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Nelson Bustamante

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Nelson Bustamante
Personal information
Full name Nelson Maximiliano Bustamante Lorca
Date of birth (1992-12-23) 23 December 1992 (age 31)
Place of birth San Bernardo, Santiago, Chile[1]
Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Shadow-striker, attacking midfielder
Youth career
2007 Universidad Católica
2007–2011 Brescia
2011–2012 Bologna
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Lecce 4 (0)
2014–2015 Matera 2 (0)
2016 Verbania 11 (0)
2016–2017 Virtus Bolzano 15 (1)
2017 Santiago Morning 10 (2)
2018 Barnechea 5 (0)
2024 Glorias Navales
Total 47 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nelson Maximiliano Bustamante Lorca (born 23 December 1992) is a Chilean former footballer who played as a forward.[2][3]

Early life

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Bustamante was born in San Bernardo, Chile, and developed a passion for football from his father, who played for a local team.[4] As a child, he would tell his father that he was going to mow lawns for money, but would instead go to dribble a football on the local streets, earning money from passers-by.[4] In 2007, while performing on a street corner, he was spotted by Chilean investigative news show Contacto [es], run by Canal 13, and following the report, he was taken on by a group of businessmen, including agent René Curiaz and former footballer Frank Lobos.[4][5][6]

Club career

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Early career

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Curiaz and Lobos offered him to top-flight Chilean sides Colo-Colo and Universidad Católica, and he spent some time with the latter, but as they were unable to provide growth hormone treatment for his growth hormone deficiency,[7] the same condition that afflicted his idol, Lionel Messi, he opted to move to Italy, joining the academy of Brescia.[4] In 2011, he was released by Brescia, who deemed his short stature not an appropriate height to progress as a professional footballer, and he joined Bologna, though he only spent six months with the club before again being released.[5][6]

Lecce

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In October 2012, he joined Lega Pro Primera Divisione side Lecce, with the club's managing director, Antonio Tesoro, stating that he was a "great talent", comparing him to Argentine player Maximiliano Moralez.[8][9] He made his professional debut shortly after joining, playing in Lecce's 1–0 Coppa Italia Lega Pro win over Nocerina on 18 October.[10] The following month, he scored his first goal for the club in Lecce's 5–1 Coppa Italia Lega Pro win against Aprilia.[5][11]

Matera and Serie D

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By May 2013, Bustamante found himself training separately from the Lecce first team.[12] He was released by the club, and went on to join fellow Lega Pro side Matera the following summer.[13] In December 2015, having been released by Matera, he returned to his native Chile, with the hope of finding a club to join.[6] However, he returned to Italy in August of the following year, having failed to join a club in Chile, and joined Serie D side Verbania.[14] Four months later, in December 2016, he moved to fellow Serie D side Virtus Bolzano.

Return to Chile

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In July 2017, after fifteen league appearances and one goal with Virtus Bolzano, Bustamante returned to Chile, signing with Primera B de Chile side Santiago Morning.[15] He scored his first goal for the club on 7 August of the same year, the only goal in a 1–0 win against Unión La Calera.[16] The following season he moved to fellow Primera B side Barnechea.[17] At the conclusion of the 2018 season, Bustamante decided to retire from football and spend time playing football for his neighbourhood's teams.[18]

He briefly came out of retirement in 2024, joining amateur side Glorias Navales, and featured in their 2–0 loss to former club Universidad Católica in the Copa Chile.[19]

Style of play

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During his playing career, Bustamante was nicknamed the "Chilean Messi" after Argentine footballing legend Lionel Messi, due to the two sharing a similar stature.

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lecce 2012–13 Lega Pro Prima Divisione 4 0 0 0 2[a] 1 6 1
Matera 2014–15 Lega Pro 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Verbania 2016–17 Serie D 11 0 0 0 0 0 11 0
Virtus Bolzano 15 1 0 0 0 0 15 1
Santiago Morning 2017 Primera B de Chile 10 2 2[b] 0 0 0 12 2
Barnechea 2018 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Career total 47 3 2 0 2 1 51 4
Notes
  1. ^ Appearances in the Coppa Italia Lega Pro
  2. ^ Appearances in the Copa Chile

References

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  1. ^ a b Nelson Bustamante at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ Nelson Bustamante at Soccerway
  3. ^ Nelson Bustamante at TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian)
  4. ^ a b c d de Bartolo, Augusto (26 April 2010). "Non solo il Barça, anche il Brescia ha il suo Messi" [Not only Barça, Brescia also has its Messi]. sport.sky.it (in Italian). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Araujo, Adela (13 November 2012). "Nelson Bustamante: De Messi chileno a "Busdiamante"" [Nelson Bustamante: From Chilean Messi to "Busdiamante"]. publimetro.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Salas, Cristian (16 December 2015). "'Messi chileno' volvió al país: "Mi objetivo es llegar a la Roja"" ['Chilean Messi' returned to the country: "My goal is to reach the Red"]. chile.as.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Sulle orme di Messi, Bustamante il suo erede" [In the footsteps of Messi, Bustamante is his heir]. sport.sky.it (in Italian). 26 April 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Us Lecce, Tesoro conferma: "Tutto pronto. Domani la firma"" [Us Lecce, Treasury confirms: "Everything is ready. Signing tomorrow"]. leccesette.it (in Italian). 16 October 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  9. ^ Schira, Nicolò (17 October 2012). "Lecce, Antonio Tesoro a TLP: "Vi svelo i progetti e la struttura della nuova società. Falco e Di Mariano? Ecco il loro futuro"" [Lecce, Antonio Tesoro at TLP: "I'll reveal the projects and the structure of the new company. Falco and Di Mariano? Here is their future"]. tuttoc.com (in Italian). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Il Lecce sa solo vincere, Malcore stende la Nocerina" [Lecce only knows how to win, Malcore extends Nocerina]. trnews.it (in Italian). 19 October 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  11. ^ Bravo, Camilo (13 November 2012). "Chileno de 19 años anota su primer gol en Italia" [19-year-old Chilean scores his first goal in Italy]. 24horas.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Lecce – Road To Entella: Si riparte con una doppia seduta, in quattro lavorano a parte" [Lecce – Road To Entella: It starts again with a double session, four of them work separately]. salentosport.net (in Italian). 28 May 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  13. ^ Sergio, Pierpaolo (14 September 2014). "Nostalgia Bustamante". leccezionale.it (in Italian). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Nelson Bustamante volverá a jugar en el fútbol italiano" [Nelson Bustamante will return to play in Italian football]. chile.as.com (in Spanish). 1 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  15. ^ Maureira, Nicolás (4 July 2017). "Nelson Bustamante, chileno descubierto en programa de TV, fichó en Santiago Morning" [Nelson Bustamante, a Chilean discovered on a TV program, signed up for Santiago Morning]. biobiochile.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Nelson Bustamante permitió la victoria de Santiago Morning ante U. La Calera" [Nelson Bustamante allowed the victory of Santiago Morning against U. La Calera]. opinio.cooperativa.cl (in Spanish). 6 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  17. ^ "El "Messi" chileno cambia de equipo en la Primera B" [The Chilean "Messi" changes teams in Primera B]. primerabchile.cl (in Spanish). 2 February 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  18. ^ Salas, Cristian (29 November 2023). ""¿En qué equipo pienso volver a jugar? En el que me den minutos, aunque me paguen el mínimo"". AS Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  19. ^ Bustos, Daniel (20 June 2024). "Perdona una goleada: la UC derrota a Glorias Navales y avanza en la Copa Chile" [Forgive a thrashing: UC defeats Glorias Navales and advances in the Chile Cup]. latercera.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 October 2024.
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