Marcelo Balboa

Marcelo Balboa

Personal information
Date of birth	(1967-08-08) August 8, 1967
Place of birth	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1986–1987	Cerritos College
1988–1989	San Diego State Aztecs
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1987–1989	San Diego Nomads	?	(8)
1990–1991	San Francisco Bay Blackhawks	15	(7)
1992	Colorado Foxes	15	(4)
1994–1995	León	53	(3)
1996–2001	Colorado Rapids	151	(24)
2002	MetroStars	1	(0)
International career
1988–2000	United States	127	(13)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Marcelo Balboa (born August 8, 1967 in Chicago, Illinois) is a retired American soccer defender who played in the 1990s for the U.S. national team, becoming its captain. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

After retiring from playing, he has worked as a commentator for ESPN and ABC and MLS games on HDNet and Altitude, as well as FIFA World Cup games on Univision. He is currently the head boys soccer coach for Monarch High School in Louisville, Colo.

Playing career

Youth

Balboa, who is of Argentine descent, grew up in Cerritos, California. Balboa played youth soccer for Fram-Culver, which won the 1986 McGuire Cup (U-19 National Championship). Balboa's father, Luis Balboa who played professionally in Argentina and with the Chicago Mustangs of the North American Soccer League, coached him. In 1985, Balboa graduated from Cerritos High School. He attended Cerritos College, a local two-year community college from 1986 to 1987. At Cerritos, Balboa was both placekicker on the football team and a two-time 1st Team All-South Coast Conference soccer player. Cerritos College has retired Balboa's jersey number – #3. In 1988, Balboa transferred to San Diego State University where he was a 1988 First Team and a 1989 Second Team All American soccer player.

Professional

From 1987 to 1989, Balboa played the collegiate off-seasons on an amateur contract with the professional San Diego Nomads of the Western Soccer League. He was the 1988 WSA MVP. In 1990, Balboa began his professional career with the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks of the American Professional Soccer League. In 1992, he moved to the Colorado Foxes. Marcelo played for León in the Mexican League in 1995 and 1996, before signing with Major League Soccer and the Colorado Rapids. Balboa played six seasons for the Rapids, leading as the team's all-time leader in many statistical categories. In 1998, he joined Tab Ramos and Eric Wynalda as the first U.S. players to play in three World Cups. Traded to the MetroStars in 2002, Marcelo played only five minutes all year, sitting out the rest with injuries, and retiring afterwards.

Balboa ended his U.S. career with 128 caps and 13 goals, and his MLS career with 24 goals and 23 assists in 152 games. In 2005, Balboa was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI and elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame on the first ballot along with Nick Folan. In 2012, he was inducted into the Colorado Hall of Fame.

Balboa was known for his bicycle kicks, a near miss in the U.S. win over Colombia in the 1994 World Cup; and a goal for the Rapids in 2000 against the Columbus Crew, named the MLS Goal of the Year for that season.

International

Marcelo Balboa anchored the American defense in the 1990 and the 1994 FIFA World Cups (his first cap came on January 10, 1988 against Guatemala). He was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 1992 and 1994. In 1995, he became the first U.S. player to break the 100-cap barrier.

International Appearances

National Team	Year	Apps	Starts	Goals	Assists
United States
	1988	7	6	0	0
	1989	4	4	0	0
	1990	15	10	1	0
	1991	15	15	2	1
	1992	21	21	3	1
	1993	10	9	0	0
	1994	24	22	4	0
	1995	6	6	1	0
	1996	8	8	1	1
	1997	10	10	0	1
	1998	4	3	1	0
	1999	2	2	0	0
	2000	1	1	0	0
Total		127	117	13	4

U.S. national team goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	May 30, 1990	Eschen, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	2–1	4–1	Friendly
2	June 29, 1991	Pasadena, California	Trinidad and Tobago	2–1	2–1	1991 Gold Cup
3	August 28, 1991	Brasov, Romania	Romania	1–0	2–0	Friendly
4	February 2, 1992	Pontiac, Michigan	CIS	1–0	2-0	Friendly
5	May 30, 1992	Washington, D.C.	Ireland	2–1	3–1	1992 U.S. Cup
6	October 19, 1992	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Ivory Coast	1–0	5-2	1992 King Fahd Cup
7	January 15, 1994	Tempe, Arizona	Norway	1–1	2–1	Friendly
8	February 13, 1994	Hong Kong	Romania	1–1	1-2	1994 Carlsberg Cup
9	March 12, 1994	Fullerton, California	South Korea	1–1	1–1	Friendly
10	May 7, 1994	Fullerton, California	Estonia	3–0	4-0	Friendly
11	June 11, 1995	Foxborough, Massachusetts	Nigeria	2–2	3-2	1995 U.S. Cup
12	January 16, 1996	Anaheim, California	Trinidad and Tobago	2–0	2-0	1996 Gold Cup
13	March 14, 1997	San Diego, California	Paraguay	2–1	2-2	Friendly

Post-retirement

Team executive

After the 2004 MLS season, Balboa assumed a front office position with the Rapids.

Broadcaster

Balboa debuted as a sideline reporter during ABC's coverage of the 2003 MLS All-Star Game and MLS Cup. In 2004, he became a regular announcer for ABC and ESPN's television coverage of the U.S. national team. Most recently, Balboa has paired up with baseball announcer Dave O'Brien as networks' #1 U.S. announcing team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In 2007, Marcelo started a soccer radio show, From The Pitch, which airs on Denver station Mile High Sports Radio. Balboa served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of Soccer at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He has been a guest soccer analyst on Telefutura's Contacto Deportivo.

In 2014, he was comentator of the US Team matches for Univision at the World Cup in Brazil. Balboa is currently MLS matches for Unimas.

Coaching

In 2012, Monarch High School hired Balboa to coach the boy's soccer team.

Personal life

Balboa resides in the town of Superior, Colorado, and is currently the technical director for Trebol Soccer Club in Lafayette, Colorado.

External links

• Interview on Role Models from CaptainU
• FIFA: Marcelo Balboa
• MLS: Marcelo Balboa

Template:United States squad 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup Template:United States squad 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup