Club Argentina Born with a twin brother,
Gustavo, Barros Schelotto was hence nicknamed
El Mellizo ("the twin"). He started playing professionally at the end of 1991 with his hometown team
Gimnasia La Plata, where he scored 45 goals in 181 matches in five seasons and in 1993 won the
AFA Centenario Cup. On 14 September 1997, he transferred to
Primera División Argentina powerhouse
Boca Juniors, for whom he played for almost ten years. He was considered an idol by Boca fans and in his later years at the club showed his experience whenever he stepped on the pitch. Barros Schelotto remains one of Boca's top scorers in international matches with 25 goals, with just one goal behind former teammate
Martín Palermo. In 1996, he was offered to play for
River Plate, but after club icon
Enzo Francescoli was not happy with the potential signing, the deal collapsed. In mid-1997, Boca Juniors showed interest for him and his brother
Gustavo. It was like that that Barros Schelotto twins arrived to Boca teaming up to a former rival:
Martín Palermo, Gimnasia's archrival
Estudiantes former player. The three of them were repeatedly recommended to Boca by
Diego Maradona, who was playing his last season for the Buenos Aires team, retiring on October the same year. Once in Boca, he made his debut as a substitute for
Claudio Caniggia, scoring against Newell's Old Boys in a 2–1 victory. Barros Schelotto made his debut in the
United States on 5 May, as a 75th-minute replacement, as the Crew lost the match against
Kansas City Wizards 1–0. On 12 May 2007 he made his home debut in a game against
Chivas USA. The game was tied 1–1, and Schelotto had the assist for the Crew goal. Barros Schelotto quickly became a team leader and fan favorite in Columbus, helping to turn their season around. In the 2007 season he played as an attacking midfielder and led the team with 11 assists, also adding 5 goals, in 22 games. Barros Schelotto had a strong
MLS season in 2008, being chosen Player of the Week four times, Player of the Month once, and recording 19 assists and 7 goals during the regular season. He was named as the
Major League Soccer MVP on 20 November 2008. Barros Schelotto capped off his 2008 MLS campaign with an MVP performance in the
2008 MLS Cup which Columbus won 3–1 against the
New York Red Bulls at the
Home Depot Center on 23 November 2008, behind Barros Schelotto's 3 assists. For his performance in the 2008 MLS season, in which he displayed his leadership, vision, passing, scoring and positioning, Barros Schelotto was named
Sports Illustrateds Sportsman of the Year. He became the Crew's first ever
Designated Player on 2 December 2008. During the 2009 season, Barros Schelotto transitioned to a more advanced role as a
second striker—scoring 12 goals while assisting just three times in 24 games. On 16 November 2010, Barros Schelotto's option was not picked up by the team, along with several other veterans of the club, effectively ending his career in Columbus. Barros Schelotto elected to participate in the
2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft and became a free agent in
Major League Soccer when he was not selected in the Re-Entry draft, while leaving Columbus as a club legend.
Return to Argentina in 2011 Barros Schelotto had decided to retire but, on 13 January 2011, he went back on that decision and decided to see out his career with his childhood club
Gimnasia La Plata. He returned 14 years after leaving the club in 1997 to join
Boca Juniors. Barros Schelotto declined to accept a wage from the club and as such he was contracted unpaid, "ad honorem". Barros Schelotto's spell at the club lasted six months. In that time, he played 17 matches, primarily as a winger, and scored three goals. His last goal came against Boca Juniors, this was not only his last goal for Gimnasia but also his 110th goal in the Primera Division. As a result of his contributions to the club and his playing abilities, Barros Schelotto is revered by the fans as an idol.
International Barros Schelotto obtained ten senior caps for the
Argentina national football team between 1995 and 1999, and also won the
gold medal in the
under-23 Panamerican Games in 1995. For the Argentine youth teams, he scored three goals in six matches. Two of them happened in the single edition of
Copa de las Américas Sub-23, in February 1994. In his final cap for the senior team, in a friendly match against
Colombia, he entered as a substitute player and got injured in the last minute. He could get recovered by 2000 and win
2000 Copa Libertadores and
2000 Intercontinental Cup, but without the same major role of previous or subsequent titles. After two years of abscence, he could get a last call in November 2001, but this context and the club's focus on
2001 Intercontinental Cup made Boca refuse it. ==Coaching career==