2011 El Salvador national football team season

2011 El Salvador national football team season

Season	2011
Manager	Rubén Israel
Home stadium	Estadio Cuscatlán
2011 Copa Centroamericana	Fourth
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup	Quarterfinals
Wins	12
Losses	4 (2 Pso.)
Goals scored	43
Top goalscorer	Rodolfo Zelaya (7 goals)
Players	50
Goalscorers	17
Debutants	7
Biggest home win	4–0 0v0 Cayman Islands 11 October 2011 4–0 0v0 Suriname 15 November 2011
Biggest away win	4–1 0v0 Cayman Islands 6 September 2011
Highest scoring	6–1 0v0 Cuba 12 June 2011 5–2 Belize 16 January 2011
Highest attendance	80,108 0v0 Mexico 5 June 2011
Lowest attendance	500 0v0 Suriname 11 November 2011
Home colours Away colours
← 2010 2012 →

The El Salvador national football team 2011 season was the 90th season of the El Salvador national football team, their 73rd season in FIFA and 49th season in CONCACAF. The team was managed by José Luis Rugamas from January 2010. Rubén Israel took over as manager in April 2011.

January 2011 was spent playing in the Copa Centroamericana. El Salvador lost at the semi-finals and would unsuccessfully contest in the tournament for third-place. Their fourth place qualified them for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Forward Rafael Burgos received the Golden Boot having made three goals. El Salvador's cache of success at season's end would be three international competitions; one was lost. Two others were to be played in 2011.

El Salvador took part in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group A in June, and in September they started on their 2014 World Cup qualification. El Salvador starting at the second round.^{[clarification needed]}

On 2 January, the issue of an official manager was under examination by Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol (FESFUT) and had been discussed by them. Fernando Palomo stated in his ESPN blog that discussions had possibly taken place with a potential Spanish manager and FESFUT.^[1] The following day La Prensa Gráfica, a mainstream metropolitan newspaper in El Salvador, released the names of 3 possible Spanish managers to elsalvadorfc.com. As stated on elsalvadorfc.com, Juan Manuel Lillo, Benito Floro and Xabier Azkargorta were the names which FESFUT would consider as national coach.^[2] On 4 January Ramón Sánchez, captain of the El Salvador national team, was dismissed from training by the decision of coach José Luis Rugamas^[3] who named Marvin González as the new captain.^[4] Midfielder Arturo Alvarez, from Real Salt Lake, joined the players training group as one of the 21 players that have the opportunity to play in the 2011 Copa Centroamericana. Positive comments were made about his physical and tactical performance amongst the coaching staff.^[5]

According to Carlos Méndez Cabezas, FESFUT president and Comisión Ejecutiva de Selecciones Nacionales (CESEN) coordinator, Lillo would arrive in El Salvador on 10 January to view a better perspective of El Salvador's football. He would be accompanied by Iñigo Dominguez, his assistant, who contributed to Real Sociedad, UD Almería, and UD Almería's women's team.^[6] His visit was to meet FESFUT and negotiate his probable appointment as El Salvador national football team coach. Lillo declared, "The most important thing right now is that all of El Salvador is of support to his national team and his coach, José Luis Rugamas, to reach the goal is to qualify for the next Gold Cup. It is the most important thing right now." Lillo would be in Panama the following week to see the performance of the national team in the 2011 Copa Centroamericana. Carlos Méndez Cabezas had also declared that they were in negotiation with Lillo to coach La Selecta ("the selected") for the next World Cup qualifying campaign.^[7]

Central defence player Alexander Méndoza, from C.D. UES, lost the chance to represent his country in the 2011 Copa Centroamericana when he suffered a knee injury and could not recover in time.^[8] On 7 January Coach José Luis Rugamas announced the names of the 21 players for the official roster of El Salvador's national team to participate in the 2011 Copa Centroamericana, played in Panama from 14 to 23 January.^[9] From January 14 – 23 El Salvador participated in the 2011 Copa Centroamericana, the eleventh edition of the competition formerly known as UNCAF Nations Cup, a tournament for the CONCACAF-affiliated national teams of Central America.^[10] El Salvador qualified for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup earning 2 wins, 1 draw (p.s.o.) and 2 losses from 5 matches, finishing in 4th place. Rafael Burgos was the top goalscorer of the tournament, with 3 goals, drawing with Marco Ureña of Costa Rica.

On 9 February, El Salvador were scheduled to play a FIFA international friendly against Haiti. The match team was coached by Rugamas after FESFUT had awarded him a 6-month renewal of his interim contract. The match was won by El Salvador with a goal in the 15th minute by Rafael Burgos, the season's top goalscorer.^[11]

FESFUT presented an economic budget to Lillo of US$300,000 per year (5 person deal). After days of speculation the Spanish coach turned down the offer of coaching La Azul y Blanco. The main reason of his rejection was that he could not commit to something without the right tools and infrastructure to do so, "within all this, there is dis-proportionality between what they intend and what you can give. You can not build a pool with a beach shovel."^[12]

As announced on 18 February El Salvador would continue its preparation for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup with a friendly match against Syria on 25 March. There was still no definite coach, with interim coach José Luis Rugamas taking care of the friendly matches while he still had a valid contract with FESFUT.^[13]

On 3 March the tense situations in North African and Arab countries forced Syria to cancel the match with El Salvador. The Salvadoran football federation turned to the Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador and the preliminary list of 23 players with who Rugamas, the interim coach, attempted to play the friendly games for 25 and 29 March – the second and third year's FIFA date. From the original 23 players only 18 could participate in the matches. The representative Promotora Figueroa ("Figueroa Promoter") has indicated that they are making arrangements to play against El Salvador, Iraq or Jordan on the agreed date.^[14] On 7 March C.D. Águila players did not present themselves for training. The five members of Águila: Osael Romero, Marvin González, Ramón Sánchez, Miguel Montes & Shawn Martin, did not receive permission from the board of directors of the team. Rugamas expected to work two microcycles, but the absence of players attached to the First Division left 16 and would affect training plans.^[15]

On 9 March it was announced that the international friendlies scheduled for March in Dubai were canceled; reasons for the cancellation could be due to tense situations in North African and Arab countries. Although new friendlies for March were confirmed: on March 24 in La Habana, against Cuba; and on March 27 in San Salvador, against Jamaica. These games would be fundamental in order to reach the CONCACAF top eight places.^[16] El Salvador rose six positions and was 92 in the FIFA rankings. It was in ninth place in CONCACAF, ahead of teams such as Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti. El Salvador needed to be among the top 8 in the region to be seeded in the play-offs for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification.^[17] On 17 March, Steve Purdy was selected to play for El Salvador in the two friendlies against Jamaica and Cuba.^[18] However El Salvador did not give the Portland Timbers the 15 days notice required by FIFA and the Timbers chose not to release him.^[19]

On 21 March, José Luis Rugamas released the list of 18 players to face Cuba. Henry Hernández, Milton Molina, Edwin Sánchez, Gilberto Baires, Henry Escobar and Reynaldo Hernández were discarded, but were eligible for the next preliminary squad against Jamaica.^[20] The game was played on the 24 March. A long outside kick by substituted midfielder Dennis Alas gave La Selecta a victory over the Cuban side at the Estadio Pedro Marrero in Havana, Cuba. The game saw Brazilian-born Marcelo Messias' debut and the comeback of both Miguel Montes, after a 1-year suspension, and Ramón Sánchez. Luis Anaya, Ramón Sánchez and Dagoberto Portillo were injured by the constant contacts by the Cubans.^[21]

The game against Jamaica was rescheduled from the 27 to the 29 due to flight problems in Miami.^[22] El Salvador lost 2–3 against the Reggae Boyz (Jamaica) due to defensive errors. Deris Umanzor tried to raise up to the midfield but lost the ball and Dane Richards scored for Jamaica. Then a mistake by defender Messias meant Watson could pass to Richards scoring the second Jamaican goal. After the Jamaican 0–2 lead El Salvador began to produce problems for the caribbean side, mostly from Eliseo Quintanilla and Arturo Alvarez. In the 41st minute Jaime Alas scored to make El Salvadors first goal and the score at 1–2. El Salvador promised a good second half but Omar Cummings received a pass inside the El Salvador goal area and scored to make it 3–1 in Jamaica's favor. The clearest of El Salvador's opportunity was a penalty given against Osael Romero at 80 minutes which unfortunately crashed off the crossbar. In added time a shot from Edwin Sánchez was denied by Jamaican goalkeeper Kerr with Léster Blanco finishing off the goal, ending the match 3–2 at the final whistle.^[23]

On the last day of March the Federación Hondureña de Fútbol and the Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol came to an agreement to settle an international friendly between the two countries. This match, scheduled for 29 May 2011 at the Robertson Stadium, will commemorate the debut of Honduras' new coach Luis Fernando Suárez. Alfredo Hawit, secretary of the FENAFUTH (Honduran football federation), said "we have reached a satisfactory agreement between the two federations, now everything is up to the coach to begin to prepare this blank to serve as a prelude to our participation in the Gold Cup.^[24]

On 6 April the new head coach, Rubén Israel, was presented in a press conference. "First of all thanks to the executive committee for welcoming me in this country and give me such a huge responsibility and so pretty, as is leading a national team", said the Uruguayan coach. The technical director explained that, "we have come here with our coaching staff to honor the work, beyond the mistakes and successes, the healthy intention is to work on Salvadoran football as a whole, working with major selections, but have a chronogram of action for youth teams, who are the future of the country."^[25] Also La Selección Salvadoreña, El Salvador national team in Spanish, will play against Argentina on 14 September 2011, although only players from the local league would participate.^[26] Israel left Uruguay for personal reasons on 14 April and returned on 25 April. The new physical coordinator of the national team would be Uruguayan Nicolás dos Santos, who has had experience in Real España (Honduras), the current 2010–11 Apertura champions.^[27]

During a press conference on 28, April Rubén Israel announced the coaching staff that will coach the pre-Olympic U-23 and national team. The individuals that will form the coaching staff are assistant managers Mauricio Alfaro and José Luis Rugamas, physical trainers Esteban Coppia (Argentina) and Nicolás Dos Santos (Uruguay) and the goalkeeping coach Carlos Cañadas.^[28]

On 2 May the coaching staff started training an 11-man preliminary squad that would eventually take part in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Also, the head coach gave the players know their work system and objectives set out, "We will work to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. We know there are prior commitments such as the Gold Cup but we must never lose sight that our goal will be the playoffs", said Israel. They started off with a strong physical training. As intense that surprised even the players themselves. The idea was that they had spent several days without any activity thus would regain the rhythm as the members in the semifinals of the Clausura 2011, which will be added in coming weeks. One certainty was Israel's commands which were strong. And one fact was that he well knew the names of the players. He closed off by saying: "Good job, guys."^[29]

The trainings for that week would be of double shift, Monday through Friday (2 May — 6 May), and will not be a resting day to players on Wednesday as it was handled at first.^[30] The second day of work (3 May) showed great commitment and sacrifice in the part of the team. They endured with great confidence the new physical tasks of the physical coordinators.^[31]

After Isidro Metapán and Luis Ángel Firpo were eliminated from the semifinals of the Clausura 2011, Rubén Israel called-up some of these players to add up to the eleven players active in the training ground. From the new twelve players, Diego Chavarría and Ricardo Orellana did not participate in the semifinals of the Clausura 2011 but were chosen by the head coach for their performance in the El Salvador U–23.^[33][34] Also after two years and one month of absence goalkeeper Juan José "el Halcón" Gómez is called to the national team after his participation in World Cup 2010 South Africa qualification. Gómez was effusive in noting that both Miguel Montes as Dagoberto Portillo are by far the best goalkeepers in the country and is eager to work with them.^[32]

In a press conference on 10 May, Israel expressed his consideration that it would be necessary to face strong rivals. He said that he has asked for strong rivals in preparation for the qualifying stages for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He also noted that Dustin Corea, a striker currently training in FESA, may incorporate^{[clarification needed]} for he received his Salvadoran passport.^[35]

The members of El Salvador did not train on Friday, May 13, 2011, morning, because they did not have a financial arrangement with the FESFUT for the period in which they attended to the training camps. This would be the last day of the second week of the trainings. The players issued a statement for which was signed by the group and released by Marvin González, central defender and captain. The document proposed that they would assist the concentration but would not train until there was an agreement. The preliminary squad asked to cancel salaries that they earned on their club and to not receive a bonus. The FESFUT also sent a statement in which Rafael Villacorta, a member, proposed a meeting for 16 May. Villacorta mentioned that they have not talked about the economical part because the rest of the members have been out of the country and because the financial structure of the federation does not allow them to.^[36]

These players have been capped during the 2011 season (listed alphabetically):

• Gilberto Baires – on 16 January started in a Copa Centroamericana match against Belize
• Milton Molina – on 21 January started in a Copa Centroamericana match against Honduras
• Christian Bautista – on 9 February came on as a substitute in a friendly match against Haiti
• Marcelo Messias – on 24 March came on as a substitute in a friendly match against Cuba
• Steve Purdy – on 19 June started in a Gold Cup quarterfinal match against Panama
• Cristian Esnal – on 7 August started in a friendly math against Venezuela

• Manuel Salazar – retired on 18 May to focus on academic and business ventures. Has a total of 51 caps and 0 goals

Goal scorers [edit] Rank Player Goals 1 Rodolfo Zelaya 7 2 Rafael Burgos 4 Jaime Alas 4 4 Osael Romero 3 Mark Léster Blanco 3 6 Christian Javier Bautista 2 Luis Anaya 2 Herbert Sosa 2 9 Deris Umanzor 1 Dennis Alas 1 Rudis Corrales 1 Arturo Alvarez 1 Eliseo Quintanilla 1 Edwin Sánchez 1 Xavier García 1 Víctor Turcios 1 Steve Purdy 1 Last updated: 11 September 2011 Source: [citation needed]

Goal assists [edit] Rank Player Assists 1 Edwin Sánchez 3 Eliseo Quintanilla 3 2 Gilberto Baires 2 Osael Romero 2 3 Rafael Burgos 1 Deris Umanzor 1 Jaime Alas 1 Rudis Corrales 1 Arturo Alvarez 1 Herbert Sosa 1

Bookings [edit] Rank Player 1 Víctor Turcios 5 0 0 1 Luis Anaya 4 2 0 Xavier García 4 0 0 3 Arturo Alvarez 2 0 0 Gilberto Baires 2 0 0 Osael Romero 2 0 0 Rodolfo Zelaya 2 0 0 Jaime Alas 2 0 0 4 Edwin Sánchez 1 0 0 Marvin Gonzalez 1 0 1 Léster Blanco 1 0 0 Marcelo Messias 1 0 0 Deris Umanzor 1 0 0 Ramon Sanchez 1 0 0 Dennis Alas 1 0 0 Miguel Montes 1 0 0 Reynaldo Hernández 1 0 0 Dagoberto Portillo 1 0 0

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Panama	3	3	0	0	6	0	+6	9
El Salvador	3	2	0	1	7	4	+3	6
Nicaragua	3	0	1	2	1	5	−4	1
Belize	3	0	1	2	3	8	−5	1

El Salvador  v  Nicaragua

14 January 2011 Group stage	El Salvador	2–0	Nicaragua	Panama City, Panama
17:00 (UTC−05:00)	Álvarez  42' Turcios  57' Sánchez  63' Alas 70' García  75' Burgos 75'	Report	4' Eugarrios  16' Zeledón  48' Solórzano  90' Espinoza	Stadium: Estadio Rommel Fernández Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Wálter Quesada (Costa Rica)

Belize  v  El Salvador

January 16, 2011 Group stage	Belize	2–5	El Salvador	Panama City, Panama
15:00	Smith 45+1' (pen.) Jiménez 76'	Report	Romero 15' Burgos 24', 46' Alas 54' Umanzor 59'	Stadium: Estadio Rommel Fernández Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Ricardo Cerdas (Costa Rica)

Panama  v  El Salvador

18 January 2011 Group Stage	Panama	2–0	El Salvador	Panama City, Panama
21:00 (UTC−05:00)	Aguilar 25',  27' Cooper 79'	Report	García  16'	Stadium: Estadio Rommel Fernández Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Roberto García (Mexico)

Honduras  v  El Salvador

January 21, 2011 Semifinals	Honduras	2–0	El Salvador	Panama City, Panama
21:00 (UTC−05:00)	Mejía  20' Ramírez  29' Leverón 77' Chávez  52', 90+3'	Report	24' Turcios  29' Anaya  87' Baires	Stadium: Estadio Rommel Fernández Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Wálter Quesada (Costa Rica)

Panama  v  El Salvador

January 23, 2011 Third place match	Panama	0–0 (5–4 p)	El Salvador	Panama City, Panama
15:30 (UTC−05:00)	Rentería  89' Henríquez  90'	Report	15' Romero  54' González  90' García  90' Blanco	Stadium: Estadio Rommel Fernández Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Benigno Pineda (Honduras)
	Penalties
	Brown Torres Bonaga Davis Henríquez		Álvarez Alas Blanco Portillo Alas

El Salvador  v  Haiti

9 February 2011 Friendly	El Salvador	1–0	Haiti	San Salvador, El Salvador
18:00 (UTC−05:00)	Burgos 15' Álvarez  42'	Report	35' Lafrance  55'  Joseph	Stadium: Estadio Cuscatlán Attendance: 18,000 Referee: David España (Guatemala)

Cuba  v  El Salvador

24 March 2011 Friendly	Cuba	0–1	El Salvador	Havana, Cuba
14:00 (UTC−06:00)	Colomé  20' Mesa  31' Castellanos  36'	Report	29' Messias 73' Alas  85' Alas	Stadium: Estadio Pedro Marrero Attendance: 4,000 Referee: José Rodríguez (Panama)

El Salvador  v  Jamaica

29 March 2011 Friendly	El Salvador	2–3	Jamaica	San Salvador, El Salvador
18:15 (UTC−05:00)	Turcios  31' Alas 41' Sánchez  43' Umanzor  54' Blanco 90+1'	Report	Richards 24', 26'  39' Vernan  45' Austin  52'  63' Williams Cummings 53'  71' Kerr	Stadium: Estadio Cuscatlán Attendance: 19,394 Referee: Elmer Rodas (Guatemala)

Honduras  v  El Salvador

29 May 2011 Friendly	Honduras	2–2	El Salvador	Houston, United States
19:00 (UTC−05:00)	Leverón  8' Costly 45' Bengtson 50' (pen.)	Report	2' Anaya 73' Zelaya 76' Corrales	Stadium: Robertson Stadium Attendance: 25,380 Referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)

El Salvador  v  Venezuela

7 August 2011 Friendly	El Salvador	2–1	Venezuela	Washington, D.C., United States
13:30	Sosa 83' Sánchez 89' Anaya  5'  90'	Report	Aristeguieta 29'	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 27,765

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Mexico	3	3	0	0	14	1	+13	9
Costa Rica	3	1	1	1	7	5	+2	4
El Salvador	3	1	1	1	7	7	0	4
Cuba	3	0	0	3	1	16	−15	0

Mexico  v  El Salvador

June 5, 2011 Group Stage	Mexico	5–0	El Salvador	Arlington, Texas, United States
20:00 (19:00 UTC−5)	Rodríguez  26' Juárez 55' De Nigris 58' Hernández 60', 67', 90+3' (pen.),  28'	Report	Alas  63' González  90+3'	Stadium: Cowboys Stadium Attendance: 80,108 Referee: Enrico Wijngaarde (Suriname)

Costa Rica  v  El Salvador

June 9, 2011 Group Stage	Costa Rica	1–1	El Salvador	Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
19:00 (18:00 UTC−5)	Brenes 90+5' Salvatierra  37' Borges  56' Acosta  63'	Report	Zelaya 45' Baires  10' Montes  53' Zelaya  75' Turcios  77' Anaya  90'	Stadium: Bank of America Stadium Attendance: 46,012 Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)

El Salvador  v  Cuba

June 12, 2011 Group Stage	El Salvador	6–1	Cuba	Chicago, United States
18:00 (17:00 UTC−5)	Zelaya 13', 71' Romero 29' Blanco 69' Álvarez 84' Quintanilla 90+4' García  82'	Report	Márquez 83' Fernández  32' Urgelles  45'	Stadium: Soldier Field Attendance: 62,000 Referee: Neal Brizan (Trinidad and Tobago)

Panama  v  El Salvador

June 19, 2011 Quarterfinals	Panama	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–3 p)	El Salvador	Washington, D.C., United States
18:00 (18:00 UTC−4)	Tejada 90'	Report	Zelaya 78' (pen.)	Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 45,424 Referee: Wálter Quesada (Costa Rica)
	Penalties
	Barahona Rentería Godoy Amílcar Tejada		Alas Romero Zelaya Flores

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	El Salvador	6	6	0	0	20	5	+15	18	Advance to third round		—	3–2	4–0	4–0
2	Dominican Republic	6	2	2	2	12	8	+4	8			1–2	—	1–1	4–0
3	Suriname	6	2	1	3	5	11	−6	7			1–3	1–3	—	1–0
4	Cayman Islands	6	0	1	5	2	15	−13	1			1–4	1–1	0–1	—

El Salvador  v  Dominican Republic

2 September 2011	El Salvador	3–2	Dominican Republic	Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador
19:30 UTC−6	Zelaya 54', 77' (pen.) Bautista 63'	Report	Cruz 66' Peralta 89'	Attendance: 25,272 Referee: José Rodríguez (Panama)

Cayman Islands  v  El Salvador

6 September 2011	Cayman Islands	1–4	El Salvador	Truman Bodden Stadium, George Town
19:30 UTC−5	Ebanks 73' (pen.)	Report	Bautista 49' Anaya 62', 80' García 90+3'	Attendance: 2,200 Referee: Elmar Rodas (Guatemala)

Dominican Republic  v  El Salvador

7 October 2011	Dominican Republic	1–2	El Salvador	Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal
15:05 UTC−4	Ozuna 54'	Report	Romero 37' (pen.) Blanco 67'	Attendance: 2,323 Referee: Ricardo Cerdas (Costa Rica)

El Salvador  v  Cayman Islands

11 October 2011	El Salvador	4–0	Cayman Islands	Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador
19:30 UTC−6	Turcios 6' Purdy 13' Alas 45' Sosa 88' (pen.)	Report		Attendance: 17,570 Referee: Hugo Cruz (Costa Rica)

Suriname  v  El Salvador

11 November 2011	Suriname	1–3	El Salvador	André Kamperveen Stadion, Paramaribo
20:03 UTC−3	Esperance 81'	Report	Blanco 21', 58' Sánchez 78'	Attendance: 500 Referee: Marcos Brea (Cuba)

El Salvador  v  Suriname

15 November 2011	El Salvador	4–0	Suriname	Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador
19:30 UTC−6	Romero 33', 62' Burgos 76', 83'	Report		Attendance: 9,659 Referee: Javier Santos (Puerto Rico)

Position	Staff
Head coach	Rubén Israel
First assistant manager	José Luis Rugamas
Second assistant manager	Mauricio Alfaro
First physical coordinator	Nicolás dos Santos
Second physical coordinator	Esteban Coppia
Sports coordinator	Carlos Fuscaldo
Goalkeeping coach	Carlos Felipe Cañadas

Date	FIFA ranking position	Total Points	+/- Ranking	+/- Points
December	69	463	0	0
November	69	463	12	37
October	82	426	6	36
September	88	390	−13	−41
August	75	431	3	30
July	78	401	−6	−33
June	72	434	15	43
May	87	391	0	3
April	87	388	5	15
March	92	373	6	26
February	98	347	18	96
January	116	251	1	0