Jean Beausejour

Jean André Emanuel Beausejour Coliqueo (born 1 June 1984) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a left-sided wing-back.

He played in Chile, Switzerland, Brazil, Belgium, Mexico and England, where he won the League Cup with Birmingham City and the FA Cup with Wigan Athletic.

In the 2000s, he had a brief spell in the career of kinesiology at the University of the Americas, where he studied thanks to a scholarship.

Nevertheless, he didn't finish that bachelor of Arts degree.

Because of his dark skin, he was nicknamed "Palmatoria" after a black character from Barrabases (a football-themed children's comic); despite reports that he hated the name, he says it did not bother him, and that being black caused him fewer problems than did the indigenous Mapuche heritage with which he closely identifies.

Beausejour is married to Karina Ugarte.

, the couple had two children, Joaquín and Luciano.

Joaquín has played football in the junior ranks of Universidad Católica, the club where his father completed his youth development.

In the radio program Los Tenores (The Tenors) from ADN Radio, Jean stated that Keven Beausejour, a Canadian boxer who competed at the 2023 Pan American Games, is his cousin, son of his Haitian aunt Evianne.

However, Keven stated not knowing Jean, revealing it was a joke.

As a 10-year-old, Beausejour attended a public trial with the local senior club, Universidad de Chile, and was one of four boys chosen to go through further selection procedures to join the club's youth system.

At 14, he was released.

After a trial with city rivals Universidad Católica, he was accepted into their youth system where he continued his football development.

He began his professional career at Universidad Católica.

In 2002, he debuted after being loaned to Universidad de Concepción where he had an impressive season alongside Jorge Valdivia.

Beausejour made his debut for the Chile national team in 2004 and his 100th appearance for his country in 2018.

In June 2004, he joined Swiss club Servette, reuniting with Valdivia to play in the UEFA Cup.

He scored once from 11 appearances in the Swiss Super League before the club went bankrupt in February 2005 and it lost its licence to compete at that level.

His goal, Servette's third in a 4–1 win away to Schaffhausen, proved costly to the player who supplied the cross, Paulo Diogo, who leapt onto the perimeter fence in celebration, caught his wedding ring in the metalwork, and when he jumped down, much of his finger was torn away along with the ring.

The finger had to be amputated.

In July 2005, Beausejour signed a short-term deal with Brazilian club Grêmio, where he helped the team to win the Série B title.

He joined KAA Gent of Belgium in January 2006 on an 18-month contract, but made no appearances and returned to Chile after a year where he signed for Cobreloa.

In January 2008, Beausejour joined O'Higgins where he was used as left winger by Jorge Sampaoli and re-gained status after impressing once again.

His performances led him to the Chile national team coached by Marcelo Bielsa who usually used him in the same position.

On 1 December 2008, it was reported that Beausejour completed a three-and-half year deal with Mexican club América.

He made his debut on 4 January 2009 during a 1–1 draw with rivals Guadalajara, scoring the opening goal.

In 2010, the local council declared him an Hijo Ilustre, 'honoured son', of the community, and six years later a new sports centre was named after him.

Following a one-and-half year spell with the México DF–based side and his FIFA World Cup participation, he signed a three-year contract with Premier League side Birmingham City for an undisclosed fee in August 2010.

After 18 months with the Mexico City-based club followed by a "tremendous" World Cup, Beausejour signed a three-year contract with Premier League club Birmingham City for an undisclosed fee in August 2010.

Manager Alex McLeish stated that Beausejour was a player that had been on their "list of targets for a long time because he is strong and quick with the ability to beat his man and get crosses in."

He was a second-half substitute as Birmingham won the 2011 League Cup, beating favourites Arsenal 2–1 at Wembley Stadium, thus earning qualification for the Europa League.

He was a member of the Copa América-winning squads in 2015 and 2016, and is the only Chilean to score in two consecutive World Cups (2010 and 2014).

Beausejour was born in Santiago.

His father, Jean Coty Beausejour, was a Haitian graduate student of African descent who went on to work for the United Nations, and his mother, Viviana Coliqueo Collipay, is a Chilean of Mapuche ethnicity whose father, Andres, had migrated to the city to find work.

Beausejour's parents separated when he was very young, and he was raised by his mother and her parents; he regards his grandfather as his father-figure.

The family lived in Villa Carmelitas, in the Estación Central commune of Santiago, where Beausejour was educated at Escuela Profesor Ramón del Río, Colegio Holanda and Liceo Guillermo Feliú Cruz.

His debut was delayed while he awaited a working visa, but he made his first appearance on 18 September as a late substitute, replacing Alexander Hleb in the 83rd minute as Birmingham lost 3–1 at West Bromwich Albion.

He made more impact on his first start, setting up goals for Hleb and Nikola Žigić in the 3–1 League Cup victory over MK Dons.

Described by the Sunday Mirror as "at the heart of everything good about Birmingham" in the FA Cup third round against Millwall, Beausejour provided the assist for the opening goal and "crashed a 20-yard strike off the bar".

He scored his first goal for the club six minutes into the FA Cup fifth-round defeat of Sheffield Wednesday, with a side-footed shot from a Lee Bowyer cut-back.