| Miguel Brizuela | |
| Fullname: | Miguel Marcelo Brizuela |
| Birth Date: | 5 January 1997 |
| Birth Place: | Moreno, Argentina[1] |
| Height: | 1.81 m[2] |
| Position: | Centre-back |
| Currentclub: | Instituto (on loan from Vélez Sarsfield) |
| Clubnumber: | 33 |
| Youthclubs1: | River Plate |
| Youthyears2: | 2011–2019 |
| Youthclubs2: | Vélez Sarsfield |
| Years1: | 2019– |
| Clubs1: | Vélez Sarsfield |
| Caps1: | 74 |
| Goals1: | 3 |
| Years2: | 2024– |
| Clubs2: | → Instituto (loan) |
| Caps2: | 11 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 20:18, 24 April 2024 (UTC) |
Miguel Marcelo Brizuela (born 5 January 1997) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Instituto, on loan from Vélez Sarsfield.[3]
Brizuela had a short stint with River Plate, prior to penning terms with Vélez Sarsfield's ranks.[1] [4] He is a product of the latter's academy, with their former youth captain making a first-team breakthrough in mid-2019 under manager Gabriel Heinze.[1] [5] [6] His professional debut arrived on 28 July 2019, as the centre-back was selected to start a Primera División fixture away to Talleres; he played fifty-nine minutes, before being subbed off for Pablo Galdames in an eventual 1–0 loss at the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes.[3] [7] Brizuela scored his first goal on 3 January 2021 against Newell's Old Boys in the Copa de la Liga Profesional.[3]
On 9 February 2021, Brizuela was charged - along with Vélez teammate Thiago Almada - with the rape of a 28-year-old woman; which allegedly occurred at a party on 3 December 2020, which was hosted by teammate Juan Martín Lucero to celebrate Vélez advancing in the Copa Sudamericana.[8] Juan José Acosta Delbene, a former manager of Defensa y Justicia's reserves and Argentino, was initially the only person charged.[8] However, in early February, prosecutor Laura Zyseskind charged initial witnesses Brizuela and Almada; while Delbene was on the run.[9] It is claimed that those two, plus Delbene and an unnamed woman, were involved.[8] Two other women, who were later apprehended, reportedly stole items from the victim.[8]
In response to the charging of Brizuela and Almada, Vélez Sarsfield announced on 9 February that both players had been removed from the first-team until the case was concluded.[10] However, the two players were reincorporated into the senior set-up on 16 February after the club claimed to have received new evidence and further information on the case - though the victim's lawyer, Raquel Hermida Leyenda, stated that nothing had changed in the intervening period.[11] [12] Brizuela played and scored a day later against Deportivo Camioneros in the Copa Argentina.[13]
.[3]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Vélez Sarsfield | 2019–20 | Primera División | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[14] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | |||
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | |||