Alberto Blanco (footballer)

Luis Alberto Blanco Saavedra (born 8 January 1978) is a retired Panamanian football midfielder.

Alberto Blanco
Personal information
Full name Luis Alberto Blanco Saavedra
Date of birth (1978-01-08) January 8, 1978
Place of birth Panama City, Panama
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1994–1995 Marseille
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2000 Panamá Viejo
2000–2001 San Francisco 75 (6)
2001–2005 Sheriff Tiraspol 48 (5)
2005 Alania Vladikavkaz 2 (1)
2005–2006 Al Ain 34 (3)
2006 Al-Nasr 25 (4)
2007 Plaza Amador 15 (1)
2007 San Francisco 16 (0)
2008 Atlético Junior 5 (0)
2008 San Francisco 23 (4)
2009 Maccabi Netanya 11 (1)
2009–2010 San Francisco 30 (5)
2010 Chorrillo 15 (3)
2011 Tauro
2011–2013 Atlético Nacional
National team‡
1999–2009 Panama 61 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of August 17, 2008
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of July 31, 2006
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Blanco and the second or maternal family name is Saavedra.

Club career

Nicknamed Satú, he started his career at hometown club San Francisco, then moved to Europe to play in the UEFA Champions League with Moldovan champions Sheriff Tiraspol[1] where he played alongside compatriots Ubaldo Guardia and Roberto Brown.[2] He then had a short stint at Russian outfit Alania Vladikavkaz before moving to the Middle East where he played for UAE side Al Ain[3] and Al-Nasr in Saudi Arabia.[4]

After spells at Plaza Amador and San Francisco, he moved abroad again when signing for Colombians Atlético Junior in February 2008.[5] In 2009, he joined compatriot Alberto Zapata at Israeli team Maccabi Netanya, but left them in summer 2009.[6]

On his return to Panama, he again played for San Francisco and Chorillo and joined Tauro in January 2011.[7] He retired at second division side Atlético Nacional in 2013.[8]

International career

Blanco made his debut for Panama in an October 1999 friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago and has earned a total of 60 caps, scoring 3 goals.[9] He represented his country in 18 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[10] and was a member of the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup team, who finished second in the tournament[11] and he also played at the 2007[12] and 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cups.[13]

His final international was a July 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup match against Nicaragua.

International goals
Scores and results list Panama's goal tally first.[14]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
120 June 2004George Odlum Stadium, Vieux Fort, Saint Lucia Saint Lucia3–03–02006 FIFA World Cup qualification
213 February 2007Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador Costa Rica1–01–02007 UNCAF Nations Cup
322 August 2007Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama Guatemala1–12–1Friendly match

Honours

Club

References
  1. Zhenis step into the spotlight - UEFA
  2. Sheriff de Brown y Alberto Blanco gana por goleada - PanamaAmerica (in Spanish)
  3. Nosrati gives Al Ain hope Archived 2016-04-22 at the Wayback Machine - Iran Sports Press
  4. Alberto Blanco está muy motivado - PanamaAmerica (in Spanish)
  5. Alberto Blanco estará con Junior - Prensa (in Spanish)
  6. Blanco no seguirá en el Maccabi Netanya - PanamaAmerica (in Spanish)
  7. Alberto Blanco, Nuevo refuerzo Taurino Archived 2015-05-30 at the Wayback Machine - Tauro FC (in Spanish)
  8. El ‘Satu’ Blanco un volante con clase Archived 2015-07-13 at the Wayback Machine - Somos Lasele (in Spanish)
  9. Panama - Record International Players - RSSSF
  10. Alberto Blanco – FIFA competition record
  11. CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2005 - Full Details Archived 2008-10-24 at the Wayback Machine - RSSSF
  12. CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2007 - Full Details Archived 2008-10-24 at the Wayback Machine - RSSSF
  13. CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2009 - Full Details Archived 2014-07-26 at the Wayback Machine - RSSSF
  14. Luis Alberto Blanco - International Appearances
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