El Salvador national football team

El Salvador

Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	La Selecta La Selección Cuscatleca Los Cuscatlecos
Association	Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol (FESFUT)
Confederation	CONCACAF
Head coach	José Luis Rugamas (Interim Manager)
Captain	Ramón Sánchez
Most caps	Luis Guevara Mora (89)
Top scorer	Jorge "Mágico" González (41)
Home stadium	Estadio Cuscatlán
FIFA code	SLV
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	110
Highest	50 (December 1992)
Lowest	169 (November 2006)
First international
El Salvador 0–7 Costa Rica (Guatemala City, Guatemala; Sept 14, 1921)
Biggest win
El Salvador 12–0 Anguilla (San Salvador, El Salvador; February 6, 2008)
Biggest defeat
Hungary 10–1 El Salvador (Elche, Spain; June 15, 1982)
World Cup
Appearances	2 (first in 1970)
Best result	Round 1: 1970, 1982
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Appearances	6 (first in 1996)
Best result	Quarterfinals: 2002, 2003

The El Salvador national football team represents El Salvador in international association football and is controlled by the FESFUT. After the formation in 1921, the player Gustavo "Taviche" Marroquin scored 5 goals against the Honduras, beginning a lengthy rivalty.

The team competed in two World Cup competitions, in 1970 and 1982. They were CCCF champions in 1943, and second-placed in 1941 and 1961. They have competed in the CONCACAF Gold Cup ten times, finishing as runners-up in 1963 and 1981. La Selecta also competed in the UNCAF Nations Cup, the Pan American Games, the Olympics, and have achieved two gold medals in the Central American and Caribbean Games.

They play in a mostly sky-blue kit, which from 2008 included the Mitre logo.

The top-scoring player is Jorge "Mágico" González (41 goals), the next closest being Raúl Díaz Arce with 39. Luis Guevara Mora is the player with the most caps, at 89. The manager is José Luis Rugamas.

History

The beginning of the national team

Although El Salvador played a few games in the early part of the 20th Century, it did not become a fully committed national team until 1921. This year is seen by many as being the starting point of what is now known as "La Selecta". In September 1921, Guatemala organised a football tournament comprising of itself, Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador. The tournament was organized in order to celebrate 100 years of Central American independence, and was played in a round-robin format, with Guatemala playing Honduras and El Salvador playing Costa Rica.

El Salvador lost their game 7-0 to eventual winners Costa Rica. Despite the loss, this tournament is seen as the starting point for the El Salvador national team.

Best win ever

Since the tournament in Guatemala in 1921, El Salvador had only played 2 other international matches, both against Honduras. El Salvador had lost the first encounter 1-0 and drawn the second 0–0.

Three games without a win came to an end on December 7, 1928, when El Salvador recorded its first ever win. A 5-0 thumping of what would later become their traditional rivals, Honduras. The game was played on on a field called Marte de San Salvador. Not only was this El Salvador's first ever win, but also the first time they had scored in an international friendly. It was also a day that few will forget, as it saw Gustavo "Taviche" Marroquin become the first ever player to score 5 goals in one game for the national team.

1970 FIFA World Cup

In the 1970 tournament, El Salvador lost their first game 3-0 to Belgium in Mexico City on June 3. ^[1] On June 7, the team played its second match against the host nation. It proved to be a controversial affair: with the score still at 0–0, the Egyptian referee Hussain Kandil awarded a free-kick to the Salvadorans in their own half. It was immediately taken by Mexico, who scored a couple of seconds later. The Salvadoran players protested vigorously, to the extent of physically jostling Bermudan linesman Keith Dunstan, but the goal was allowed to stand. ^[2] El Salvador were demoralised as a result, and Mexico subsequently won the game 4-0 with ease in Mexico City. ^[3] On June 10, El Salvador lost their final match in the tournament 2-0 to the USSR in Mexico City, to finish bottom of Group A. ^[4]

1982 FIFA World Cup

In 1982, El Salvador took a 20-man squad (two players short of the normal 22, for reasons that remain unclear), coached by Mauricio "Pipo" Rodríguez, to Spain. However, the team's experience was an unhappy one. In their first match on June 15, in Elche, they were defeated 10-1 by Hungary, a scoreline that stands as a World Cup record to this day. ^[5] One crumb of comfort was that Luis Baltazar Ramírez Zapata did score the country's first ever World Cup goal during the game, albeit at a point when the Salvadorans were already down 5-0. ^[6]

El Salvador managed to regain some pride in their subsequent games: displaying much-improved levels of organisation and commitment, they lost 1-0 to Belgium on June 19 in Elche and 2-0 to the then reigning world champions Argentina in Alicante on June 23. ^{[7] [8]}

Decline of 2004 to 2006

From April 2004 to November 2006 El Salvador amassed a record of no wins, two draws, and 10 losses. As a consequence, the team fell in the FIFA World Rankings from 81st in March 2003 to 167th in October 2006.

2010 Suspension of the Salvadoran Football Association

On 11 May 2010, The FIFA Emergency Committee suspended the Salvadoran Football Association (FESFUT) on account of government interference. This decision by FIFA was based on the fact that the statutes ratified by the FESFUT general assembly in August 2009 had not been formally entered in the country’s official register, and that the government had failed to acknowledge the authority of the Normalisation Committee set up to represent FESFUT.

Consequently, FIFA considered that it was not possible for FESFUT to organise the elective general assembly in line with the action plan that had been drawn up and suspended FESFUT. For the suspension to be lifted, Salvadoran authorities needed to recognize the legitimacy of the Normalisation Committee.

On May 28, the suspension was lifted. By FIFA lifting the suspension, El Salvador was allowed to participate in international tournaments for both club and national levels. El Salvador's under 21 team qualified for the CAC tournament in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, however, CONCACAF made a decision to suspend football at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games shortly after. Metapan and FAS participated in the CONCACAF Champions League. The Salvadoran referees selected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup were able to participate in the world cup. El Salvador will also be able to participate in the qualifying stages for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the Under-23 Olympics. ^[9]

Competitive record

World Cup record

Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1934	Did not enter
1938	Withdrew
1950 to 1966	Did not qualify
1970	Round 1	3	0	0	3	0	9
1974 to 1978	Did not qualify
1982	Round 1	3	0	0	3	1	13
1986 to 2010	Did not qualify
Total	2/19	6	0	0	6	1	22

CONCACAF Championships record

Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1963	Runner-Up	7	3	3	1	17	7
1965	Fourth Place	5	2	1	2	7	9
1967 to 1969	Did not enter
1971	Withdrew
1973	Did not qualify
1977	Third Place	5	2	1	2	8	9
1981	Runner-Up	5	2	2	1	2	1
1985	Round 1	4	2	1	1	7	2
1989	Fifth Place	6	0	2	4	2	8
1991 to 1993	Did not qualify
1996	Round 1	2	1	0	1	3	4
1998	Round 1	3	0	1	2	0	6
2000	Did not qualify
2002	Quarter-finals	3	1	0	2	1	5
2003	Quarter-finals	3	1	0	2	7	3
2005	Did not qualify
2007	Round 1	3	1	0	2	2	6
2009	Round 1	3	1	0	2	2	3
Total	12/20	49	16	11	22	58	63

UNCAF Nations Cup record

Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1991	Fourth Place	3	0	1	2	2	9
1993	Fourth Place	3	0	1	2	1	5
1995	Third Place	4	2	0	2	5	5
1997	Third Place	5	3	1	1	5	5
1999	Fourth Place	5	1	1	3	3	9
2001	Third Place	6	2	4	0	8	4
2003	Third Place	5	3	0	2	6	4
2005	Group Stage	2	0	0	2	1	3
2007	Fourth Place	5	2	1	2	4	5
2009	Fourth Place	5	1	1	3	5	6
Total	10/10	43	14	10	19	40	55

Pan American Games record

• 1951 to 1971 - Did not enter
• 1975 - Round 1
• 1979 to 1983 - Did not enter
• 1987 - Round 1
• 1991 to 2007 - Did not enter

CCCF Championship record

• 1941 - Second Place
• 1943 - Champions
• 1946 - Fourth Place
• 1948 - Fifth Place
• 1951 - Did not enter
• 1953 - Fifth Place
• 1955 - Fourth Place
• 1957 - Did not enter
• 1960 - Withdrew
• 1961 - Second Place

Olympic Games record

• 1896 to 1964 - Did not enter
• 1968 - Round 1
• 1972 to 1996 - Did not qualify
• 2000 - Did not enter
• 2004 to 2008 - Did not qualify

Central American and Caribbean Games

• 1954 - Gold Medal
• 2002 - Gold Medal

Kit

• Home Kit
  Home Kit
• Away Kit
  Away Kit

El Salvador and Mitre had announced a new partnership that will see them supply the Central America national football team with home and away kits, training, and bench wear until August 2010. Mitre, and their Panamanian partner, The Harari Group, have designed the kit that El Salvador will use. The kit was showcased by the team on Wednesday, February 11 as they started their FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign against Trinidad & Tobago in the CONCACAF (Central-American Football Union) Hexagonal Cup. ^[10] The contract was renewed on August of this year.

Players

Current squad

The following 21 man squad was named for the friendly match against Panama for October 8, 2010. ^[11] Caps and goals correct as of October 8, 2010.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Dagoberto Portillo	(1979-11-16) November 16, 1979	4	0	Once Municipal
	1GK	Henry Hernández	(1985-01-04) January 4, 1985	3	0	Atlético Balboa
	2DF	Marvin González	(1982-04-17) April 17, 1982	71	1	Águila
	2DF	Manuel Salazar	(1986-01-23) January 23, 1986	49	0	FAS
	2DF	Mardoqueo Henríquez	(1987-05-24) May 24, 1987	23	0	FAS
	2DF	Víctor Turcios	(1988-04-13) April 13, 1988	9	0	Luis Ángel Firpo
	2DF	Reynaldo Hernández	(1984-11-11) November 11, 1984	2	0	Vista Hermosa
	2DF	Carlos Arevalo	(1988-03-23) March 23, 1988	0	0	Alianza
	2DF	Xavier García	(1990-06-26) June 26, 1990	0	0	Luis Ángel Firpo
	3MF	Ramón Sánchez (captain)	(1982-05-25) May 25, 1982	62	2	Águila
	3MF	Dennis Alas	(1985-01-10) January 10, 1985	49	2	Luis Ángel Firpo
	3MF	Osael Romero	(1986-04-18) April 18, 1986	42	8	Chivas USA
	3MF	Shawn Martin	(1987-02-15) February 15, 1987	27	4	Águila
	3MF	Juan Moscoso	(1982-05-06) May 6, 1982	9	1	FAS
	3MF	Jaime Alas	(1989-07-30) July 30, 1989	1	0	Luis Ángel Firpo
	3MF	Edwin Sanchez	(1990-02-21) February 21, 1990	1	0	UES
	3MF	Herbert Sosa	(1990-01-11) January 11, 1990	1	0	Alianza
	3MF	Alexander Mendoza	(1990-06-04) June 4, 1990	0	0	UES
	4FW	Andrés Flores	(1990-08-31) August 31, 1990	5	0	Isidro Metapan
	4FW	Léster Blanco	(1989-01-17) January 17, 1989	3	0	Isidro Metapán
	4FW	Rafael Burgos	(1988-06-03) June 3, 1988	1	0	UES

Recent Callups

The following players have been called up to the El Salvador squad in the past 12 months.

Name	DOB (Age)	Club	Caps	Goals	Most Recent Call up
Goalkeepers
Miguel Montes	(1980-02-12) February 12, 1980	Águila	36	0	v. Guatemala; March 3, 2010
Javier Gómez	(1987-08-04) August 4, 1987	Atlético Marte	0	0	v. DC United June 19, 2010
Benji Villalobos	(1988-07-15) July 15, 1988	Águila	1	0	v. Guatemala; September 7, 2010
Defenders
Ramón Flores	(1982-08-21) August 21, 1982	Once Municipal	14	0	v. United States; February 24, 2010
Alfredo Pacheco	(1982-12-01) December 1, 1982	Águila	72	6	v. Guatemala; March 3, 2010
Alexander Escobar	(1984-04-04) April 4, 1984	Isidro Metapán	34	0	v. DC United Preliminary squad; May 28, 2010
Luis Hernández	(1985-02-09) February 9, 1985	Águila	20	0	v. DC United Preliminary squad; May 28, 2010
Milton Molina	(1989-02-02) February 2, 1989	Isidro Metapán	0	0	v. DC United June 19, 2010
Deris Umanzor	(1980-01-07) January 7, 1980	Chicago Fire	35	1	v. Panama; October 3, 2010 (unable to participate)
Midfielders
Salvador Coreas	(1984-09-29) September 29, 1984	Municipal Limeño	35	0	v. Mexico; October 10, 2009
Edgar Alvarez	(1986-09-14) September 14, 1986	Incarnate Word	0	0	v. Guatemala; March 3, 2010
Carlos Monteagudo	(1985-04-29) April 29, 1985	Luis Ángel Firpo	9	1	v. DC United June 19, 2010
Diego Chavarría	(1990-02-28) February 28, 1990	Once Municipal	0	0	v. DC United June 19, 2010
Josué Flores	(1988-05-13) May 13, 1988	Isidro Metapán	2	0	v. Honduras; September 4, 2010 (replaced due to injury)
Cristian Castillo	(1984-07-27) July 27, 1984	Alianza	35	3	v. Guatemala; September 7, 2010
Julio Martínez	(1985-07-08) July 8, 1985	Alianza	12	2	v. Guatemala; September 7, 2010
Alan Rovira	(1992-02-10) February 10, 1992	L.A. Galaxy Academy	0	0	v. Guatemala; September 7, 2010
Efrain Burgos, Jr.	(1988-08-14) August 14, 1988	Cal Poly Mustangs	0	0	v. Guatemala; September 7, 2010
Eliseo Quintanilla	(1983-02-05) February 5, 1983	Luis Ángel Firpo	47	13	v. Panama; October 3, 2010 (unable to participate due to injury)
Arturo Alvarez	(1985-06-28) June 28, 1985	San Jose Earthquakes	8	0	v. Panama; October 3, 2010 (unable to participate)
Henry Escobar	(1990-05-25) May 25, 1990	Luis Ángel Firpo	0	0	v. Panama; October 3, 2010 (unable to participate due to injury)
Forwards
Williams Reyes	(1976-10-30) October 30, 1976	FAS	18	0	v. Honduras; October 14, 2009
Isidro Gutiérrez	(1989-10-21) October 21, 1989	Municipal Limeño	0	0	v. DC United Preliminary squad; May 28, 2010
Moisés Hernández	(1985-04-23) April 23, 1985	Vista Hermosa	0	0	v. DC United Preliminary squad; May 28, 2010
Danny Torres	(1987-11-07) November 7, 1987	Atlético Marte	0	0	v. DC United June 19, 2010
Rudis Corrales	(1979-11-06) November 6, 1979	Águila	71	16	v. Guatemala; September 7, 2010
Rodolfo Zelaya	(1988-07-03) July 3, 1988	Alianza	24	6	v. Panama; October 3, 2010 (unable to participate due to injury)

Previous Squads

FIFA World Cup squads

• 1982 FIFA World Cup squad
• 1970 FIFA World Cup squad

Top ten Goalscorers

#	Name	Career	Goals
1	Jorge "Mágico" González	1976–1998	41
2	Raúl Díaz Arce	1991–2000	39
3	José María Rivas	1979–1989	35
4	Norberto Huezo	1973–1987	29
5	Luis Ramírez Zapata	1971–1989	27
6	Juan Francisco Barraza	1953–1969	23
7	Miguel Cruz	1935–1943	21
8	Rafael "Bazooka" Corado	1943–1955	17
9	Ever Hernández	1976–1985	16
	Juan Ramón Martínez	1967–1976	16
	Rudis Corrales	1999–	16

Note: Players in bold text are still active with El Salvador.

Top ten appearances

#	Name	Career	Appearances
1	Luis Guevara Mora	1979–1996	89
2	Guillermo Rivera	1988–2002	74
3	Alfredo Pacheco	2002–	72
4	Rudis Corrales	1999–	71
	Marvin González	2002–	71
6	Mauricio Cienfuegos	1987–2003	68
7	Ronald Cerritos	1995–2008	66
8	Jorge Rodríguez	1994–2005	65
9	Juan Francisco Barraza	1953–1969	64
10	Ramón Sánchez	2001–	62

Note: Players in bold text are still active with El Salvador.

Current staff

Head Coach	José Luis Rugamas (Interim)
Assistant Coach	Guillermo Rivera
2nd Assistant Coach	Mauricio Alfaro
GK Coach	Carlos Felipe Can`adas
Physical Coordinator	Esteban Coppia
Medical Trainer	José María Rivas
Massage Therapist	José Luis Rodríguez
Trainer	Rodrigo Antonio
Props	Carlos Choto

Last updated: 8 October 2010
Source: FESFUT

Fixtures and results

Main article: El Salvador national football team season 2010

Date	Home Team	Result	Away Team	Location	Competition	El Salvador Scorers
September 4, 2010	El Salvador	2–2 (3–4 Pso.)	Honduras	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles	Friendly	Zelaya 42' 90+1'
September 7, 2010	El Salvador	0–2	Guatemala	RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.	Friendly
October 8, 2010	Panama	1–0	El Salvador	Estadio Rommel Fernandez, Panama City	Friendly
October 12, 2010	Costa Rica	–	El Salvador	Estadio Carlos Ugalde Álvarez, Ciudad Quesada	Friendly
January 14, 2011	El Salvador	–	Nicaragua	Estadio Rommel Fernandez, Panama City	CAC
January 16, 2011	Belize	–	El Salvador	Estadio Rommel Fernandez, Panama City	CAC
January 18, 2011	Panama	–	El Salvador	Estadio Rommel Fernandez, Panama City	CAC

Key

  Win   Draw   Loss

Key

• F = Friendly
• CAC = 2011 Central American Cup

Manager history

Name Years Marck Scott Thompson 1930–1935 Pablo Ferre Elías 1935–1938 Maximo Garay 1940–1941 Slade 1941–1943 Amaricano Gonzalez 1943–1948 Rodolfo Orlandini 1949–1951 Marcelo Estrada 1953 Carbilio Tomasino 1954–1959 Milo Guardado 1959–1960 Conrado Miranda 1961 Luis Comitante 1962–1963 Hernán Vivanco 1965–1967 Rigoberto Guzmán 1968 Gregorio Bundio 1968–1970 Hernán Vivanco 1970 Conrado Miranda 1971 Hector D'Angelo 1972 Jorge Tupinambá 1973

Name Years Pipo Rodríguez 1973–1974 Conrado Miranda 1975 Marcelo Estrada 1975–1976 Raúl Magaña 1976 Aurelio Pinto Beltrao 1976 Porta 1977 Julio Contreras Cardona 1977 Ricardo Tomasino 1978 Raúl Magaña 1979 Pipo Rodríguez 1979–1982 Armando Contreras 1983 Raúl Magaña 1984 Juan Quarterone 1984–1985 Paulo Roberto Cabrera 1986 Raúl Magaña 1987 Milovan Đorić 1988 Miroslav Vukašinović 1988–1989 Conrado Miranda 1989

Name Years Kiril Dojcinovski 1989 Oscar Emigdio Benítez 1991 Jorge Aude 1991–1992 Aníbal Ruiz 1992 Jorge Vieira 1993–1994 José Omar Pastoriza 1995–1996 Armando Contreras 1996–1997 Milovan Đorić 1997–1998 Kiril Dojcinovski 1998 Marinho Peres 1998 Oscar Emigdio Benítez 1999–2000 Carlos Recinos 2000–2002 Juan Ramon Paredes 2002–2004 Armando Contreras 2004 Carlos Cavagnaro 2005 Miguel Aguilar 2005–2006 Carlos de los Cobos 2006–2009 José Luis Rugamas 2010–

Honours

• CONCACAF Championship / CONCACAF Gold Cup

• Runner-up (2): 1963, 1981
• Third place (1): 1977

• UNCAF Nations Cup

• Third place (4): 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003

• Central American and Caribbean Games

• Gold Medal (2): 1954, 2002
• Third place (1): 1935

• CCCF Championship

• Winner (1): 1943
• Runner-up (2): 1941, 1961

Trivia

• First Central American team to qualify for a FIFA World Cup (1970) and first Central American team to qualify twice (1982).
• First Central American team to officially eliminate Mexico from a World Cup (1982).
• First Central American team to ever score a goal in a FIFA World Cup on June 15, 1982.

Notes and references

1. ^ FIFA.com Association page at FIFA.com. Accessed 12 April 2006.
2. ^ 1970 FIFA World Cup History Accessed 12 April 2006.
3. ^ 1982 FIFA World Cup History Accessed 12 April 2006.
4. ^ FIFA Match Report for Belgium-El Salvador on June 3, 1970 Accessed 12 April 2006.
5. ^ Number 4 in the top dodgiest goals of the World Cup History Gürkan topsun olm Accessed 20 September 2007
6. ^ FIFA Match Report for Mexico-El Salvador on June 7, 1970 Accessed 12 April 2006.
7. ^ FIFA Match Report for Soviet Union-El Salvador on June 10, 1970 Accessed 12 April 2006.
8. ^ Did You Know? table Stating that Hungary broke the record for most lopsided victory against El Salvador. Accessed 12 April 2006.
9. ^ FIFA Match Report for Hungary-El Salvador on June 15, 1982 Accessed 12 April 2006.
10. ^ FIFA Match Report for Belgium-El Salvador on June 19, 1982 Accessed 12 April 2006.
11. ^ FIFA Match Report for Argentina-El Salvador on June 23, 1982 Accessed 12 April 2006.
12. ^ 1982 FIFA World Cup Preliminary History Overview which mentions that Mexico was eliminated by El Salvador and Honduras during the final qualifying stage. Accessed 21 July 2006.
13. ^ El Salvador vs Panama October 10, 2010 Players Recent call-up for game against Panama Template:Es icon
14. ^ El Salvador's use of mitre kits Mitre's official website regarding partnership with the El Salvador national football team.
15. ^ FIFA lifts suspension of El Salvador Overview mentioning FIFA lifting the suspension against El Salvador. Retrieved 29 May 2010.

See also

• El Salvador national beach soccer team
• El Salvador national under-17 football team
• El Salvador national under-20 football team
• El Salvador national under-21 football team
• El Salvador national under-23 football team
• Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol
• List of football clubs in El Salvador
• Primera División de Fútbol Profesional

References

External links

• A Picture of the Team
• Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol Official Site Template:Es icon
• El Salvador national football team (Non-Official Site) Template:Es icon
• El Salvador - Details of World Cup Qualifiers