Gustavo Bou
Gustavo Leonardo Bou ( , ; born 18 February 1990) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer. Bou began his professional career in 2008 at the age of 18 with Diego Simeone's River Plate. Throughout his career, he has played in Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, and most recently in the United States. While playing in Argentina, Bou won the 2007-2008 Toreno Clasura and the 2011-2012 Primera B Nacional with River Plate, and the 2014 Torneo Transición and 2018-2019 Primera División with Racing. He was also the  top goal scorer in the 2015 Copa Libertadores with 8 goals. Bou is often referred to by his nickname "La Pantera" ("The Panther"). He sports a tattoo of a panther on his left arm in honor of the monicker. Though the origins of the nickname are unclear, when asked about its meaning in a 2019 interview with the Revolution, Bou compared his play to that of a panther, saying, "A panther is always ready to pounce on an opportunity... A panther does not leave. It hides." Career. River Plate. Gustavo Bou started his career in the youth ranks of Club  Comunicaciones Concordia. At the age of 14, he tried out for River Plate and joined their reserve team. While playing in the River Plate reserve team, head coach Diego Simeone offered Bou a contract to join the professional team. On March 23, 2008, Bou made his debut for River Plate against Vélez Sarsfield. He entered in the 43rd minute of the match, replacing Mauro Rosales. While Bou was with River Plate, he was called up for the 2007 U-17 World Cup in Korea, but was eventually left out due to a partial tear of a lateral ligament and meniscus. Bou  scored his first goal in a match against Newell's Old Boys on the 12th week of the Torneo Apertura 2008, which ended in a 1–1 draw. He scored again against San Martín de Porres, in the 2009 Copa Libertadores; the match ended in a 3–0 victory. He then scored against Chacarita Juniors in a Clausura 2010 in 3–2 River Plate victory. Bou played sparingly during the 2010/2011 season, a season which saw River Plate relegated to the second division. During the 2011-12 season, Bou played 2 games in the second division as a substitute coming off the bench . In the summer, he scored his fourth goal in River Plate, against Boca Juniors in a friendly match. Olimpo. At the beginning of the 2012–13 Primera B Nacional season, Club Olimpo head coach Walter Perazzo requested to sign Gustavo Bou on loan to reinforce the team. As River Plate head coach, Matias Almeyda did not have Bou in consideration for play, so Bou was loaned to Olimpo. He debuted on 27 August 2012, in week 3 of the tournament against Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy, a game that ended in a 0–0 draw. On week 4, he scored his first  goal in a 4–0 win against Aldosivi where he also gave an assist. After 10 weeks without scoring, Bou scored his first professional brace against Huracán. He additionally added an assist in Olimpo's 3-2 win. In week 11, he recorded a goal and an assist against Banfield in Olimpo's 3-0 win. Bou was named man of the match for his efforts. On week 12, against Nueva Chicago, he scored a goal to finish the game in a 2–1 victory. In the next week, against Instituto, he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 game, putting Olimpo  at the top of the league standings. After a long scoring drought, he managed to score once again in the team's 3–0 win against Sarmiento de Junín. Liga de Quito. Gustavo Bou signed with Liga de Quito on loan from River Plate for the second round of the 2013 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A , scoring his first two goals on 21 July against Barcelona Guayaquil. Gimnasia La Plata. At the beginning of 2014, Gustavo Bou signed with Gimnasia La Plata on a six-month loan from River Plate. At the end of the loan, he became a free  agent. Racing Club. Season 2014. In August 2014, Gustavo Bou signed as a free agent with Racing Club, upon head coach Diego Cocca's request. This was a controversial move, as both Cocca and Bou were represented by the same agent, Christian Bragarnik. He played his first match on 26 August in a 1–0 win against Arsenal de Sarandí, coming off the bench to replace Wason Rentería in the 60th minute. Bou scored his first goal with Racing on 22 September, in week 8 of the tournament, in a 1–1 tie against Newell's Old Boys, assisted by Luciano Aued . On 25 September, Gustavo Bou scored 2 goals in the same match for the second time in his career, against Boca Juniors; the match was suspended due to bad weather while Racing was ahead by 2–1. Bou's first goal was assisted by Diego Milito; the second, by Marcos Acuña. Three days later, on 28 September, he scored a brace once again, against Belgrano at the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium. Racing won 4–1, and Bou's goals were assisted by Marcos Acuña and goalkeeper Sebastián Saja. On 11 October, he scored 2 goals in the same match for the third  time since arriving at Racing, in a 4–0 win against Estudiantes. His second goal was assisted by Gabriel Hauche. The following week, he scored Racing's second goal in a win against Vélez Sarsfield; he dedicated this goal to his recently deceased mother. He scored his ninth goal against Banfield, assisted by Militon after a mistake by Banfield goalkeeper Gaspar Serbio. His tenth goal in Racing was on 15 November against Quilmes. Bou scored off a free-kick, moving Racing into the first in the league standings. He then assisted Diego Milito against Rosario Central for an away victory at  the Gigante de Arroyito stadium. Racing became the champion of the tournament on 14 December, after 13 years without a tournament title, at the Juan Domingo Perón stadium. Bou was the top goalscorer for Racing in the tournament, with 10 goals in 16 matches played. 2015 Season. On 17 January 2015, Bou scored the first hat-trick of his career in Racing Club's 4–1 win against Boca Juniors in the Summer Tournament held in the city of Mar del Plata. Bou won the player of the match for his performance. The first goal came after a long ball from  Luciano Lollo where Diego Milito hint to go look for the missed and enabled Bou to let his hand with Agustín Orion, the second goal came after a cross from Leandro Grimi where he spent the entire area and the ball fell to the feet of Gastón Diaz shooting center lowpass legs "Chiqui" Perez and was ready to bow Gustavo, The fourth goal came after a great play by Brian Fernandez eluded the defender "Chiqui" Perez and goalkeeper "Xeneize" Agustín Orión, I play for the Chaco Nelson Acevedo, the first to play Bou scorer with bow emptied a second time . The 1 February 2015 Bou scored a goal in the Clasico de Avellaneda, the goal comes after that Bou will struggle with defending Independiente Victor Cuesta, play center for your co-pair Diego Milito, Diego hint to four advocates "Devil" and found the space to top Diego Matías Rodríguez you plug the auction and after giving the rebound, lefty Gustavo the nail that left no reaction to Diego Matías Rodríguez and so scored the second goal of the game and was named player of the match for the second time in the summer. 17 February 2015, after the 1–0 against  Rosario Central, he officially debuts in the Libertadores Cup against Deportivo Tachira in visitor status. That game, Bou got his first hat-trick officer. The first victory comes after a wall made with Diego Milito. The second was a definition from outside the area, turning and hammering the ball into the top left corner of the goalkeeper, while the last of its staff after harvest was attended by Milito. He also made 2 assists, the first to Luciano Lollo free-kick and the second with a pass to Milito. All this led to him being named the best player of  the match. On 24 February 2015, Bou scored his second hat-trick against Guarani by Libertadores Cup. The first goal Alfredo Aguilar comes after a long pass Luciano Lollo to Diego Milito that after enduring the ball I play for Gustavo who shot extremely strong, could not contain his shot and the ball He came asking permission thus making 1st goal of the match. His second goal came after a shot of Yonathan Cabral, the defense of Guarani is hindered and the ball was left to Brian Fernández I play the means Bou and put the 3rd goal of the  match. The 4th was a move somewhat similar to the 3rd goal, Washington Camacho eluded three defenders Guarani, play the middle pair and the control Bou to save before replacement specifying the 4–1 final. On 2 March 2015, Bou scored his first goal in the championship, Gaston Bojanich fouled before Luciano Aued and play it to Brian Fernandez who took a couple of meters and play Bou for his own in Federico Crivelli, and topped lowpass legs putting Crivelli 2–0 victory at 2–1 in favor of Racing Club. Against Lanús became his 4th goal of the tournament, Santiago Naguel start  a counterblow, I play to the right to Oscar Romero, this skewer to Bou I hint to the defending "garnet" I hit right, hit the crossbar and went without leaving reaction to Fernando Monetti, giving a 2–0 win. On 14 May, "The Academy" won 2–1 at Montevideo Wanderers with goals from Washington Camacho and Gustavo Bou in the first leg had tied 1–1, the goal of Bou was after habilitation of Ezequiel Videla I control with the left and hooked into the middle to top of the arc at the near post. Racing Club he achieved a historic pass to  the quarterfinals of Libertadores Cup after 18 years. On May 24, Racing Club would have to play the big derby against Independiente during the Championship Primera Division with Bou as a starter. Racing won the match 1–0. Bou scored his first penalty kick in a Racing Club match against Velez Sarsfield on June 7, reaching 23 goals with the team. Bou was also voted man of the match. On 7 August, in San Juan, Bou scored his first goal in the Copa Argentina against Tigre in a 2–1 victory for Racing. The goal originated after a good run by Washington  Camacho where Bou only had to push the ball past the goalkeeper. Bou scored again against Union de Santa Fe in a 2–1 victory for his side. On Sunday, September 6, he scored his 7th goal of the tournament against Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata, where he took advantage of a mistake and scored the opener against his former team in a 2-0 victory. Bou scored his second goal in 2015 Copa Argentina against San Lorenzo de Almagro in a 2-1 victory. The goal took Racing to the cup's semi-finals. Bou scored a penalty kick  against Boca Juniors to give the victory to the Academy. This was a special goal since his mother had died. During the Pre-Libertadores playoff, Bou scored the first goal against Independente and broke a 14-year losing streak against their Avellaneda derby rivals, with their last prior victory taking place in the 2001 Copa Libertadores in a 1–3 victory for Racing. 2016 Season. Before the 2016 season, Racing rejected an $8 million bid from Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan for Bou's services. Bou voiced his frustration with Racing president Víctor Blanco for rejecting the offer, stating  that Blanco had broken a pact he held with the player. Earlier in the summer, Bou had refused to practice with the club after Blanco rejected a $5 million offer from Borussia Mönchengladbach. Bou reached an agreement with Racing that if a fee of $8 was presented, he would be free to leave. Blanco would clarify that the $8 million figure was an after-tax amount and that Racing would therefore need an offer in the $10 million range, but Bou saw things differently. In an interview with "Radio La Red" Bou stated that he was  being offered over $1 million from Beijing Guoan, and that Racing would not match that salary. Bou said his relationship with Blanco was finished, but that he would continue to give his best to Racing: I will continue giving my best for Racing. "I want people to know the truth but I will recover and leave everything on the pitch.” In 2016, Bou scored his first goal of the year against Mexico's Puebla FC for the 2016 Copa Libertadores, after an excellent assist from Marcos Acuña, his goal being the second in a 2–2 draw. For the second  leg, he returned to convert after an oversight by the Puebla defense, qualifying Racing for the Group Stage. In his 100th match in official matches of local Argentine tournaments, Bou scored against Atlético Tucumán in a 2-1 defeat as a visitor. Against San Martín de San Juan, he scored his second goal in the championship. Against Atlético Rafaela, Bou scored his fourth goal in the tournament. Bou would then be out for most of the season due to injuries and conflicts with the president of Racing Víctor Blanco. 2016 - 2017 Season. After the departure of Ricardo Zielinski from the  technical direction, the Racing Club brought in a technician who knew how to squeeze and take advantage of his scoring quota, Diego Cocca, this being an influence for him to stay and leave the differences with Víctor Blanco, signing a new contract until 2020. After several months of the preseason due to economic disputes in the Argentine Football Association, Bou begins the year splendidly against an alternative Lanús with one goal and two assists for the 3–0 win. After a loss to Belgrano, he converted the goal of the agonizing victory against Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba by 2-1 turning  the match in the last 5 minutes. The following week they have a brilliant match against Quilmes, in which Racing in the second half turns a 0–2 against with one less player. Gustavo Bou converts a goal from a free-kick, assists, and starts the play of the third for the youth Pablo Cuadra to make his debut in the networks in the 85th minute. In the resumption of the match against Tigre, which had been suspended at 23 minutes into the first half (1-1), Bou scores a double. The first comes after a pass from Lautaro Martínez Bou  defines against Nelson Ibáñez. The second converts it by taking it from a penalty, a penalty that Lima committed to the youthful Pablo Cuadra who passed three Tigre players. The Mini-match ends 3-0 for Racing who won the match 4–1. At La Academia he became one of the club's greatest idols in recent years. Tijuana de Mexico (2017-2018). On June 26, 2017, Bou joined Liga MX side Tijuana, who were looking for replacements for Milton Caraglio and Avilés Hurtado. On his decision to join Xolos, Bou stated “I made my decision after the coaching staff called  and made it clear it wanted to bring me here and the effort the front office made to get me here. I really value that.” According to various Argentine media sources, Tijuana paid roughly $7 million for Bou's transfer. During his time in Mexico he played 36 games scoring 10 goals and giving 6 assists, being one of the pillars of the team despite his injuries. Second stint at Racing Club. Season 2018. In 2018, Racing Club brought Bou in on loan to replace Lautaro Martínez, who had just joined Inter Milan. Bou arrives on a loan for  one year for 2 million dollars to the club that marked his explosion as a footballer in his career, to replace the young scorer. His first game was played against his former team, River Plate, for the 2018 Copa Libertadores, in a 0–0 draw. His first goal on his return to La Academia was against Atlético Tucumán, after an excellent pass from him that left Augusto Solari alone, he hooked before the departure of defender Gabriel Risso Patrón and touched the middle where Bou had to push it against an empty bow, since the Dean goalkeeper, Cristian Lucchetti was badly  stopped in that action. On date 3 of the Argentine Super League, he assists Pablo Cuadra to establish the 3–0 in favor of Racing against Patronato de Parana. A date later, he returned to assist Augusto Solari, to score 2–0 against Rosario Central, after entering 5 minutes earlier. Against San Lorenzo de Almagro he assisted his partner, Lisandro López, by chance, after going to pressure the rival defender and before his rejection the ball bounced off Bou to assist him. On 31 March 2019, he was crowned champion with Racing Club (second title with the institution), even though he was  no longer in the club, although he was considered a participant in the title. In the 2018/2019 championship he scored only 1 goal (Against Atlético Tucumán in a 2–2 draw) and gave 3 assists (to Pablo Cuadra against Patronato de Paraná 3–0 victory, Augusto Solari against Rosario Central 2–0 victory and Lisandro López in the victory with San Lorenzo de Almagro 2-1). Return to Tijuana. In 2019, Gustavo decided to terminate his contract at Racing to the surprise of his fans and return to Mexico due to lack of continuity and poor football performance showed. In his first game , he scored again after 2 months. In that 2019 season, he played 19 games where he had 11 goals, on the other hand, in the general total of the club he had 55 games with 21 goals, his personal account in Mexico. New England Revolution. On 10 July 2019, Bou signed as a designated player with the New England Revolution for a club-record transfer fee, reportedly in the $6–7 million range. The Boston Globe reported that the deal included $12 million in transfer fees and guaranteed compensation; and could rise to "exceed $16 million" with bonuses  and options. In his debut game, Bou contributed an impressive volley in a 4–0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. On 27 July 2019, Bou scored his second New England Revolution goal. After a one-two pass with Cristian Penilla, he found the back of the net and scored in a 4–1 victory over Orlando City SC. Bou concluded the 2019 season with 9 goals and 2 assists in 14 appearances. He added 5 more goals and 3 assists in 14 appearances in 2020. On 20 November 2020, Bou scored his first playoff goal for the New England Revolution with a  game-winning strike in the 95th minute to win 2-1 in the 2020 Eastern Conference Playoff Play-In Round at Gillette Stadium against the Montreal Impact. Bou continued his playoff scoring 8 days later, notching a brace in the Eastern Conference Semi-Final against Orlando City SC. Bou scored New England's game-winning second goal, and their third goal, in their 3-1 win. Bou paid tribute to Diego Maradona after his second goal, laying an Argentine flag on the ground, pointing towards the sky, and kissing the flag. Honours. River Plate Racing Club New England Revolution Individual