| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Miguel Marcelo Brizuela | ||
| Date of birth | 5 January 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Moreno, Argentina [1] | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) [2] | ||
| Position | Centre-back [2] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | O'Higgins | ||
| Number | 33 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| River Plate | |||
| 2011–2019 | Vélez Sarsfield | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2025 | Vélez Sarsfield | 74 | (3) |
| 2024 | → Instituto (loan) | 24 | (0) |
| 2025 | → Atlético Tucumán (loan) | 31 | (2) |
| 2026– | O'Higgins | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 3 February 2026 | |||
Miguel Marcelo Brizuela (born 5 January 1997) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Chilean club O'Higgins. [3]
Brizuela had a short stint with River Plate, prior to penning terms with Vélez Sarsfield's ranks. [1] [4] He is a product of the latter's academy, with their former youth captain making a first-team breakthrough in mid-2019 under manager Gabriel Heinze. [1] [5] [6] His professional debut arrived on 28 July 2019, as the centre-back was selected to start a Primera División fixture away to Talleres; he played fifty-nine minutes, before being subbed off for Pablo Galdames in an eventual 1–0 loss at the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes. [7] [8] Brizuela scored his first goal on 3 January 2021 against Newell's Old Boys in the Copa de la Liga Profesional. [7]
In January 2026, Brizuela ended his contract with Vélez Sarsfield and signed with Chilean club O'Higgins on a deal until December 2027. [9] [10]
On 9 February 2021, Brizuela was charged - along with Vélez teammate Thiago Almada - with the rape of a 28-year-old woman; which allegedly occurred at a party on 3 December 2020, which was hosted by teammate Juan Martín Lucero to celebrate Vélez advancing in the Copa Sudamericana. [11] Juan José Acosta Delbene, a former manager of Defensa y Justicia's reserves and Argentino, was initially the only person charged. [11] However, in early February, prosecutor Laura Zyseskind charged initial witnesses Brizuela and Almada; while Delbene was on the run. [12] It is claimed that those two, plus Delbene and an unnamed woman, were involved. [11] Two other women, who were later apprehended, reportedly stole items from the victim. [11]
In response to the charging of Brizuela and Almada, Vélez Sarsfield announced on 9 February that both players had been removed from the first-team until the case was concluded. [13] However, the two players were reincorporated into the senior set-up on 16 February after the club claimed to have received new evidence and further information on the case - though the victim's lawyer, Raquel Hermida Leyenda, stated that nothing had changed in the intervening period. [14] [15] Brizuela played and scored a day later against Deportivo Camioneros in the Copa Argentina. [16]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Vélez Sarsfield | 2019–20 | Primera División | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2020–21 [nb 1] | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 [a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| 2021 [nb 2] | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | ||