jean Beausejour

Beausejour with Universidad de Chile in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Jean André Emanuel Beausejour Coliqueo
Date of birth	(1984-06-01) 1 June 1984 (age 41)
Place of birth	Santiago, Chile
Height	1.78 m
Playing position	Left wing-back
Youth career
1994-1998	Universidad de Chile
1999-2002	Universidad Católica
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002–2004	Universidad Católica	16	(3)
2003	→ Universidad de Concepción (loan)	30	(3)
2004–2005	Servette	13	(1)
2005	Grêmio	55	(7)
2006	Gent	0	(0)
2007	Cobreloa	22	(0)
2008	O'Higgins	34	(13)
2009–2010	América	45	(3)
2010–2012	Birmingham City	39	(3)
2012–2014	Wigan Athletic	85	(3)
2014–2016	Colo-Colo	54	(7)
2016–2021	Universidad de Chile	93	(1)
2021	Coquimbo Unido	22	(0)
Total		508	(44)
National team
2004	Chile U23	7	(2)
2004–2021	Chile	109	(6)
Honours Men's football Representing  Chile Copa América Winner 2015 Chile Winner 2016 United States FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up 2017 Russia
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Jean André Emanuel Beausejour Coliqueo is a famous Chilean former footballer. He was born on June 1, 1984. He mostly played as a left-sided wing-back, which is a player who helps both in defense and attack on the side of the field.

Jean Beausejour played for many football clubs in different countries. He played in Chile, Switzerland, Brazil, Belgium, Mexico, and England. In England, he won the League Cup with Birmingham City and the FA Cup with Wigan Athletic. These are two very important trophies in English football.

He also played a lot for the Chile national team. He made his first appearance for Chile in 2004. He played over 100 games for his country, reaching his 100th game in 2018. He was part of the Chilean teams that won the Copa América in 2015 and 2016. He is also the only Chilean player to score goals in two different World Cups, in 2010 and 2014.

About Jean Beausejour's Life

Growing Up in Santiago

Jean Beausejour was born in Santiago, the capital city of Chile. His father, Jean Coty Beausejour, was from Haiti and worked for the United Nations. His mother, Viviana Coliqueo Collipay, is Chilean and has Mapuche heritage. The Mapuche are an indigenous group of people from Chile and Argentina.

Jean's parents separated when he was very young. He was raised by his mother and her parents. He looked up to his grandfather as a father figure. His family lived in a place called Villa Carmelitas in Santiago. He went to local schools there. Later, a new sports center in his community was named after him.

His Family and Heritage

Because of his dark skin, some media gave him the nickname "Palmatoria" in 2004. This was after a black character from a children's comic book. However, Jean said this nickname did not bother him. He also said that being black caused him fewer problems than his Mapuche heritage. He feels very connected to his Mapuche roots.

Jean is married to Karina Ugarte. They have two children, Joaquín and Luciano. Joaquín has even played football in the youth teams of Universidad Católica, which is one of the clubs where his father trained as a young player.

Jean Beausejour's Club Journey

Starting His Football Dream

When Jean was 10 years old, he tried out for a big local club called Universidad de Chile. He was one of only four boys chosen to join their youth system. At 14, he left that club. He then tried out for their city rivals, Universidad Católica, and was accepted into their youth program. This is where he continued to develop his football skills.

He started his professional career at Universidad Católica. In 2002, he played his first professional games while on loan to Universidad de Concepción. He had a great season there.

Playing in Europe and Mexico

In 2004, Jean moved to Switzerland to play for Servette. He even played in the UEFA Cup, which is a big European competition. He scored one goal for Servette. However, the club faced financial problems and lost its license to play.

After that, in 2005, Jean signed a short-term deal with the Brazilian club Grêmio. He helped them win the Série B title, which is the second division of Brazilian football.

He then moved to Belgium to play for KAA Gent in 2006. But he didn't play any games there and returned to Chile a year later. He signed with Cobreloa. In 2008, he joined O'Higgins. His coach, Jorge Sampaoli, used him as a left winger. Jean played very well there and got noticed by the national team coach, Marcelo Bielsa.

On December 1, 2008, Jean moved to Mexico to play for América. He made his first appearance on January 4, 2009, and even scored a goal in his debut game.

Winning Cups in England

Beausejour with President of Chile Sebastián Piñera, holding a Birmingham City shirt, at London's Olympic Park

After playing in Mexico and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Jean Beausejour signed a three-year contract with Premier League club Birmingham City in England in August 2010. The manager, Alex McLeish, said Jean was a strong and fast player who could beat defenders and cross the ball well.

Jean's debut was delayed because he needed a work visa. He finally played his first game on September 18 as a substitute. He made a bigger impact in his first start, helping his team score goals in a League Cup win. He scored his first goal for Birmingham City in an FA Cup game.

Jean was a substitute in the 2011 League Cup Final. Birmingham City won the cup by beating Arsenal 2-1 at Wembley Stadium. This win meant they qualified for the Europa League. Jean scored his first Premier League goal in March 2011. However, Birmingham City had many injuries that season and were relegated from the Premier League.

On January 25, 2012, Jean joined another Premier League club, Wigan Athletic. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract. He played his first game for Wigan on January 31. He quickly became an important player for Wigan, especially playing as a left wing-back. He helped his team reach the 2013 FA Cup Final. But he got a hamstring injury and couldn't play in the final. Wigan Athletic still won the FA Cup, beating Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley. This was a huge win for Wigan, their first major trophy ever! A few days later, Wigan was relegated from the Premier League, which was Jean's second relegation in a row.

Jean left Wigan Athletic in June 2014 when his contract ended.

Back to Chile and More Trophies

Beausejour with Colo-Colo

After playing in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Jean Beausejour returned to Chile. He joined Colo-Colo, one of the biggest clubs in Chile. He signed a two-year contract. He quickly became a regular player for the team.

On August 31, he scored his first goal for Colo-Colo. He scored again on September 14, but he was also sent off in that game and got a two-match ban. His first game back was a big derby match against Universidad de Chile. He scored his team's second goal in a 2-0 win.

In the 2015 season, Jean scored his first goal of the season in a 2-0 win against O'Higgins. He played most of the tournament as a full-back. Colo-Colo finished second that season. For the 2015–16 season, Jean went back to playing as a left winger. He scored his first goal of the season in September. He also scored in another derby against Universidad de Chile. On December 6, he finally won a domestic league title with Colo-Colo! They won their 31st league title.

After Colo-Colo, Jean played for Universidad de Chile from 2016 to 2021, where he won another league title in 2017. He then played for Coquimbo Unido in 2021.

Saying Goodbye to Football

On January 28, 2022, Jean Beausejour announced that he was retiring from professional football. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family, even though he had offers from other clubs to keep playing.

Playing for Chile

Representing His Country

Beausejour in a friendly match against England at Wembley Stadium in November 2013

Jean Beausejour played for Chile's national teams at different levels. He played for the under-23 team in 2004. However, his team did not qualify for the Olympics that year.

He made his debut for the senior national team in a friendly game against Mexico on February 18, 2004. He helped set up a goal in that game. His first international goal came on June 10, 2009, in a 4-0 win against Bolivia during a World Cup qualifier.

World Cup Hero

The national team coach, Marcelo Bielsa, chose Jean Beausejour for Chile's squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals. Jean scored the only goal in Chile's first group match against Honduras on June 16. This was a very special moment because it was the first time Chile had won a World Cup match since 1962! Jean played in all of Chile's games in that tournament until they were knocked out by Brazil.

Jean was also chosen for the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad in Brazil. In Chile's first group match, he scored a goal from outside the box against Australia. This goal helped his team win 3-1. With this goal, Jean Beausejour became the first Chilean player ever to score in two different World Cup tournaments!

Copa América Champion

Jean was a key player in Chile's 2015 Copa América squad. This was a historic tournament because Chile won it for the very first time! Jean played the entire 120 minutes of the final game. Chile beat Argentina 4-1 in a penalty shootout.

Jean and his country repeated their success the next year in the centenary edition of the tournament. Again, he played the full 120 minutes of the final against Argentina, which ended in a draw. This time, Jean took and scored the fourth penalty kick in the shootout, and Chile won 4-2. Jean was even chosen for the Tournament Best XI, which means he was one of the best players in the competition.

Because they won in 2015, Chile qualified for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. Jean played in the first two group matches. He also played in the semifinal, where Chile beat Portugal in a penalty shootout. He started in the final game, but Chile lost 1-0 to Germany.

On March 27, 2018, in a friendly game against Denmark, Jean Beausejour played his 100th game for Chile. He became one of only a few Chilean players to reach this amazing milestone.

Football Stats

Club Appearances and Goals

International Appearances and Goals

Goals for Chile

Scores and results list Chile's tally first, score column indicates score after each Beausejour goal.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1.	10 June 2009	Estadio Nacional de Chile, Santiago, Chile	Bolivia	1–0	4–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	16 June 2010	Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, South Africa	Honduras	1–0	1–0	2010 FIFA World Cup
3.	29 March 2011	Kyocera Stadion, The Hague, Netherlands	Colombia	2–0	2–0	Friendly
4.	14 August 2013	Brøndby Stadium, Brøndbyvester, Denmark	Iraq	4–0	6–0
5.				5–0
6.	13 June 2014	Arena Pantanal, Cuiabá, Brazil	Australia	3–1	3–1	2014 FIFA World Cup

After Football

After retiring from playing football, Jean Beausejour started a new career. In February 2022, he joined ESPN Chile. He became a football commentator and analyst, sharing his knowledge and opinions about the game. He also joined ADN Radio as a panelist for their sports program Los Tenores de ADN.

What He Won

Jean Beausejour won many titles and awards during his football career:

With Clubs

• Universidad Católica
  • Primera División de Chile: 2002 Apertura

• Grêmio
  • Série B: 2005

• Birmingham City
  • Football League Cup: 2010–11

• Wigan Athletic
  • FA Cup: 2012–13

• Colo-Colo
  • Primera División de Chile: 2015 Apertura

• Universidad de Chile
  • Primera División de Chile: 2017 Clausura

• Coquimbo Unido
  • Primera B de Chile: 2021

With Chile National Team

• Copa América: 2015, 2016
• FIFA Confederations Cup runner-up: 2017

Individual Awards

• Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2016

See also

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