Marcelo Balboa

Marcelo Balboa

Personal information
Date of birth	(1967-08-08) August 8, 1967
Place of birth	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	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)
National team
1988–2000	United States	128	(13)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (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. After retiring from playing, he has worked as a commentator for ESPN and ABC and MLS games on HDNet and Altitude. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. 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 from 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 executive director for Trebol Soccer Club in Lafayette, Colorado.

External links

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