Javier Balboa
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Javier Ángel Balboa Osa | ||
| Date of birth | (1985-05-13) 13 May 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Madrid, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Al-Mesaimeer | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1996 | CD Avance | ||
| 1996–1999 | Alcalá | ||
| 1999–2004 | Real Madrid | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2005 | Real Madrid C | 34 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | Real Madrid B | 32 | (1) |
| 2006–2008 | Real Madrid | 7 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | → Racing Santander (loan) | 30 | (1) |
| 2008–2011 | Benfica | 10 | (0) |
| 2010 | → Cartagena (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2011 | → Albacete (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2011–2013 | Beira-Mar | 46 | (8) |
| 2013–2015 | Estoril | 41 | (5) |
| 2015–2016 | Al-Faisaly | 24 | (8) |
| 2016–2017 | Chabab Rif | 7 | (2) |
| 2017 | Trikala | 15 | (2) |
| 2017– | Al-Mesaimeer | ||
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007– | Equatorial Guinea | 29 | (5) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 May 2017 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 9 June 2017 | |||
Javier Ángel Balboa Osa (born 13 May 1985) is an Equatorial Guinean professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Qatari club Al-Mesaimeer Sports Club.
After emerging at Real Madrid's youth system, he could never establish himself in its first team. In 2008 he signed with Benfica, being loaned several times over his contract and leaving three years later.
Balboa represented Equatorial Guinea at the 2012 and 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Contents
1 Club career
1.1 Real Madrid
1.2 Benfica
1.3 Beira-Mar
1.4 Later years
2 International career
2.1 International goals
3 Personal life
4 Club statistics
5 Honours
6 References
7 External links
Club career
Real Madrid
Born in Madrid, Balboa arrived at Real Madrid Castilla in the summer of 2005. He eventually settled down, although he missed a part of their season due to first team duty;[1][2] he still finished his first year with 32 games and one goal, in Segunda División.[3]
After having toured with the Real Madrid first team in its Austrian tour during the 2006–07 pre-season, Balboa signed a one-year loan deal with Racing de Santander in La Liga in order to gain first team experience, after being told he was not going to be part of the former's plans by manager Fabio Capello.[4] He was an integral part of the Cantabrian side for the season's duration, scoring in a 2–1 win at RCD Mallorca in the 88th minute, on 16 December 2006.[5]
Balboa was praised by Capello's replacement, Bernd Schuster, upon his return from loan, and his contract was extended until 2011. During the 2007 pre-season he was played as a right and left winger, and did well in several games, scoring against FC Lokomotiv Moscow.[6][7]
Balboa came on in the second half of the UEFA Champions League home match against Olympiacos F.C. on 24 October 2007 and, during injury time, scored his first goal in the competition and for Real after being set up by Robinho, in a 4–2 group stage home win.[8] On December 19, he scored his first goal in the Copa del Rey, in a 1–1 draw against Alicante CF for the fourth round.[9] The previous month, he had come to blows with teammate Pepe during a training session;[10] he was not called up for Real Madrid's next match, while the Portuguese was.[11]
Benfica
On 25 June 2008, Balboa signed a four-year deal with S.L. Benfica for €4 million, as the Portuguese club was managed by Quique Sánchez Flores.[12] He made 17 competitive appearances in his first season, being ousted from the squad in the second following a wages dispute.[13][14]
On 28 January 2010, Balboa was loaned to FC Cartagena in the second level until the end of the campaign.[15] Returning to Benfica, he found himself limited to training with the first team and, in another winter transfer window, returned to Spain with Albacete Balompié (also in division two), in the same predicament.[16]
Beira-Mar
On 13 August 2011, Balboa terminated his contract with Benfica.[17] Two days later he signed with S.C. Beira-Mar also in Portugal's Primeira Liga,[18] leaving on 21 June 2013 after the Aveiro team's relegation.[19]
Later years
On 16 September 2015, after two seasons with G.D. Estoril Praia,[20] Balboa moved to Saudi Arabia after agreeing to a one-year deal with Al-Faisaly FC.[21] On 25 January 2017 he moved clubs and countries again, joining Trikala F.C. in the Football League (Greece).[22]
International career
Balboa made his debut with Equatorial Guinea on 2 June 2007, in a 0–2 loss to Rwanda for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying stage. Also, he appeared in B games against the Region of Murcia[23] and Extremadura in 2007,[24] against Brittany on 2 June 2011 and against French side FC Issy-les-Moulineaux.
On 21 January 2012, Balboa scored the inaugural goal in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, the game's only as the co-hosts defeated Libya.[25] In the 2015 edition of the tournament, also hosted by his country, he won a penalty after being fouled by Gabon's Lloyd Palun, and converted it to open a 2–0 win which put Equatorial Guinea into the quarter-finals.[26] In the last-eight encounter, against Tunisia, he converted a late penalty to tie the game at 1–1 and eventually take it to extra time, where he scored a free kick to take his country to its first ever semi-final.[27]
Balboa missed the first penalty in the shootout of the third-place playoff lost to the DR Congo,[28] but with three goals was the tournament's joint top scorer alongside four other players.
International goals
As of 31 January 2015 (Equatorial Guinea score listed first, score column indicates score after each Balboa goal)[29]
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 21 January 2012 | Estadio de Bata, Bata, Equatorial Guinea |  Libya | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2012 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 2. | 25 January 2015 | Estadio de Bata, Bata, Equatorial Guinea |  Gabon | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2015 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 3. | 31 January 2015 | Estadio de Bata, Bata, Equatorial Guinea |  Tunisia | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2015 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 4. | 2–1 |
Personal life
Balboa came from a notable Equatorial Guinean family. His paternal great-grandfather, Abilio Balboa Arkins, was mayor of Santa Isabel (renamed Malabo) during the 1960s. Balboa Arkins' sons were also footballers: Norberto (Javier's paternal grandfather), Armando – both were killed after participating in a failed coup d'état against Francisco Macías Nguema – and Abilio Jr.,[30] the most prominent of the three who played with his national team. Turn, a daughter of Armando, formed a family in Spain with the son of Domènec Balmanya,[31] and they had a son, Israel Balmanya, who was a professional basketball player.[32]
Balboa had another cousin Richard Nguema, a basketball player who played with, amongst others, Real Madrid.[33]
Club statistics
As of 12 May 2016[34]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Real Madrid B | 2005–06[35] | Segunda División | 32 | 1 | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||
Real Madrid | 2005–06[35] | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 4 | 0 |
2007–08[35] | La Liga | 5 | 0 | 4[b] | 1 | 2[a] | 1 | 11 | 2 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 2 | ||
Racing Santander (loan) | 2006–07[35] | La Liga | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 1 | |
Benfica | 2008–09[36] | Primeira Liga | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 17 | 0 |
Cartagena (loan) | 2009–10[35] | Segunda División | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
Albacete (loan) | 2010–11[35] | Segunda División | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |
Beira-Mar | 2011–12[35] | Primeira Liga | 25 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 3 | |
2012–13[35] | Primeira Liga | 21 | 5 | 5 | 1 | — | 26 | 6 | ||
| Total | 46 | 8 | 7 | 1 | — | 53 | 9 | |||
Estoril | 2013–14[35] | Primeira Liga | 28 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 7[d] | 0 | 41 | 5 |
2014–15[35] | Primeira Liga | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 15 | 1 | |
| Total | 41 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 56 | 6 | ||
Al-Faisaly | 2015–16[35] | Saudi Professional League | 24 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 8 | |
| Career total | 203 | 23 | 25 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 247 | 27 | ||
^ ab Appearances in UEFA Champions League
^ Includes 1 appearance in Supercopa de España
^ Appearances in UEFA Cup
^ ab Appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours
- Real Madrid
La Liga: 2007–08
Supercopa de España: Runner-up 2007
- Benfica
Taça da Liga: 2008–09
References
^ "Mucha presión de los delanteros, dos medios centro y rotaciones" [A lot of pressure from the forwards, two central midfielders and rotations]. ABC (in Spanish). 5 December 2005. Retrieved 27 February 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ "Balboa completa la convocatoria de López Caro para el Rácing [sic]" [Balboa completes López Caro's squad for Racing]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 20 December 2005. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
^ "Triplete de Soldado" [Soldado triple]. El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). 22 May 2006. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
^ "Pernía presenta a Balboa y Calatayud y anuncia "cava" para la delantera" [Pernía presents Balboa and Calatayud and announces "cava" for offense]. Marca (in Spanish). 21 August 2006. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
^ "El Racing vuelve a sonreír en Mallorca" [Racing smile again in Mallorca]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 16 December 2006. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
^ "El Madrid golea al Lokomotiv con un Guti estelar" [Madrid rout Lokomotiv with stellar Guti]. El País (in Spanish). 4 August 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ "Aprobado con reparos" [Passed with notes]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 7 August 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ "Robinho double sends Madrid top". UEFA. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
^ "Madrid and Valencia avert cup shocks". UEFA. 19 December 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
^ "Balboa y Pepe se pelean durante el entrenamiento" [Balboa and Pepe fight during training]. Marca (in Spanish). 9 November 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
^ "Schuster castiga a Balboa por su pelea con Pepe" [Schuster punishes Balboa for his fight with Pepe]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 11 November 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
^ "Lisbon giants move to strengthen". UEFA. 25 June 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
^ "Balboa sob alçada disciplinar" [Balboa under disciplinary proceedings]. Record (in Portuguese). 3 September 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
^ "Balboa: "Muitos fizeram-me a vida impossível"" [Balboa: "Many made my life impossible"]. Record (in Portuguese). 7 January 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
^ "El Cartagena logra la cesión del ex madridista Balboa, que llega del Benfica" [Cartagena get loan of former Madrid man Balboa, who arrives from Benfica]. La Opinión de Murcia (in Spanish). 28 January 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ "Mercado: Es oficial, Balboa es cedido al Albacete por el Benfica" [Market: It's official, Balboa is loaned to Albacete by Benfica] (in Spanish). Goal.com. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
^ "Balboa rescindiu contrato" [Balboa terminated contract]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 13 August 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
^ "Benfica: Javier Balboa rescinde e já é do Beira-Mar" [Benfica: Javier Balboa cuts ties and already belongs to Beira-Mar] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
^ "Balboa rescindiu" [Balboa cut ties]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 21 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
^ "Balboa assinou pelo Estoril por duas épocas" [Balboa signed for Estoril for two seasons]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 22 June 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
^ "Oficial: Javier Balboa assina pelo Al Faisaly" [Official: Javier Balboa signs for Al Faisaly] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
^ "«Βόμβα» με Μπαλμπόα τα Τρίκαλα!" [«Bomb» with Balboa to Trikala!] (in Greek). Gazzetta. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
^ "Murcia gana por la mínima a Guinea Ecuatorial" [Murcia get minimal advantage over Equatorial Guinea]. Marca (in Spanish). 26 December 2007. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
^ "La selección extremeña inicia su andadura con una victoria" [Extremaduran autonomous team get going with win]. Marca (in Spanish). 28 December 2007. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
^ "Javier Balboa fires Equatorial Guinea to opening win against Libya". The Guardian. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
^ Hughes, Ian (25 January 2015). "Gabon 0–2 Equatorial Guinea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^ "Tunisia 1–2 Equatorial Guinea". BBC Sport. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
^ "Congo DR 0–0 Equatorial Guinea". BBC Sport. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
^ "Javier Balboa – Matches". Soccerway. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ "Crónicas de la Guinea Ecuatorial" [Equatorial Guinea chronicles] (in Spanish). Bioko. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
^ "Balboa, en la senda de Jones" [Balboa, in the track of Jones]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 2 January 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
^ "Balmanya Balboa, Israel" (in Spanish). Spanish Basketball Federation. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
^ "El primo de Balboa es el canterano más antiguo" [Balboa's cousin is oldest youth system member]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 21 December 2006. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
^ Javier Balboa at Soccerway
^ abcdefghijk "Balboa: Javier Ángel Balboa Osa". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
^ "Balboa". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
External links
Javier Balboa at BDFutbol
Javier Balboa at TheFinalBall.com
Javier Balboa at ForaDeJogo
Javier Balboa at National-Football-Teams.com
Javier Balboa – FIFA competition record (archive)
Equatorial Guinea squads | |||||||||||||
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Africa Cup of Nations top scorers | |
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