Fabián Balbuena

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Balbuena and the second or maternal family name is González.
Fabián Balbuena
Fabián Balbuena 2021.jpg
Balbuena with Dynamo Moscow in 2021
Personal information
Full name Fabián Cornelio Balbuena González[1]
Date of birth (1991-08-23) 23 August 1991 (age 30)
Place of birth Ciudad del Este, Paraguay
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Club information
Current team
 Dynamo Moscow
Number 5
Youth career
Cerro Porteño PF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2012 Cerro Porteño PF 76 (5)
2013 Rubio Ñu 17 (1)
2013–2014 Nacional 30 (1)
2014–2016 Libertad 43 (3)
2016–2018 Corinthians 69 (4)
2018–2021 West Ham United 54 (3)
2021– Dynamo Moscow 19 (2)
National team‡
2015– Paraguay 23 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 March 2022
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15:55, 27 January 2022 (UTC)

Fabián Cornelio Balbuena González (born 23 August 1991) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Russian club Dynamo Moscow and for the Paraguay national team.

He played for Cerro Porteño PF, Rubio Ñu, Nacional and Libertad in the Paraguayan Primera División, before joining Corinthians of Brazil in 2016. He played 120 games for Corinthians, winning the Campeonato Paulista twice and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A once, and was named in the latter's 2017 team of the year. After three years with West Ham United in the Premier League, he signed for Dynamo Moscow.

Balbuena made his senior international debut for Paraguay in 2015. He represented the country at four Copa América tournaments, coming fourth in 2015.

Club career[]

Paraguay[]

Born in Ciudad del Este, Balbuena was promoted to Cerro Porteño PF's first team in 2010, after the arrival of new manager Eduardo Rivera. He immediately became a starter under Rivera, playing in all the remaining seven matches of the campaign as his side achieved a mid-table position.[3]

Balbuena quickly became a regular starter in 2011, being also team captain as the club achieved promotion from División intermedia. He scored his first goal for the club on 3 April of that year, netting the game's only in a home success over .

Balbuena joined Rubio Ñu ahead of the 2013 season, but remained at the club for only six months before moving to defending champions Club Nacional.[4] At the latter side, he was also first-choice and reached the 2014 Copa Libertadores Finals, losing it to San Lorenzo.

On 15 August 2014, Libertad bought 50% of Balbuena's federative rights, and the player signed a four-year deal with the club.[5] Again a mainstay, he won the 2014 Clausura tournament.

Corinthians[]

On 16 February 2016, Balbuena moved abroad for the first time in his career after agreeing to a three-year deal with Série A side Corinthians.[6] He made his debut for the club nine days later by starting in a 1–1 Campeonato Paulista away draw against São Bento, and scored his first goal on 19 March in a 4–0 home routing of Linense for the same competition.

A key defensive unit at Timão, Balbuena lifted the 2017 Campeonato Paulista, 2017 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A and 2018 Campeonato Paulista during his spell. On 24 April 2018, he signed a new four-year contract.[7]

West Ham United[]

Balbuena (furthest right) in a friendly against Hertha BSC in July 2019

On 14 July 2018, Balbuena signed for Premier League club West Ham United on a three-year deal, for an undisclosed fee.[8] He made his debut on 12 August in a 4–0 defeat by Liverpool.[9] On 27 October he scored his first goal for the Hammers to open the scoring at Leicester City, but deflected Wilfred Ndidi's long-range shot into his own net for the equaliser; he was the first Paraguayan to score in England's top division since Antolín Alcaraz in May 2012.[10]

On 18 October 2020, Balbuena scored West Ham's first goal as they overturned a 3–0 deficit with eight minutes remaining to draw at London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.[11] The following 24 April, he was sent off in a 1–0 home loss to another capital team, Chelsea, for catching Ben Chilwell when making a clearance; the decision was criticised by manager David Moyes and various pundits.[12] The red card was overturned after West Ham appealed.[13] In May 2021, Balbuena was told by West Ham that his contract would not be renewed when it expired at the end of the 2020–21 season.[14]

Dynamo Moscow[]

On 9 July 2021, he signed a four-year contract with Russian Premier League club FC Dynamo Moscow.[15]

International career[]

First called up on 19 March 2015, Balbuena made his full international debut for Paraguay national team on 31 March by starting in a 1–0 friendly loss against Mexico at the Arrowhead Stadium.[16] He was also named among the 23-man squads for the 2015 Copa América[17] and the Copa América Centenario.[18] He made his first competitive appearance at the latter in the final group game, a 1–0 loss to hosts the United States in which he was substituted at half time for attacker Juan Iturbe.[19]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of match played 12 December 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Cerro Porteño PF 2010 División Intermedia 7 0 — — — 7 0
2011 División Intermedia 28 4 — — — 28 4
2012[20] Primera División 41 1 — — — 41 1
Total 76 5 — — — 76 5
Rubio Ñu 2013[20] Primera División 17 1 — — — 17 1
Nacional 2013[20] Primera División 14 0 — 2[a] 0 — 16 0
2014[20] Primera División 16 1 — 10[b] 0 — 26 1
Total 30 1 0 0 12 0 0 0 42 1
Libertad 2014[20] Primera División 16 1 — 4[a] 0 — 20 1
2015[20] Primera División 26 2 — 8[c] 0 — 34 2
2016[20] Primera División 1 0 — — — 1 0
Total 43 3 0 0 12 0 0 0 55 3
Corinthians 2016[20] Série A 29 0 4 0 2[b] 0 6[d] 2 41 2
2017[20] Série A 32 4 5 0 6[a] 2 15[d] 0 58 6
2018[20] Série A 8 0 2 0 6[b] 0 15[d] 3 31 3
Total 69 4 11 0 14 2 36 5 130 11
West Ham United 2018–19[21] Premier League 23 1 0 0 — — 23 1
2019–20[22] Premier League 17 1 4 0 — — 21 1
2020–21[23] Premier League 14 1 4 0 — — 18 1
Total 54 3 8 0 0 0 0 0 62 3
Dynamo Moscow 2021–22 Russian Premier League 16 2 1 0 — — 17 2
Career total 305 19 20 0 38 2 36 5 399 26
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
  2. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
  3. ^ Six appearances in Copa Libertadores, two appearances in Copa Sudamericana
  4. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in Campeonato Paulista

International[]

As of match played 16 November 2021[24]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Paraguay 2015 2 0
2016 2 0
2017 1 0
2018 3 0
2019 6 0
2020 3 0
2021 6 0
Total 23 0

Honours[]

Club[]

Cerro Porteño PF

Libertad

Corinthians

Paraguay

  • Copa America copper medals:2015[25]

Individual[]

References[]

  1. ^ "2018/19 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Fabián Cornelio Balbuena González - Fichajes.com". Fichajes .com: Noticias y rumores sobre el mercado de fichajes de fútbol. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Pai queria que Balbuena estudasse, mas ele virou jogador, capitão aos 20 e hoje brilha no Corinthians" [Balbuena's father wanted him to study, but he became a player, captain at 20 and today shines at Corinthians] (in Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Se sumó otro Mazacotte" [Another Mazacotte joined] (in Spanish). ABC Color. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Balbuena ya es gumarelo" [Balbuena already is gumarelo] (in Spanish). ABC Color. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Balbuena assina com Corinthians por três temporadas" [Balbuena signs with Corinthians for three seasons] (in Portuguese). SC Corinthians Paulista. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Fabián Balbuena renova contrato por quatro temporadas" [Fabián Balbuena renews contract for four seasons] (in Portuguese). SC Corinthians Paulista. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  8. ^ "West Ham sign Paraguay defender Balbuena". West Ham United FC. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Salah, Mane & Sturridge on target as Liverpool beat West Ham 4–0". BBC Sport. 12 August 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Leicester City 1–1 West Ham United". BBC Sport. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  11. ^ Hytner, David (18 October 2020). "Lanzini's late gem completes stunning West Ham fightback at Tottenham". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  12. ^ "David Moyes: West Ham boss hits out at officials after Fabian Balbuena red card". BBC Sport. 24 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Fabian Balbuena: West Ham defender's red card against Chelsea overturned on appeal". BBC Sport. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  14. ^ Veysey, Wayne (May 28, 2021). "West Ham news: Fabian Balbuena told to find new club".
  15. ^ "Фабиан Бальбуэна стал игроком "Динамо"" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 9 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Mexico vs. Paraguay 2015: Final score 1–0, El Tri run rampant in Kansas City". SB Nation. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  17. ^ "Los 23 elegidos de Díaz" [Díaz's 23 chosen ones] (in Spanish). ABC Color. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  18. ^ "Solo un par de nuevos entre los de siempre" [Only a bunch of newbies among the usual ones] (in Spanish). ABC Color. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  19. ^ "Shorthanded USA outlasts Paraguay 1–0 to advance to 2016 Copa America quarterfinals". U.S. Soccer. 11 June 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Fabián Balbuena at Soccerway. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  21. ^ "Games played by Fabián Balbuena in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  22. ^ "Games played by Fabián Balbuena in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Games played by Fabián Balbuena in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  24. ^ "Balbuena, Fabián". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2020-02-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. ^ "Com domínio do Palmeiras, Seleção é premiada recheada de finalistas" [With prevalence of Palmeiras, Best XI is awarded full of finalists] (in Portuguese). Federação Paulista de Futebol. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.

External links[]

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