Mauricio Saucedo Guardia (born August 14, 1985, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra) is a retired Bolivian football midfielder. He was also a member of the Bolivia national team.

Mauricio Saucedo
Personal information
Full name Mauricio Saucedo Guardia
Date of birth (1985-08-14) August 14, 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, Second striker
Youth career
Tahuichi Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003 Bolívar 0 (0)
2003 Iberoamericana 12 (1)
2004 La Paz 9 (0)
2005–2008 San José 82 (17)
2009 Universitario de Sucre 31 (4)
2010 Chornomorets Odesa 13 (3)
2010–2011 Oriente Petrolero 34 (16)
2011 Vitória 1 (0)
2012 Bragantino 4 (0)
2012–2013 The Strongest 24 (1)
2013–2015 Universitario de Sucre 68 (24)
2015–2016 Oriente Petrolero 23 (2)
2016 Wilstermann 15 (1)
2017 Blooming 19 (1)
2018 Sport Boys 3 (0)
2020 Real Santa Cruz 9 (2)
International career
2008–2012 Bolivia 17 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Saucedo developed his skills at Tahuichi Academy. In 2003, at age 18 he reached professional football when he signed for Bolívar, although he made his official debut in the Bolivian league with Iberoamericana later that year. In 2004, he joined La Paz F.C. but his appearances were sporadic, mainly coming off the bench.

The following year he transferred to San José, and his career finally began to sprout. In short time, Saucedo became one of the most valuable young prospects in the country and helped the club in obtaining the 2007 Clausura title.

In January 2009, he was signed by Universitario de Sucre along with other important players to fortify the squad before facing Copa Libertadores.

In February 2010, he travelled to Ukraine and signed for first division club FC Chornomorets Odesa. By August of that year, Saucedo returned to Bolivia and joined hometown club Oriente Petrolero. During his spell at the club he won the 2010 Clausura.

In July 2011, he was signed by Portuguese club Vitória S.C. After making only one appearance since the beginning of the season, he criticized manager Rui Vitória for not giving him enough playing time which led to the club releasing the player on the December 16, 2011.[1]

He was signed by Brazilian club Bragantino on January 5, 2012.[2] Following an unsuccessful stint Saucedo found himself signing for The Strongest in May of that year.[3] After a season with the atigrados, Saucedo moved to Universitario de Sucre for the second time in his career and helped the club obtain the 2014 Clausura.[4] On June 18, 2015, Saucedo returned to Oriente Petrolero with the illusion of winning another championship for the refineros.[5]

Retirement and later career

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In January 2020, Saucedo signed for Real Santa Cruz.[6][7] However, an injury forced him to retire from football.[8]

In May 2021, Saucedo switched from football to politics when he was appointed Minister of Sports of the municipality of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.[8]

Club titles

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Season Club Title
2007 (C) San José Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano
2010 (C) Oriente Petrolero Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano
2014 (C) Universitario de Sucre Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano

References

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  1. ^ "Rescisão para Saucedo" [Saucedo is released]. A Bola (in Portuguese). abola.pt. December 16, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  2. ^ Edinho Campos (January 5, 2012). "Bragantino apresenta contratação internacional para a temporada 2012" [Bragantino sign international player for the 2012 season]. Clube Atlético Bragantino (in Portuguese). bragantino.net. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  3. ^ "Saucedo, el nuevo Tigre, quiere jugar al lado de Escobar" (in Spanish). la-razon.com. May 28, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  4. ^ "Universitario y un solo grito: Campeón....!!!" (in Spanish). eldia.com.bo. May 26, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  5. ^ "Saucedo quiere volver a triunfar en Oriente" (in Spanish). eldeber.com.bo. June 18, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  6. ^ Real Santa Cruz tiene listo su estadio para la inspección, elpais.bo, 16 January 2020
  7. ^ Mauricio Saucedo y Marcelo Velasco estuvieron en Vive, Sueña y Comparte con FutbolConnect, futbolconnectbol.blogspot.com, 20 August 2020
  8. ^ a b Jhonny ficha a Saucedo como director de deportes, eldeber.com.bo, 2 May 2021
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