- Felipe Baloy
Football player infobox| playername = Felipe Baloy
fullname = Felipe Abdiel Baloy Ramírez
nickname = "Machacado", " el sheriff", "pipe", "Kid"
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1981|2|24
cityofbirth =Panama
countryofbirth =Panama
height = height|m=1.85
currentclub = Monterrey
clubnumber = 23
position = Defender
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1999 2000 2001-2002 2003 2003-2004
2005 2005-present 2007
clubs =Eurokickers F.C. Sporting '89 EnvigadoIndependiente Medellin Grêmio Atlético Paranaense CF Monterrey
→América "(loan)"
caps(goals) = 0? (?) 0? (?) 37 (3) 09 (0) 50 (3) 05 (0) 91 (8) 4 (0)
nationalyears = 2001-
nationalteam = Panama
nationalcaps(goals) = 26 (1)
pcupdate = 31 July 2006
ntupdate = 13 November 2006Felipe Baloy (born
February 24 ,1981 , inPanama ,Panama ) is a football defender who currently plays inMexico forPrimera División de México teamClub de Fútbol Monterrey and is the current captain of thePanama national football team .Early life
Baloy was born on
February 24 ,1981 inPanama City . He was the second youngest of his 7 brothers and grew in the populous "barrio" of Cerro Batea in the San Miguelito district after moving from another "barrio" called San Martin. "Pipe" grew interest in football after playing in the streets with his friends.Baloy graduated from both elementary and high school, but never went to university because he decided to pursuit his career in football where "things have been going well" [ [http://felipebaloy.com/fb_biografia.htm Felipe Baloy's Biography] ] .
Club career
Early career
At the age of 18, he started his football career in
ANAPROF teamEurokickers F.C. , however his spell only lasted a year since the team was relegated that year. He then moved toSporting '89 and managed to be part of the Panama's U-20 squad where he was spotted by Colombian international representativeLuis Felipe Posso signed "Pipe" to his agency and open the doors for Baloy inColombia .Colombia
At the age of 19 Baloy moved to Colombia to play for
Copa Mustang teamEnvigado Fútbol Club in 2001. He played a year with the Antioquia side before moving toIndependiente Medellín . With theMedellín side he had more success, he played inCopa Libertadores in 2003 where DIM finished 3rd. After 2003 his spell inColombia was about to end after he was signed byBrazil ian side Grêmio.Brazil
Baloy started his career in
Brazil with Grêmio where he played the 2003 andCampeonato Brasileiro Série A 2004 season in theCampeonato Brasileiro Série A . With Grêmio Baloy had rough times, after finishing 20th in the 2003 championship and 24th (relegation)Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 2004 Baloy was signed byClube Atlético Paranaense . However he participated inCopa Sudamericana with thePorto Alegre side in the 2004 season, but never made it past the first round. Baloy was also made capitain in Grêmio despite his young age.In
Clube Atlético Paranaense Baloy had little more success after finishing 6th in the 2005 season and playing on the side that finished runner-up in the 2005 season. However Baloy did not play the final because he was signed by Monterrey and had to depart toMexico . He was also captain of theCuritiba side.Mexico
Baloy arrived in
2005 toMexico to play to Monterrey in thePrimera División de México , he debuted onJuly 30 ,2005 in the 1-2CF Pachuca . However Baloy had trouble at first with theMexican fans due to the fact that he was taking the place of the fan favoriteArgentine DefenderPablo Rotchen . After a couple of good performances, Baloy was a fan favorite.On
2005 "Pipe" had a good start with "rayados" where in the 2005 Apertura finished runner-up. However after that season, Baloy and the "rayados" have been passing through hard times where they haven't been the same competitive they where before. However Baloy manages to figure in the team and has been called numerous times one of the best defenders in Mexico.In
2007 Baloy played in the 2007 season of theCopa Libertadores after he was loaned out toClub América for that competition.In the recent years Baloy has been linked many times with clubs in Europe, recently in the 2007 winter transfer window he was pretended by
Premier League sideDerby County F.C. , however the move never happened. In2008 he was linked to alsoPremier League sideArsenal F.C. [ [http://www.tribalfootball.com/article.php?id=88966 Felipe Baloy Linked with a Move to Arsenal] ] .International career
Baloy played in the Panama U-20 squad which attempted to qualify to the 2001
FIFA World Youth Championship inArgentina . However, Baloy never managed to qualify to the World Cup even though the team was considered as one of Panama's best. He played along side withJose Luis Garces ,Luis Tejada ,Jaime Penedo among others.In the senior team he made his debut on
February 21 ,2001 in the 2-2 tie with Guatemala [ [http://www.futbolextremo.com/foro/viewtopic.php?t=49378 Baloy Debut Information] ] . "Pipe" has played more than 70 representing Panama participating in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification. He is currently the captain of the national team. He was also part of the 2005 and 2007CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI. He also was part of the side that finished runner-up on both2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup andUNCAF Nations Cup 2007 .2006 Santos Laguna controversy
On August 2006 in a Monterrey game against
Santos Laguna in theCorona Stadium , Baloy scored a goal which contributed to the 2-2 tie. However during the gameSantos Laguna 's fans chanted racial slurs towards Baloy, these slurs included "chango" (monkey) and "come platano" (banana eater) [ [http://www.mediotiempo.com/noticia.php?id_noticia=23981 2006 Santos Laguna Racism Controversy] ] .Santos Laguna was fined for the racist comments.Personal life
Felipe Baloy is married and has two children. He currently lives in
Mexico with this family. He also holds a close friendship with fellow team matesBlas Perez and Gabriel Gomez.Quotes
* "I still can remember my first years. I was mischievous. I did things that would anger my mother and other people, but what I remember the most is that in those days at 6 a.m. where the Torneos de Barrios (District Tournaments), and at that time I was in the field. I was the first to arrive and the last to leave" Baloy in his biography in his website
References
External links
* [http://felipebaloy.com/ Felipe Baloy's Official Website]
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