Carlos Bacca

Carlos Arturo Bacca Ahumada (born 8 September 1986) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Categoría Primera A club Atlético Junior.

Bacca began his professional career with Atlético Junior in 2006, where he did not have many chances to play.

While playing football, Bacca had a second job working as a bus driver's assistant, to earn more money since his family came from a poor background.

On loan at Barranquilla FC in 2007, Bacca made 27 appearances and scored 12 goals.

After that, he joined Venezuelan club Minervén on loan for a season.

Bacca led the club into second place in the league, scoring 12 goals in 29 games.

In 2008, Bacca rejoined Barranquilla on loan once again and was the league top scorer with 14 goals in 19 games.

In his first professional season at Junior, Bacca quickly earned himself a regular first team place and was the top scorer in the 2009 Copa Colombia.

Bacca began his career at Atlético Junior, where he was top scorer in the 2010 Categoría Primera A Apertura.

One year later, in 2010, he became the winner and top goalscorer of the Categoría Primera A, repeating in 2011 as winner and top goalscorer giving Junior their sixth and seventh Colombian titles.

Since making a breakthrough at Atlético Junior, Bacca had attracted clubs' interest, mostly from Europe.

Many clubs in Europe like Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow and Chievo came close to Bacca's signature, but those moves were never completed.

Bacca revealed that he nearly joined Lokomotiv, but his hopes of moving to Russia ended after the club instead signed Ecuadorian striker Felipe Caicedo.

In January 2012, he moved to Club Brugge, where he was the Belgian Pro League's top scorer in his only full season before joining Sevilla for €7 million.

An international for Colombia from 2012 to 2018, Bacca represented the country at the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups, the 2015 Copa América, and the Copa América Centenario, in which they finished third.

He is renowned for his pace, aggression, eye for goal, and determination as a forward.

Bacca was born in Puerto Colombia, a coastal town within the Barranquilla metropolitan area, to Gilberto Bacca and Eloisa Ahumada.

Bacca is known to be an extremely religious person of the Evangelical Christian faith, frequently thanking God in interviews, and despite his denomination it was at one time rumored that he wanted to join Italian club Roma so that he would be close to the Pope.

During the beginning of 2012, Bacca signed for Belgian side Club Brugge, putting pen to paper on a three-year contract worth €1.5 million for his services.

He stated that joining Club Brugge fulfilled his dream to play in Europe.

He made his debut on 21 January 2012, coming on as a substitute for Lior Refaelov in the 68th minute, as Brugge lost 1–0 against Mechelen.

In his first three months at Brugge, Bacca struggled to make a breakthrough in the first team, but in the playoffs, he earned his place in the first team.

On 15 April 2012, Bacca scored his first league goal for the club against Gent, which gave Brugge the 1–0 win.

Then in the last game of the season, Bacca scored twice, in a 3–2 win over Kortrijk, as Brugge finished in second place to earn a European spot.

At the start of the 2012–13 season, Bacca started to play more regularly after the departure of Joseph Akpala and earned the trust of new manager Georges Leekens.

At the end of the 2012–13 season, Bacca finished as the league's top scorer.

This led to him being nominated for the Player of the Year in Belgium.

Six days later, Bacca won the award in Belgium and wrote on Twitter saying, "Thanks to my family, friends, family and Club Brugge especially throughout Colombia, this award is for you, thanks for your support."

In his Brugge career, he scored 28 goals in 45 league appearances.

In January 2013, having scored 18 goals to date, Bacca asked for a transfer after announcing his intention to leave Brugge.

This in response to several clubs throughout Europe expressing an interest in Bacca.

On 9 July 2013, Spanish club Sevilla signed Bacca for €7 million on a five-year contract with a €30 million buy-out release clause.

In the Copa EuroAmericana, Bacca scored his first Sevilla goal in a 3–1 win over Barcelona SC on 26 July.

He scored his first competitive goal for the club on 1 August in a 3–0 home win over Mladost Podgorica for the third qualifying round of the 2013–14 Europa League.

His La Liga debut came on 18 August in a 1–3 home loss to Atlético Madrid.

On 25 September, he scored his first two league goals against Rayo Vallecano in a 4–1 victory.

On 26 March 2014, Bacca netted two goals in a 2–1 Sevilla victory against the then league leaders Real Madrid at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium.

He won the UEFA Europa League in both of his first two seasons with the club, scoring twice in the 2015 final.

In the summer of 2015, he joined Serie A side AC Milan for €30 million.

However, in an unexpected turn of events two weeks later, Bacca signed a new contract that would have kept him at the club until 2016.