Marcelo Barovero

Marcelo Alberto Barovero (born 18 February 1984) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He often goes by the nickname of "Trapito" (Spanish for "Little Rag").

Early years
His first steps in the practice of football were at the club of his hometown, Porteña Asociación Cultural y Deportiva, then he played at the youth academy of Atlético Rafaela until his professional debut.

Atlético Rafaela
Barovero started his professional career in 2003 playing for Atlético de Rafaela in the Primera B Nacional (Argentine second division). In his first season, the club won the championship and promotion to the Primera División. Barovero was used as the club's third choice goalkeeper in the first division, behind Ángel David Comizzo and Ezequiel Medrán. Rafaela was relegated at the end of the 2003–04 season, but Barovero stayed with the club and established himself as the first choice goalkeeper back in the B Nacional. He totalled 113 appearances for Atlético de Rafaela, before his move to Huracán (of the first division) in 2007.

Huracán
In the 2007/2008 season, he played all the 38 matches that his team disputed. At the end of this season, he was bought by Vélez Sársfield.

Velez Sarsfield
In 2008, after one season as a starter in Huracán, Barovero was bought by Vélez Sársfield to compete with Germán Montoya for the position of first choice goalkeeper. During the 2009 Clausura he was part of the Vélez team that won the championship, being an unused substitute during the tournament.

He eventually caught his break during the 2010 Apertura, during which he started in all but three games of his team's runner-up campaign. He finished the tournament with only 6 goals conceded in 16 games, and kept a clean sheet in 12 of the games. At the end of the tournament, he was awarded the Ubaldo Matildo Fillol Award for being the goalkeeper with the lowest goals-to-games ratio. The following semester, Barovero started in all 19 games of Vélez 2011 Clausura winning campaign, and all 12 of the team's Copa Libertadores semifinalist campaign.

River Plate
After his successful spell in Velez, in the 2012 Argentine winter transfer window giant River Plate picked him up for a US$250,000 season-long loan. He soon became the undisputed starting goalkeeper during his first semester at the club, and upon completion of the loan, River made his move permanent for a reported fee of US$950,000. Since then he's been one of the stars of the Argentine side and was named Man of the Match in more than one occasion, but most notably on an intense fixture in the 2013 Copa Sudamericana against Buenos Aires rivals San Lorenzo to advance to the Round of Sixteen. He won multiple titles with the squad, most notably the 2015 Copa Libertadores. The fans consider him an idol of the team.

Later Career
In 2016, Barovero moved abroad for the first time in his career and joined Mexican club Necaxa. He later played for Monterrey, Burgos and Atlético San Luis before returning to Argentina where he joined Banfield.

On 19 July 2024, Barovero announced his retirement from professional football.

Honours
Atlético Rafaela
 * Primera B Nacional: 2002–03

Vélez Sársfield
 * Argentine Primera División: 2009 Clausura, 2011 Clausura

River Plate
 * Argentine Primera División: 2014 Final
 * Copa Campeonato: 2013–14
 * Copa Libertadores: 2015
 * Copa Sudamericana: 2014
 * Recopa Sudamericana: 2015
 * Suruga Bank Championship: 2015

Necaxa
 * Copa MX: Clausura 2018

Monterrey
 * Liga MX: Apertura 2019
 * CONCACAF Champions League: 2019

Individual
 * Ubaldo Fillol Award : 2010 Apertura, 2011 Clausura, 2013 Inicial, 2014 Primera División
 * Copa Sudamericana Best Player: 2014
 * Liga MX Golden Glove: 2017–18
 * CONCACAF Champions League Golden Glove: 2019
 * CONCACAF Champions League Team of the Tournament: 2019