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Gold Cup Focus: Ex-Wanderer and Gold Cup Winner Jared Borgetti

Coinciding with the LOV's coverage of the Gold Cup, lets take a look at the first Mexican to play in England

Michael Steele/Getty Images

There are many former Wanderers who can't be described as a Bolton 'legend', but they are a legend for other aspects of their careers.

A player such as Peter Shilton who, let's not forget, is a league and double European cup winner, made over 1200 career appearances and holds the record for most games played for England with 125. His Bolton Wanderers career wasn't quite as illustrious. Joining the Whites towards the end of his career, Shilton is the oldest player ever to play for Bolton Wanderers. Making his final appearance at 45 years and 239 days old, Shilton played two games for the Whites.

The same can be said for El Zorro del Desierto (The Desert Fox), Jared Borgetti.

Borgetti joined Bolton in 2005 for fee of £1m from Mexican club Pachuca.

The centre forward became the first Mexican to play in the Premier League, was signed to bolster the squad ahead of the club's first venture into Europe. And it was in Europe where Borgetti scored his first goal for the club, an injury time winner in the Whites' first ever European game against Lokomotiv Polvdiv.

The Desert Fox would score a further six goals for Bolton, taking his total to seven in 32 appearances. Indifferent form and Big Sam's preference for Kevin Davies to lead the line, restricted Borgetti to just 12 starts.

After one season, Borgetti joined Al-Ittihad.

Despite his time at Bolton, Borgetti is one of the greatest ever Mexican strikers. During his time at Mexican side Santos Laguna, Borgetti was an integral part of two title winning squads, in 1996 and 2001. He is also the club's top scorer of all time, with 205 goals.

Santos fans still hold Borgetti in such high regard that they will have his signature tattooed onto them, like one fan in the tweet below.

Borgetti is also the top goal scorer for the Mexican national team. In 89 games, Borgetti scored 46 goals. These included two at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. One of which was a terrific header against Italy, which you can watch by clicking here.

Linking it back to the Gold Cup, Borgetti has an impressive record in the competition. In 13 Gold Cup games, Borgetti scored seven goals. Three of those goals came in the 2003 Gold Cup, where Mexico went on to beat Brazil in the final to receive their 4th title.