José María Basanta (born 3 April 1984) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He also holds Mexican citizenship.
Basanta began his career with Estudiantes in his native Argentina. After a breakout performance in the 2008 Copa Libertadores, he signed for Monterrey, becoming an important part in their Liga MX and CONCACAF Champions League successes under coach Víctor Manuel Vucetich. After the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where Argentina finished runners-up, he joined Italian side ACF Fiorentina, but returned to Monterrey in the summer of 2015 and retired five years later.
Career Basanta started his career with Estudiantes in 2003 before joining Olimpo de Bahía Blanca of the Argentine 2nd Division in 2006. Basanta helped Olimpo to win both the Apertura and Clausura to secure automatic promotion to the Primera Division.
He rejoined Estudiantes in 2007 and stayed a year with them.
In June 2008, he was sold to Monterrey, by a request of the team's manager, Ricardo La Volpe."Contrata CF Monterrey a defensa argentino Basanta" – MedioTiempo.com Since then, Basanta has been a regular in the first team, winning the 2009 Apertura championship and the 2010 Apertura championship.
On 31 August 2015, it was announced that Basanta would be returning to Rayados de Monterrey in a season-long loan deal.
On 5 September 2020, Basanta announced on his official Instagram that he will be retiring from professional football.
Honours Club Olimpo Primera B Nacional (2): Apertura 2006, Clausura 2007
Monterrey Liga MX (3): Apertura 2009, Apertura 2010, Apertura 2019 Copa MX (2): Apertura 2017, 2019–20 InterLiga (1): 2010 CONCACAF Champions League (4): 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2019
International Argentina FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2014
Individual Best Center back of the tournament: Apertura 2010 Best Center back of the tournament: Clausura 2012
References
External links
Guardian statistics Football lineups player profile