Most at home along the left flank, Jean Beausejour has strength and power in abundance and is a real ace in the pack for the Chilean team. Born of Mapuche and Haitian parents, he can feature in midfield or on the left side of attack in Marcelo Bielsa’s formation, and he regularly gets into goalscoring positions in either of the two roles.

A relaxed character and popular with the fans, ‘Bose’ never represented his country at youth level, but this gave him the time to arrive on the big stage with a decided bang. He learned his trade in the youth ranks at Universidad Catolica, making his professional debut in 2002, catching the eye not just through his ability to take people on, but also for his speed and power.

After spending time at Universidad de Concepcion, where he remained until 2003, he went abroad to Servette of Switzerland and then on to Gremio of Brazil, where he honed his skills. Having not had much luck on his travels overseas, he went back home to Chile. He enjoyed his best campaigns at Cobreloa and O’Higgins, which earned him a move to Club America of Mexico and a call-up from Bielsa to La Roja, where he is a permanent fixture in the squad.

He was on target just once in 2010 FIFA World Cup™ qualifying, a pinpoint header from a Matias Fernandez pass against Bolivia in Santiago, and that goal helped to earn the support of the demanding Chilean fans. “We can't always play at the tempo that people want us to”, he stated on that occasion, perhaps trying to lighten the load of the weight of expectation.