Club Deportivo Atlético Balboa, commonly known as Atlético Balboa or simply Balboa, is a Salvadoran football club. The team play in La Unión, La Unión department.

Atlético Balboa
Full nameClub Deportivo Atlético Balboa
Nickname(s)Los Porteños, La Ciclón
Founded1950
GroundEstadio Marcelino Imbers,
La Unión, El Salvador
Capacity4,000
ChairmanEl Salvador Kevin Rubio
ManagerEl Salvador David Paz
LeagueSegunda División

History edit

Foundation edit

The foundation of Atletico Balboa occurred in 1950 in La Union. Mauro "El Turco" Granados, Simón Reyes, Paulino Cáceres, Pablo Rubio, Rodolfo Guzmán, Carlos Villalta, Carlos Juárez, René Pantoja, Luis Ávila, Chico Osorio, Juan Guevara, Chico Ruíz and Timoteo Hernández were the original members of the team. The team was intended to be a baseball team, but it was changed to a football team. The club was named "Balboa" after the Panamanian balboa and its first match was played against the Honduran team América de Choluteca. The team's first colours were white with green diagonal stripes which were soon changed by the team's president Ricardo Flores to black and red.

Primera División edit

After becoming champions of the Segunda División in 1998, Atlético Balboa ascended to the Salvadoran Primera División where in their first season they finished runner-up while being coached by Mario Martínez and Óscar Benítez. The team's player lineup that season included Franklin Webster and Elvis Perreira.

Irregular way edit

The team's results and goal count declined between 1999 and 2001. During this time the team was coached by Óscar Benítez, Saúl Molina and Juan Quarterone. Luciano Suárez, Manuel Díaz, Camilo Bonilla and Carlos Edgar Villareal played for Balboa in this period.

Days of crisis edit

The team had just started the 2002–2003 season when the team ran into economic and performance problems. Juan Quarterone was replaced by the Paraguayan Nelson Brizuela. Under Brizuela, the team was only able to achieve 3 draws from 6 games. Brizuela was soon replaced by Argentine-Italian Carlos Barone whose team's last four games almost got them relegated but in the end Dragón had a poorer record. Atlético Balboa purchased many foreign players during the season but the only successful one was the Colombian Carlos Asprilla. Webster, the highest scoring player from the team was sold to San Salvador F.C. The club then changed its coach several times during the 2003-2004 season, with Costa Rican Manuel Solano, Gabriel Avedissian and Paulo Roberto de Oliveira serving as coach at various points in time. These coaches, except for assistant coach Jesús Fuentes, all failed to produce a high number of wins.

Almost glory edit

After the events of 2002-2004 season, Balboa advanced in the rankings of the Primera División. The team finished in second place in the 2006-2007 while being coached by Juan Quarterone and Jorge Alberto García. Then, the tension between the board and the two coaches divided the club. The team, including Colombian player Henry Vargas did not participate in the UNCAF tournament due to losing a playoff to C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo. However the next season Atlético Balboa was relegated from the Primera División when they lost to C.D. Vista Hermosa.

Current history edit

The club was promoted to the Salvadoran Primera División again after defeating Juventud Independiente in the 2008 season.[1] Two years of moderate success followed under Guatemalan coach Carlos Alberto Mijangos and Argentine coach Roberto Gamarra, during which the team came close to entering the finals series in both seasons. However, financial problems appeared again and after two subsequent years of debt, the club was demoted to the Second Division in the 2011 season. It then disbanded and played its last game in 2011.[2]

After 10 years, It was announced the club would be returning to the third division and in return back to professional football.[3]

Honours edit

League edit

Cups edit

Current squad edit

Updated February 2024. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   SLV Julian Chicas
4   SLV Javier Fuentes
5   SLV Juan Hernandez
7   SLV Floretin Alvarez
9   SLV Edgar Cruz
14   SLV Eldin Aparicio
15   SLV Heriberto Velasquez
17   SLV Gabriel Alvarez
20   SLV Francisco Valladarez
21   SLV Wanner Hernandez
No. Pos. Nation Player
23   SLV Cristian Reyes
25 GK   SLV Carlos Aleman
28   SLV Cristopher Portillo
29   SLV Leonel Alberto
30   SLV Leonel Alberto
33   SLV Angel Echeverria
34   SLV William Molina

Players with dual citizenship edit

In edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
  SLV Josue Ronaldo Cabrera (From Atletico Balboa Jr)
  SLV Jefferson Diaz Molina (From Atletico Balboa Jr)
  SLV Hector Luis Guzman (From CD Peces Voladores)
  SLV Dilber Leonel Hernandez (From Atletico La Union)
No. Pos. Nation Player
  SLV Marcos Antonio Velasquez (From Ancla de Oro)
  SLV Jose Roberto Martinez (From Perlas FC)

Out edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
  SLV Yuvini Salamanca (To Platense)
  SLV Erick Orellana (To TBD)
  COL Walter Gomez (To TBD)
  SLV Oscar Coreas (To TBD)
  SLV Levis Romero (To TBD)
No. Pos. Nation Player
  SLV Levis Romero (To TBD)
  SLV Luis Alvarenga (To TBD)
  SLV Jonathan Salgado (To TBD)

Coaching staff edit

As of November, 2023

Position Staff
Manager   David Paz
Assistant Manager   Roberto Chavez
Reserve Manager   TBD
Ladies's Manager   TBD
Physical coach   Marvin Vasquez (Nimbo)
Assistant Physical coach   TBD
Goalkeeper Coach   TBD
Kineslogic   TBD
Utility Equipment   TBD
Football director   TBD
Team Doctor   TBD

Notable players edit

Team captains edit

Name Years
  Mario Marconi Burro TBD
  Carlos Rivas 1979
  TBD 2000
  Daniel Sagastizado 2001
  Armando Mercado 2004
  Jefrey Francisco Cruz 2022
  Francisco Valladarez 2023-Present

List of presidents edit

  • Ricardo Flores
  • Juan Pablo Robles (2003)
  • Noel Benítez (2004, 2006–2007)
  • Mario Sorto (2005)
  • Andrés Alonso Gómez (2007–2008)
  • Juan Pablo Robles (2009–2011) [1]

List of coaches edit

Name From To
  Salvador Churrillo Rivas 1979 1979
  Juan Evangelista Zelaya 1981 1981
  Francisco Jovel 1985 1985
  Jose Mario Martínez 1990 1990
  Jose Mario Martínez 1998 February 2001
  Óscar Benítez February 2001 October 2001
  Saul Molina [4] November 2001 December 2001
  Juan Quarterone January 2002 December 2002
  Nelson Brizuela January 2003 April 2003
    Carlos Barone April 2003 April 2003
  Carlos Garabet Avedissian June 2003 August 2003
  Manuel Alberto Solano Madrigal September 2003 December 2003
  Paulo Roberto de Oliveira December 2003 December 2003
  Jesus Fuentes December 2003 January 2004
  Óscar Benítez January 2004 June 2004
  Jorge García June 2004 October 2004
  Juan Quarterone October 2004 January 2005
  Henry Vanegas February 2005 September 2005
  Jorge García September 2005 December 2005
  Nelson Ancheta January 2006 2006
  Fausto Omar Vásquez 2008 June 2008
  Gustavo de Simone 25 July 2008 30 Aug 2008
  Roberto Gamarra 2007 Jan 2009
  Carlos de Toro 21 Jan 2009 Feb 2009
  Luis Zapata Feb 2009 June 2009
  Eduardo Santana June 2009 Aug 2009
  Angel Orellana Aug 2009 Sep 2009
  Jorge García Sep 2009 Sep 2009
  Luis Zapata Sep 2009 Dec 2009
  Carlos Mijangos Jan 2010 June 2010
  Roberto Gamarra June 2010 December 2010
  Mario Martínez December 2010 June 2011
Hiatus July 2011 June 2021
  Luis Carlos Asprilla July 2021 February 2022
  William Cheves February 2022 February 2022
  Roberto Gamarra February 2022 May 2022
  Omar Sevilla May 2022 November 2022
  Luis Carlos Asprilla November 2022 December 12, 2022
  Misael Alfaro December 13, 2022 October 11, 2023
  David Paz October, 2023 Present

References edit

  1. ^ El Salvador 2007/08 – RSSSF
  2. ^ "FlashScore: Atletico Balboa - results, fixtures". www.flashscore.ca. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  3. ^ "Cd Atlético Balboa Regresa al Fútbol Profesional". 7 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Deportes en el Diario de Hoy".