Rafael Santos Borré Explained

Rafael Santos Borré
Full Name:Rafael Santos Borré Maury
Birth Date:15 September 1995
Birth Place:Barranquilla, Colombia
Height:1.74 m[1]
Position:Forward
Currentclub:Internacional
Clubnumber:19
Years1:2013–2015
Clubs1:Deportivo Cali
Caps1:26
Goals1:14
Years2:2015–2017
Clubs2:Atlético Madrid
Caps2:0
Goals2:0
Years3:2015–2016
Clubs3:Deportivo Cali (loan)
Caps3:20
Goals3:6
Years4:2016–2017
Clubs4:Villarreal (loan)
Caps4:17
Goals4:2
Years5:2017–2021
Clubs5:River Plate
Caps5:83
Goals5:32
Years6:2021–2024
Clubs6:Eintracht Frankfurt
Caps6:63
Goals6:10
Years7:2023–2024
Clubs7:Werder Bremen (loan)
Caps7:19
Goals7:4
Years8:2024–
Clubs8:Internacional
Caps8:5
Goals8:1
Nationalyears1:2014–2015
Nationalteam1:Colombia U20
Nationalcaps1:15
Nationalgoals1:4
Nationalyears2:2016
Nationalteam2:Colombia Olympic
Nationalcaps2:1
Nationalgoals2:0
Nationalyears3:2019–
Nationalteam3:Colombia
Nationalcaps3:37
Nationalgoals3:6
Club-Update:16 June 2024
Nationalteam-Update:14 July 2024

Rafael Santos Borré Maury (born 15 September 1995) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Internacional and the Colombia national team.

Succeeding his early career with Deportivo Cali, Borré signed with Spanish club Atlético Madrid in 2015, where he was loaned back to Cali until 2016; that same year, Borré was loaned out to La Liga counterpart Villarreal CF. In 2017, Borré joined Argentine giant River Plate and won several titles during his time with the club,including the 2018 Copa Libertadores and the 2019 Recopa Sudamericana. Before his departure from the club, Borré consolidated himself as River Plate's top scorer of the renowned Marcelo Gallardo era with 55 goals. He returned to European football in 2021, signing for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt. He helped the side conquer their second Europa League title in 2022, also scoring Eintracht's equalizer and winning penalty (5–4) in the final against Rangers; for his contributions, Borré was named in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League Team of the Year.

At youth level, Borré represented Colombia at the South American U-20 Championship and the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2015. He made his senior debut in 2019 and has since collected over ten caps; Borré was part of the Colombia squad that finished third at the 2021 Copa América.

Club career

Deportivo Cali

Borré began his career with Deportivo Cali, and earned himself a name as a prolific goalscorer, which garnered the attention of some of Europe's biggest clubs. In August 2015, Borré was seen in the training grounds of Atlético Madrid. He signed for them on 28 August 2015, penning a six-year deal. However, he went back on loan to Deportivo Cali.[2] On 25 March 2016, Borré suffered an injury. He did not play until 1 May, coming on as a 64-minute substitute for Andrés Felipe Roa in a 3–2 win against Alianza Petrolera.[3] Borré played his next match on 15 May against Jaguares de Córdoba. There he scored his team's second goal in a 3–2 win.

Loan to Villarreal

On 13 August 2016, Borré joined Spanish club Villarreal on loan from Atlético Madrid.[4] On 23 February 2017, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win over Roma in the Europa League round of 32. Despite winning the match, Villarreal still lost the series by a 4–1 aggregate. On 1 March, he scored a brace in a 4–1 win over Osasuna, scoring twice in under 5 minutes.

River Plate

On 7 August 2017, Borré joined River Plate.[5] On 23 November 2019, he scored River Plate's only goal in a 2–1 defeat to Flamengo in the Copa Libertadores final.

For the 2020 Argentine season, Borré was the league's top scorer with 12 goals in 20 league matches and has cemented himself as a star for Gallardo due to his goalscoring and work rate. In April 2021, Borre scored a poker, scoring four goals in one match in the league. He is the maximum goal scorer in the legendary Gallardo era with 54 goals and 20 assists as of 18 April.

On 1 July 2021, Santos Borré became a free agent.[6]

Eintracht Frankfurt

On 5 July 2021, Santos Borré joined German club Eintracht Frankfurt.[7] On 5 May 2022, he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win over West Ham United in the second leg of the semi-finals of the Europa League, which helped his club to reach the final.[8] In the final, Borré scored Eintracht's equalizer against Rangers, and the winning penalty (5–4) to win the competition for his team.[9]

Loan to Werder Bremen

On 1 September 2023, the last day of the 2023 summer transfer window, Santos Borré joined Frankfurt's league rivals Werder Bremen on loan for the 2023–24 season.[10]

Internacional

On 17 January 2024, Brazilian Série A club Internacional announced that an agreement had been reached with Eintracht Frankfurt for the signing of Santos Borré on a contract until December 2028. The date in which the transfer would happen was not specified, but revealed to be prior to 10 July 2024.[11] [12] The transfer fee involved was reported to be around €5.5 million.[13]

International career

Youth

Borré had his first stint in international football with Colombia's U-20 team which participated at the 2014 Toulon Tournament, where he scored a goal against Qatar during Colombia's third group-stage match which ended in a 1–1 draw.[14] [15] Finally, Colombia were eliminated after finishing fourth in their group with Borré appearing in the entirety of Colombia's matches.[16]

Borré was called up to Colombia's under-20 team to take part in the 2015 South American Youth Championship, where he scored two goals during the initial stage against Chile and Peru, respectively.[17] [18] Colombia finished as the tournament's runner-up, thus earning a spot at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.[19]

At the U-20 World Cup, Borré managed to score a goal during Colombia's final group-stage match against Portugal; Colombia was eliminated in the round of 16 after losing 1–0 to the United States.[20] [21]

In March 2016, Borré was called up to Colombia's Olympic team to dispute the first-leg of the CONMEBOL–CONCACAF play-off against the United States for a spot at the 2016 Summer Olympics; Borré was substituted on in the 61st minute with the game ending 1–1 in Barranquilla.[22] Despite Borré not being included in the second leg, Colombia secured qualification after winning 3–2 on aggregate.[23]

Senior

On 20 March 2015, Borré received his first call-up to Colombia's senior team by coach José Pékerman for friendlies against Bahrain and Kuwait.[24] However, he was an unused substitute in both matches.[25]

He made his Colombia debut on 6 September 2019 in a friendly against Brazil, when he substituted Duván Zapata in the 83rd minute.[26]

On 10 June 2021, Borré was named in Colombia manager Reinaldo Rueda's list for the 2021 Copa América.[27] In total, Borré appeared in five matches as his country secured a third-place finish.[28]

On 5 June 2022, Borré scored his first goal for Colombia during a 1–0 friendly win over Saudi Arabia.[29] He netted another goal for his country on 24 September, Colombia's third in a 4–1 triumph against Guatemala.[30]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Deportivo Cali2013Categoría Primera A200020
2014Categoría Primera A73610000134
2015Categoría Primera A1711552216
Total261411600003720
Atlético Madrid2015–16La Liga
Deportivo Cali (loan)2015Categoría Primera A900090
2016Categoría Primera A116003020166
Total206003020256
Villarreal (loan)2016–17La Liga1724092304
River Plate2017–18Argentine Primera División236626000358
2018–19Argentine Primera División19463113844414
2019–20Argentine Primera División20125174003217
2020–21Argentine Primera División820010600188
2021Argentine Primera División138204011209
Total833219638139514956
Eintracht Frankfurt2021–22[31] Bundesliga318101344512
2022–23Bundesliga322618010473
Total631071214109215
Werder Bremen (loan)2023–24Bundesliga19400194
Internacional2024Série A00100010
Career total2286842137119125353105

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Colombia201920
2021120
202262
2023103
202470
Total375

Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Rafael Santos Borré
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1 5 June 2022 Estadio Enrique Roca de Murcia, Murcia, Spain 1–0 1–0 Friendly
2 24 September 2022 Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States 3–0 4–1
3 28 March 2023 Yodoko Sakura Stadium, Osaka, Japan 2–1 2–1 2023 Kirin Challenge Cup
4 7 September 2023 Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia 1–0 1–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 21 November 2023 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay 1–0 1–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 8 June 2024 Commanders Field, Landover, United States 2–0 5–1 Friendly

Honours

Deportivo Cali

River Plate

Eintracht Frankfurt

Individual

2018[32]

2018

2019–20

2020

2020[33]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rafael Borré . 3 August 2022 . Eintracht Frankfurt.
  2. Web site: El Atleti hace oficial el fichaje del colombiano Santos Borré.. AS. es. 28 August 2015.
  3. Web site: Rafael Santos Borré es baja para Deportivo Cali entre tres y cuatro semanas - Deportes - El País. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160530204201/http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/deportes/noticias/rafael-santos-borre-seria-baja-para-cali-por-resto-copa-libertadores. 2016-05-30.
  4. Web site: Santos Borre se va cedido al Villarreal. Mundo Deportivo. es. 13 August 2016.
  5. Web site: El Atlético anuncia el traspaso de Santos Borré al River Plate. Atlético announces the transfer of Santos Borré to River Plate. es. 7 August 2017. 7 August 2017.
  6. Web site: Por qué se queda libre Rafael Santos Borré.. Clarín. es. 30 June 2021. 2 July 2021.
  7. Web site: Borré joins the Eagles.. Eintracht Frankfurt. 5 July 2021.
  8. Web site: De la mano de Borré, Eintracht Frankfurt regresa a una final europea . caracol.com.co . Spanish . 5 May 2022 .
  9. Web site: Borré schießt die Eintracht auf den Thron der Europa League . kicker.de . de . 19 May 2022 .
  10. News: Werders Füllkrug-Nachfolger: Frankfurts Borré wechselt nach Bremen . Werder's Füllkrug successor: Frankfurt's Borré moves to Bremen . 2 September 2023 . buten un binnen . 2 September 2023 . German.
  11. Web site: 17 January 2024 . Señoras y Señores: Rafael Borré é do Inter . Ladies and gentlemen: Rafael Borré is an Inter player . 17 January 2024 . Sport Club Internacional . pt-BR.
  12. Web site: 17 January 2024 . Rafael Borré wechselt nach Brasilien . Rafael Borré is moving to Brazil . 17 January 2024 . Eintracht Frankfurt . de.
  13. News: 17 January 2024 . Oficial: Rafael Santos Borré no Internacional . Official: Rafael Santos Borré to Internacional . 17 January 2024 . . pt.
  14. Web site: Última Selección Colombia que participó en el Esperanzas de Toulon .
  15. Web site: Colombia empata contra Qatar 1-1 en Toulon .
  16. Web site: Toulon 2014: Colombia, sin chance de avanzar a la final – Federación colombiana de fútbol .
  17. Web site: Chile vs. Colombia: Gol de Rafael Borre en el Sudamericano Sub 20 | FUTBOL . 19 January 2015 .
  18. Web site: Sudamericano Sub 20:Colombia vence a Perú 3-1 y toma impulso - CONMEBOL . 2 February 2015 .
  19. Web site: A pesar de empate Colombia clasifica al Mundial Sub-20 de Nueva Zelanda . 4 February 2015 .
  20. Web site: Colombia U20 vs. Portugal U20 - Football Match Summary - June 5, 2015 - ESPN .
  21. Web site: U.S. U-20s showed potential, growth in beating Colombia to reach WC quarters. Liviu. Bird. 10 June 2015. Sports Illustrated. 27 May 2023.
  22. Web site: US ties Colombia 1-1 on Gil goal in Olympic playoff 1st leg . .
  23. Web site: USA U-23s shrink from moment vs. stronger Colombia. Liviu. Bird. 30 March 2016. Sports Illustrated. 27 May 2023.
  24. Web site: Falcao y Bacca convocados para los amistosos de Colombia con Bahrein y Kuwait .
  25. Web site: Colombia football roster declared for Bahrain, Kuwait matches. sportsmirchi.com . 21 March 2015 . 11 July 2016.
  26. Web site: ESPN. Brazil v Colombia game report. 6 September 2019.
  27. Web site: Convocatoria Selección Colombia Masculina de Mayores para CONMEBOL Copa América 2021 – Federación colombiana de fútbol .
  28. Web site: Colombia beat Peru 3-2 in the third-place match at Copa America . 10 July 2021 .
  29. Web site: Borre, Sanchez lead Colombia squad for Saudi Arabia friendly-Xinhua .
  30. Web site: Colombia 4-1 Guatemala - International Friendlies International Friendly - Football .
  31. Web site: Rafael Santos Borré. Soccerway. 9 January 2023.
  32. Web site: Bale, Caio and Borre sweep awards . 2023-07-28 . www.fifa.com . en.
  33. Web site: Campeão, Palmeiras domina seleção da Libertadores com seis jogadores; Santos tem três. Champion, Palmeiras dominate the Best XI of the Libertadores with six players; Santos have three. GloboEsporte.com. pt-BR. 1 February 2021. 3 February 2021.
  34. News: 2021/22 UEFA Europa League Team of the Season. UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 20 May 2022 . 20 May 2022.