Javier Balboa

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Balboa and the second or maternal family name is Osa.
Javier Balboa
Personal information
Full nameJavier Ángel Balboa Osa
Date of birth13 May 1985
Place of birthMadrid, Spain
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionWinger
Club information
Current team
Estoril
Number7
Youth career
1992–1996CD Avance
1996–1999Alcalá
1999–2004Real Madrid
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2004–2005Real Madrid C34(1)
2005–2006Real Madrid B32(1)
2006–2008Real Madrid7(0)
2006–2007→ Racing Santander (loan)30(1)
2008–2011Benfica10(0)
2010→ Cartagena (loan)11(0)
2011→ Albacete (loan)7(0)
2011–2013Beira-Mar46(8)
2013–Estoril34(4)
National team‡
2007–Equatorial Guinea17(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 January 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 February 2015

Javier Ángel Balboa Osa (born 13 May 1985) is an Equatoguinean professional footballer who plays for Portuguese club G.D. Estoril Praia as a right winger.

After emerging at Real Madrid's youth system, he could never impose in its first team. In 2008 he signed with Benfica, being loaned several times for the duration of his contract and leaving three years after.

Balboa represented Equatorial Guinea at the 2012 and 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Club career

Real Madrid

Born in Madrid, Balboa arrived at Real Madrid Castilla in the summer of 2005, after Juanfran left the B-side for RCD Espanyol, on loan. He eventually settled down, even though he missed a part of Castilla's season due to an injury and first team duty; he still finished his first season with 32 games with one goal, in the second division.

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 wasn't going to be part of the side's plans by manager Fabio Capello.[1] 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.[2]

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 a left winger, and did well in various occasions, netting against FC Lokomotiv Moscow.

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 win.[3] On December 19, he scored his first goal in the Copa del Rey, in a 1–1 draw against Alicante CF.[4] The previous month, he had come to blows with teammate Pepe during a training session; [5] he would not be called up for Real Madrid's next match, whereas the Portuguese would.

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 Flores.[6] He made 17 competitive appearances in his first season, being ousted from the squad in the second following a wages dispute.[7][8]

On 28 January 2010, Balboa was loaned to FC Cartagena in the second level, until the end of the campaign.[9] 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.[10]

Beira-Mar

On 13 August 2011, Balboa rescinded his contract with Benfica.[11] Two days later he signed with S.C. Beira-Mar also in Portugal's top division,[12] leaving on 21 June 2013 after the Aveiro club's relegation.[13]

International career

Balboa made his international 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[14] and Extremadura in 2007,[15] 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 hosts defeated Libya.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18]

Balboa missed the first penalty in the shootout of the third-place playoff lost to the DR Congo,[19] but with three goals was the tournament's joint top scorer alongside four other players.

International goals

Scores and results list Equatorial Guinea's goal tally first.
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

Honours

Real Madrid
Benfica

Club statistics

As of match played 3 January 2015.[20]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Real Madrid C 2004–05 341—341
Total 341—341
Real Madrid B 2005–06 321—321
Total 321—321
Racing Santander (loan) 2006–07 30120—321
Total 30120—321
Real Madrid 2007–08 5031—21102
Total 5031—21102
Benfica 2008–09 100301030170
Total 100301030170
Cartagena (loan) 2009–10 11000—110
Total 11000—110
Albacete (loan) 2010–11 7000—70
Total 7000—70
Beira-Mar 2011–12 2531010—273
2011–12 2152041—276
Total 4683051—549
Estoril 2013–14 284303160405
2014–15 6000101080
Total 344304170485
Career total 2091514110212124519

Personal life

Balboa comes from an important Equatoguinean 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. aka "Chiqui",[21] 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.[22] They had a son called Israel who was a professional basketball player.[23]

Balboa has another cousin basketball player, Richard Nguema, who played with, amongst others, Real Madrid.[24]

References

  1. ↑ "Pernía presenta a Balboa y Calatayud y anuncia "cava" para la delantera" [Pernía presents Balboa and Calatayud and announces "cava" for offense] (in Spanish). Marca. 21 August 2006. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "El Racing vuelve a sonreír en Mallorca" [Racing smiles again in Mallorca] (in Spanish). El Mundo. 16 December 2006. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Robinho double sends Madrid top; UEFA.com, 24 October 2007
  4. ↑ Madrid and Valencia avert cup shocks; UEFA.com, 19 December 2007
  5. ↑ Balboa y Pepe se pelean durante el entrenamiento (Balboa and Pepe fight during training); Marca, 9 November 2008 (Spanish)
  6. ↑ Lisbon giants move to strengthen; UEFA.com, 25 June 2008
  7. ↑ "Balboa sob alçada disciplinar" [Balboa under disciplinary proceedings] (in Portuguese). Record. 3 September 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "Balboa: "Muitos fizeram-me a vida impossível"" [Balboa: "Many made my life impossible"] (in Portuguese). Record. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  9. ↑ Javier Balboa loaned to Spanish side; Planet Benfica, 28 January 2010
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ Balboa rescindiu contrato (Balboa rescinded contract); O Jogo, 13 August 2011 (Portuguese)
  12. ↑ Javier Balboa rescinde e ruma ao Beira-Mar (Javier Balboa rescinded and heads for Beira-Mar); A Bola, 15 August 2011 (Portuguese)
  13. ↑ Balboa rescindiu (Balboa rescinded); A Bola, 21 June 2013 (Portuguese)
  14. ↑ Murcia gana por la mínima a Guinea Ecuatorial (Murcia gets minimal advantage over Guinea Equatorial); Marca, 26 December 2007 (Spanish)
  15. ↑ La selección extremeña inicia su andadura con una victoria (Extremaduran autonomous team gets going with win); Marca, 28 December 2007 (Spanish)
  16. ↑ "Javier Balboa fires Equatorial Guinea to opening win against Libya". The Guardian. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  17. ↑ Hughes, Ian (25 January 2015). "Gabon 0–2 Equatorial Guinea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "Tunisia 1–2 Equatorial Guinea". BBC Sport. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  19. ↑ "Congo DR 0–0 Equatorial Guinea". BBC Sport. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  20. ↑ "Javier Balboa". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  21. ↑ Crónicas de la Guinea Ecuatorial (Equatorial Guinea chronicles); Bioko.net (Spanish)
  22. ↑ Balboa, en la senda de Jones (Balboa, in the track of Jones); Diario AS, 2 January 2006 (Spanish)
  23. ↑ Israel Balmanya Balboa FEB profile (Spanish)
  24. ↑ El primo de Balboa es el canterano más antiguo (Balboa's cousin is oldest cantera member); Diario AS, 21 December 2006 (Spanish)

External links