There isn't nearly enough documentation on the internet about the history of football in Guatemala. And there is a lot of history. The game has been played in the country for over a century, the national league has been running for nearly 70 years, and the national team has been competing internationally for over 50 years. Newspapers used to provide great coverage of the sport but now it's all sales and even with the power of the Web the quality of the coverage is less than fair. Some of the important events that have shaped our futbol have gone and are now forgotten, sadly. Likewise, many great players that entertained masses and played with true love for the game are virtually unknown since no one pays tribute to their contributions to the sport. Because of this, I've spent some time over the last few years researching footballing events and individuals from the past in Guatemala, making translations, and adding to, or creating, articles in the great resource that is Wikipedia. I chose the English Wikipedia since it is the one with the most content, development, traffic, and number of contributors, and I am pleased to report that several of the articles I worked on have been translated to several languages. Since this is a long-term exercise, in order to prioritize the work I wanted to make a list of the greatest Guatemalans ever to play the game, and eventually write player profiles with photos, stats, etc. similar to what was done here on BigSoccer and add or improve articles in Wikipedia. It will also be great to have a somewhat educated true ranking of the best players, not just a handful of names. However, the research has been limited to Internet sources and my memory from the 1980s and 1990s experiencing football in Guatemala. There are a few good books produced by journalists in Guatemala containing much more information which could surely add to this list. Unfortunately, it's proven difficult to get a hold of these books in the U.S., so for now, here's my preliminary list of a little over 100 of the greatest Guatemalan footballers, more or less in order; the ones that have a Wikipedia article are linked to it. I would like to come up with at top 50 list derived from this list. I would love it if posters of this forum would help with suggestions, additions, corrections, comments, and any info you may have. Also, if there is a player, team, or other subject of notability that you would like me to improve or add to Wikipedia, let me know and I'll be happy to work on it. Thanks. Rank Player 1 . Oscar Enrique "El Conejo" Sánchez 2 . Juan Carlos Plata 3 . Jorge "El Grillo" Roldán 4 . Carlos "El Pescadito" Ruiz 5 . Martin Machón 6 . Selvin Pennant 7 . Byron Pérez 8 . Juan Manuel "Memín" Funes 9 . Guillermo "El Pando" Ramirez 10 . Julio César Anderson 11 . Allan Kenny Wellman 12 . Victor Hugo Monzón 13 . Mincho Monterroso 14 . Carlos "Pepino" Toledo 15 . Alberto López Oliva 16 . Hugo "Tin Tan" Peña 17 . Freddy García 18 . Félix "La Polilla" McDonald 19 . Julio Gómez 20 . Luis Villavicencio 21 . Julio Rodas 22 . David Stokes 23 . Dwight "El Tanque" Pezzarossi 24 . Jorge Rodas 25 . Mario Camposeco 26 . Julio Rodolfo "Nixon" García Guzmán 27 . Guillermo Enrique "El Gigante" Rodríguez 28 . Carlos "El Chino" Castañeda 29 . German "El Chino" Ruano 30 . Joaquín "Tacuazín" Ortiz 31 . Ricardo "El Muñecón" Piccinini 32 . Francisco "Pinula" López Contreras 33 . Gonzalo "Chalo" Romero 34 . Edwin Westphal 35 . Gustavo Cabrera 36 . Eduardo "Gasparín" Acevedo 37 . Juan Francisco "El Gringo" Aguirre 38 . Marco Pappa 39 . Ricardo Alexander Clark 40 . René Arturo Morales 41 . Mario Acevedo 42 . Manuel Lisandro "Escopeta" Recinos 43 . Edgar "El Camarón" Arriaza 44 . Raúl "El Flaco" Chacón 45 . Claudio Ariel Rojas 46 . Julio Girón 47 . Hermenegildo Pep Castro 48 . Roderico "Lico" Mendez 49 . Norman Delva 50 . Augusto "Culiche" Espinoza 51 . Juan Manuel "Magua" Dávila II 52 . "El Chino" Iván León 53 . Jose Emilio Mitrovich 54 . Freddy Thompson 55 . Efraín "Soldado" de León 56 . Federico Revuelto 57 . Rafael "Cochita" Godoy 58 . Pablo Melgar 59 . Henry Stokes 60 . Marco Antonio Fion 61 . Dionel Fulgencio Bordón 62 . Erick Miranda 63 . Manuel "El Moyo" Contreras 64 . Pedro "Tarzán" Segura 65 . Edgar Everaldo Valencia 66 . Rudy Rolando Ramirez 67 . Marvin Ceballos I 68 . Alejandro Ortiz Obregón 69 . Nelson Cáceres 70 . Ricardo Jerez I 71 . Selvyn Ponciano 72 . Jorge "La Chana" Fernandez 73 . Guillermo "La Pantera" Enríquez Gamboa 74 . Jorge Vickers 75 . Jesus "Chus" de Leon 76 . Edgar "El Campeón" Bolaños 77 . Victor Hugo "El Aguado" Méndez 78 . Kevin Sandoval 79 . Giovanni Hernández 80 . Edgar "El Gato" Estrada 81 . Jorge Arturo "El Indio" Perez 82 . Adán Onelio Paniagua 83 . Rony Archila 84 . Leonel "El Machete" Contreras 85 . Lijón León de León 86 . Rogelio "El Colocho" Flores 87 . Erwin "El Pollo" Donis 88 . Cesar Aníbal "El Picho" Trujillo 89 . Marvin Gordon 90 . Sergio Rivera 91 . Luis Rodolfo "El Chavo" López Meneses 92 . Marvin Ávila 93 . Mario Menjívar 94 . Ricardo "El Loco" Medrano 95 . Leonardo MacNish 96 . Felipe Antonio Carías 97 . Carlos "El Chatío" Martinez 98 . Sergio "Chejo" Guevara 99 . Fredy Masella 100 . Engelvert Herrera 101 . Luis "El Canche" Rodriguez 102 . René Villavicencio 103 . Nelson Armando Melgar 104 . Carlos Enrique "El Ronco" Wellman 105 . Miguel Estuardo Coronado 106 . Juan Perez Monge 107 . Rigoberto "La Chula" Gómez
Sounds good to me. The list is tentative and meant to be the draft of a better list. I had to start somewhere to rank players at the very top. I made the top 3 in accordance with the IFFHS century election: http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/iffhs-century.html#cnpoy . Of course that ranking was done prior to El Pescado becoming the player he became. Do you rank him ahead of el Grillo Roldan? Plata still has a case as he is the most prolific goalscorer ever in Guatemala. However, I can see him being ranked lower due the fact that he only played in the local league. His contributions to the national team, however, are as good as anyone's.
Thanks for sticky. This is how goalkeepers are ranked on the above list: 26 . Julio Rodolfo "Nixon" García Guzmán 31 . Ricardo "El Muñecón" Piccinini 47 . Hermenegildo Pep Castro 64 . Pedro "Tarzán" Segura 70 . Ricardo Jerez I 73 . Guillermo "La Pantera" Enríquez Gamboa 80 . Edgar "El Gato" Estrada 93 . Mario Menjívar What do you guys think?
We currently suck at GK and from this list I only like the top 2. Check #94. ChaChafut, Why is la chula Gómez on this list?
Ranking of defenders per above list: 11 . Allan Kenny Wellman 12 . Victor Hugo Monzón 15 . Alberto López Oliva 19 . Julio Gómez 20 . Luis Villavicencio 29 . German "El Chino" Ruano 35 . Gustavo Cabrera 36 . Eduardo "Gasparín" Acevedo 51 . Juan Manuel "Magua" Dávila II 52 . "El Chino" Iván León 58 . Pablo Melgar 59 . Henry Stokes 60 . Marco Antonio Fion 62 . Erick Miranda 68 . Alejandro Ortiz Obregón 69 . Nelson Cáceres 71 . Selvyn Ponciano 79 . Giovanni Hernández 81 . Jorge Arturo "El Indio" Perez 84 . Leonel "El Machete" Contreras 85 . Lijón León de León 100 . Engelvert Herrera 102 . René Villavicencio 104 . Carlos Enrique "El Ronco" Wellman 105 . Miguel Estuardo Coronado 106 . Juan Perez Monge The list of defenders may be the one that needs the most work. I feel I'm missing a bunch of good defenders, and it looks all over the place
Whereabouts would you rank him? Top 50? Top 100? I never really liked him... but to be honest, I tend to underrate recent players and squads.
We certainly do. The last decent keeper was probably Danny Ortiz (R.I.P). His long tenure with Comunicaciones... no other reason, really. Originally I wanted to list 100 players but I added a few more trying not to miss anyone. As you can see, he doesn't crack top 100 in my eyes. Please remember that this is a preliminary list, and the first one of this kind done in this forum. There are definitely players missing that could even be in the top 25 ever. I need to continue researching and will update the list as I do. At the same time I am working on a compilation of pure statistics and records at club and national team level (perhaps will start a thread on that too) that should help add objectiveness to the ranking of players. Everyone's input is much appreciated. Edit: Also Popol you didn't answer my question on whether you would put El Pescado ahead of El Grillo Roldan.
El Gato Estrada is too high at #80. He's probably the most overrated player in Guate's history. I still blame him for the 5-2 debacle vs Costa Rica @Miami that kept us out of the 2002 WC. Also, no Stanley Gardiner?
Yes Estrada had his dark moments but at the same time he was consistently called up to the NT, becoming the most capped GK. He was also the "menos vencido" for several seasons at the league level. Strangely for a goalkeeper I think his better years were earlier in his career, around 1993-1998. I hesitated in adding Stanley Gardiner. He was a solid CB. I remember watching him partner with el Peruano Julian Vargas and also the Argentinian Alejandro Pacheco, both amazing players, In Municipal's backline in the early 90s. What a team that was. However, I thought his career was rather short an his international presence scarce. Still, I will further evaluate him. Thanks.
Definitely Carlos Ruiz since we're in more modern times and his outstanding NT scoring record even though he never played in a top European league.
This list was missing the players in bold. Total 29 DF Ranking of MIDFIELDERS: 3 . Jorge "El Grillo" Roldán 5 . Martin Machón 7 . Byron Pérez 8 . Juan Manuel "Memín" Funes 9 . Guillermo "El Pando" Ramirez 13 . Mincho Monterroso 17 . Freddy García 18 . Félix "La Polilla" McDonald 24 . Jorge Rodas 27 . Guillermo Enrique "El Gigante" Rodríguez (*) 28 . Carlos "El Chino" Castañeda 30 . Joaquín "Tacuazín" Ortiz 33 . Gonzalo "Chalo" Romero 38 . Marco Pappa 44 . Raúl "El Flaco" Chacón 45 . Claudio Ariel Rojas 46 . Julio Girón 54 . Freddy Thompson 63 . Manuel "El Moyo" Contreras 65 . Edgar Everaldo Valencia 67 . Marvin Ceballos I 72 . Jorge "La Chana" Fernandez 75 . Jesus "Chus" de Leon 76 . Edgar "El Campeón" Bolaños 77 . Victor Hugo "El Aguado" Méndez 87 . Erwin "El Pollo" Donis 88 . Cesar Aníbal "El Picho" Trujillo 91 . Luis Rodolfo "El Chavo" López Meneses 92 . Marvin Ávila 94 . Ricardo "El Loco" Medrano 98 . Sergio "Chejo" Guevara 99 . Fredy Masella (*) 101 . Luis "El Canche" Rodriguez 107 . Rigoberto "La Chula" Gómez Total 34 MF *Inside forward on 3-2-5 system of the time (source); listed as MF for the purposes of comparison between eras. After I list the forwards, I will post a new master list with changes and additions.
Bolded player was missing. Total 9 GK Ranking of FORWARDS: 1 . Oscar Enrique "El Conejo" Sánchez 2 . Juan Carlos Plata 4 . Carlos "El Pescadito" Ruiz 6 . Selvin Pennant 10 . Julio César Anderson 14 . Carlos "Pepino" Toledo 16 . Hugo "Tin Tan" Peña 21 . Julio Rodas 22 . David Stokes 23 . Dwight "El Tanque" Pezzarossi 25 . Mario Camposeco 32 . Francisco "Pinula" López Contreras (*) 34 . Edwin Westphal 37 . Juan Francisco "El Gringo" Aguirre 39 . Ricardo Alexander Clark 40 . René Arturo Morales 41 . Mario Acevedo 42 . Manuel Lisandro "Escopeta" Recinos 43 . Edgar "El Camarón" Arriaza 48 . Roderico "Lico" Mendez 49 . Norman Delva 50 . Augusto "Culiche" Espinoza 53 . Jose Emilio Mitrovich 55 . Efraín "Soldado" de León 57 . Rafael "Cochita" Godoy 61 . Dionel Fulgencio Bordón 66 . Rudy Rolando Ramirez 74 . Jorge Vickers 78 . Kevin Sandoval 82 . Adán Onelio Paniagua 83 . Rony Archila 89 . Marvin Gordon 96 . Felipe Antonio Carías 97 . Carlos "El Chatío" Martinez 103 . Nelson Armando Melgar Total 35 FW * Winger (extremo) in the 3-2-5 system of his time. Total # of players selected to preliminary list by position: Goalkeepers: 9 Defenders: 29 Midfielders: 34 Forwards: 35 -------------- Total: 107
Are their any players on the list that were naturalised guatemalans like they were born in another country but then went on to represent Guatemala or this just a list solely based on those born and raised in guatemala?
The only ones I think of is #31 goalkeeper Ricardo Piccinini (ARG). But he made his life in Guatemala, his daughter was elected Miss Guatemala around 5 years ago. And José Emilio Mitrovich (ARG). ChaChaFut might know of more. Don't be fooled by the English/German surnames.
That is correct Popol, and actually, also GK José Pedro "Tarzán" Segura was born in El Salvador and naturalized, and like him Dionel Fulgencio Bordón (Argentine, 1990s) and Rigoberto "La Chula" Gómez (Honduras, 1990s and 2000s) -- the latter whom will be cut off the upcoming updated list (top 100). Honorable mention (not on the list) for Hector Tambasco (1970s), Marcelo Ferreira and Marcelo Bauzá (both 1980s), all from Argentina, who stood out in the Guatemalan league and were naturalized. I might be forgetting others but in any case they probably don't make the list. A different scenario but worth mentioning is that one of Claudio Ariel Rojas, one of the best offensive midfielders in the Guatemalan league in the 1990s and beginning of the 2000s, who was born in Guatemala, but was basically made in Argentina in the lower divisions of River Plate. A comparable, more recent case is Willie Sims (not on the list) who was formed in the U.S. and then played for the Guatemala NT but I believe only earned 1 cap. Does he speak Spanish? The list is not meant to exclude any naturalized players but it will base their ranking on their club and NT contributions occurring only after they were naturalized.
This guy was totally out of my memories until now that you mentioned him. Too bad he was only more of a club player.
Re: Leyendas del fútbol guatemalteco Popol can you combine this thread with the one that was made recently
Re: Leyendas del fútbol guatemalteco Yes, I remember reading this thread before. Do merge it with the other one as it contains some info about two of the players in the list. lguti9 , did you get to take a picture with/of La Pantera Gamboa? and do you know whether he is still involved with football in any way? and please do comment on the preliminary ranking of players.