Place of birth Madrid, Spain Name Javier Balboa Career start 2004 1992–1996 CD Avance Weight 74 kg | Number 20 Height 1.82 m Playing position Role Footballer | |
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Full name Javier Angel Balboa Osa Date of birth (1985-05-13) 13 May 1985 (age 30) Current teams Al-Faisaly FC, Equatorial Guinea national football team (Midfielder, Forward) Similar People Emilio Nsue, Ahmed Akaichi, Felipe Ovono, Ivan Salvador, Ivan Bolado | ||
Javier balboa moments benfica cartagena
Javier Ángel Balboa Osa (born 13 May 1985) is an Equatoguinean professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Qatari club Al-Mesaimeer Sports Club.
Contents
- Javier balboa moments benfica cartagena
- Post match Interviews Javier Balboa EQG Orange Africa Cup of Nations EQUATORIAL GUINEA 2015
- Real Madrid
- Benfica
- Beira Mar
- Later years
- International career
- International goals
- Personal life
- Club statistics
- Honours
- References
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.
Post-match Interviews: Javier Balboa (EQG) - Orange Africa Cup of Nations, EQUATORIAL GUINEA 2015
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. 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.
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. On December 19, he scored his first goal in the Copa del Rey, in a 1–1 draw against Alicante CF. The previous month, he had come to blows with teammate Pepe during a training session; 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. He made 17 competitive appearances in his first season, being ousted from the squad in the second following a wages dispute.
On 28 January 2010, Balboa was loaned to FC Cartagena in the second level until the end of the campaign. 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.
Beira-Mar
On 13 August 2011, Balboa terminated his contract with Benfica. Two days later he signed with S.C. Beira-Mar also in Portugal's Primeira Liga, leaving on 21 June 2013 after the Aveiro club's relegation.
Later years
On 16 September 2015, after two seasons with G.D. Estoril Praia, Balboa moved to Saudi Arabia after agreeing to a one-year deal with Al-Faisaly FC. On 25 January 2017 he moved clubs and countries again, joining Trikala F.C. in the Football League (Greece).
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 and Extremadura in 2007, 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. 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. 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.
Balboa missed the first penalty in the shootout of the third-place playoff lost to the DR Congo, 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.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", 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. They had a son called Israel who was a professional basketball player.
Balboa has another cousin basketball player, Richard Nguema, who played with, amongst others, Real Madrid.