Marcelo Balboa is a former American soccer player who has come to be known as one of the well talked about defenders in the world of soccer in the 1990s. He played for the United States national team which he captained at a time. Thanks to his achievement with the team, he got inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Apart from the national team, he has also played for different teams including Colorado Rapids and MetroStars with which he hung his boots.
Marcelo Balboa Biography
It is on August 8, 1967, in the city of Chicago in Illinois, U.S.A that Marcelo Balboa was born, although it was in California that he was brought up. While he is an American, he also has Argentine roots because his father is from a North American country.
Just as the stereotypical belief holds, his family just as it is with other Argentine families, was deeply in love with football. The sport was often discussed at the dinner table and this encouraged him to pursue his passion to become a professional footballer.
Marcelo attended the Cerritos High School from where he graduated in 1985. Next, he went on to attend Cerritos College from 1986 to 1987. Even while at this college, the ex-footballer got himself heavily involved in sports. He became a placekicker on the football team and was influential in orchestrating good team play.
In 1988, Marcelo transferred to the San Diego State University where he became a 1988 First Team and a 1989 Second Team All-American soccer player.
Parents, Siblings, and Wife
Marcelo Balboa was born to a father named Luis Balboa who was a professional footballer himself who had even played with the North American Soccer League club, Chicago Mustangs in Argentina. It was Luis who helped to coach his son into becoming a footballer.
Marcelo’s mother was Alicia Balboa whose role in the football-loving family helped keep them together as one.
Marcelo has one brother identified as Claudio Balboa. Claudio also had a great interest in football and would later play soccer himself. The two brothers also had an interest in playing baseball, basketball, and even American football. However, it was soccer that would later get a greater grip on them.
Marcelo is married to Cindi Balboa and they have two sons between them; Owen Balboa and Nicolas Balboa.
Football Career and Stats
Marcelo Balboa has always had an interest in football from a young age. His deep desire to play football spurred him into getting a role for himself in the youth soccer club, Fram-Culver. The club would later go on to win the McGuire Cup (U-19 National Championship) in 1986.
Before going fully professional, Marcelo was signed to an amateur contract with the San Diego Nomads, a Western Soccer League in America from 1987 to 1989. While with the San Diego Nomads, Marcelo played the collegiate off-seasons and scored 8 goals.
Balboa began his professional career in 1990 when he got signed to San Francisco Bay Blackhawks, an American Professional Soccer League club. He was with the club from 1990 to 1991 and even though he played from a defensive position, managed to score a massive 7 goals in 15 appearances.
Marcelo was growing as a footballer and his thirst for achieving a lot more in the sport was increasing. He soon left Francisco Bay Blackhawks in 1991 before joining Colorado Foxes in 1992. He played 15 times for the club and found the back of the net 4 times.
Regarded as one of the best defenders the US has ever seen, he decided to move to Mexico where he joined León, a Mexican League club in 1995. He remained with the team until 1996, appearing 53 times and scoring 3 goals in that period.
Marcelo later went back to the United States where he signed up with the Colorado Rapids in 1996. It was with Colorado Rapids that his fame soared and made him a national sensation. He supplied the team with a lot of defensive strength and stamina and was one of the highly valued members of the club.
Marcelo remained at Colorado Rapids club for six seasons until 2001 bagging as many as 161 appearances and scoring 24 goals even as a defender. With Colorado Rapids, Marcelo became an all-time leader in many categories statistically.
By the time he left Colorado Rapids in 2001, Marcelo was quite spent. He later joined MetroStars, a club in New Jersey but didn’t achieve much there. He managed to play just a game and was bothered by injuries the rest of the time, forcing him to retire.
Marcelo’s achievements were highly regarded and recognized in America. He was later named to be one of the MLS All-Time Best XI and was also elected into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, an institution that was established to honor soccer achievements in the United States.
The former footballer was also inducted into the Colorado Hall of Fame in In 2012.
Marcelo’s International Career
Apart from making strides in his club career, Marcelo Balboa also gained some recognition in the U.S. national team.
He made his first appearance for the American national soccer team on January 10, 1988, when he played against Guatemala. He went on to play a lot more games for the U.S. becoming a strong part of the team’s defense. He is renowned for his awesome defensive skills as well as his dribbling.
Apart from just defending, Marcelo also had a penchant for scoring some good goals and making incredible attempts at goal once in a while. During the 1994 World Cup, he gained international attention and praise when he attempted to score a goal via an incredible bicycle kick when the U.S. played against Colombia and won.
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Marcelo went on to play many games for America and in 1995, he became the very first U.S. player to cross the 100-cap barrier. He also became one of the first U.S players to play in as many as 3 World Cups along with Eric Wynalda and Tab Ramos.
For his impressive display for America on the football pitch, Marcelo was rewarded and named the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 1992 and 1994.
Overall, the footballer bagged a stunning 128 appearances for the U.S. national team and ended up scoring as many as 13 goals in the process. He finally retired in January 2000 after playing in a friendly game against Iran.
Net Worth
Having made considerable wealth as an American footballer who made a big name for himself in the MLS, Marcelo Balboa’s net worth has been pegged at $1.4 million.
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