Luis Ramírez Zapata

Luis Ramírez Zapata
Personal information
Full name Luis Baltazar Ramírez Zapata
Date of birth 6 January 1954 (1954-01-06) (age 58)
Place of birth San Salvador, El Salvador
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Forward
Youth career
1966-1968 Córdova
1968-1969 La Predilecta
1969-1971 Dragón
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1971–1976 Águila (182)
1977–1978 Cartaginés
1978 Puebla
1979 Alianza
1979 Platense
1980–1992 Águila
1990 Washington Diplomats
1992 Atlético Marte
National team
1971–1989 El Salvador (17)
Teams managed
2007 Águila
2009 Atlético Balboa
2010 ADI F.C.
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2007.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 December 2006

Luis Baltazar Ramírez Zapata (born 6 January 1954) is a retired Salvadoran footballer.

Contents

Club career

Nicknamed El Pelé, he spent nearly 20 years playing for Salvadoran club Águila. He started with Águila, after being recommended by Brazilian technical director Arnaldo Da Silva, under the legendary Juan Francisco Barraza[1] before leaving to join other clubs and later in his career make a return to the San Miguel based club. He also would go on to play for Atlético Marte and Alianza in his homeland El Salvador and spent time abroad playing for Cartaginés in Costa Rica and Puebla in Mexico. In 1990, he played for the Washington Diplomats of the American Professional Soccer League.[2]

International career

Ramírez has represented his country in 24 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[3] and was a member of the El Salvador team at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. During the tournament, he scored their only goal in World Cup history.[4] Unfortunately, it came in the infamous 10–1 defeat to Hungary on June 15, 1982, which remains the single biggest loss for a team in the competition's history.

Ramírez Zapata scored 17 goals for the El Salvador national football team from 1971 to 1989.[5]

His final international game was an August 1989 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Trinidad & Tobago.

Managerial career and personal life

His first job as a manager was at Águila, where he replaced Panamanian coach Gary Stempel in 2007. After his own dismissal, he coached Atlético Balboa and Salvadoran second division side ADI F.C., before joining the Department of Culture and Sports of the San Miguel mayorship.[6] He was sacked by the municipal council in October 2011.[7]

References

External links