Soccer Equatorial Guinea

Club career

Balboa arrived at Real Madrid Castilla in the summer of 2005, after Juanfran left the B side for RCD Espanyol, on loan. He eventually settled down, even though he missed a part of Castilla's season due to an injury and first team duty. Balboa still finished his first season with 32 appearances with one goal, in the second division.

After having toured with the Real Madrid first team in its Austrian tour during the 2006–07 pre-season, Balboa signed a one-year loan deal with Racing de Santander in La Liga in order to gain first team experience, after being told he wasn't going to be part of the side's plans by manager Fabio Capello. He was an integral part of the Cantabrian side for the season's duration, scoring in a 2–1 win at RCD Mallorca in the 88th minute, on 16 December 2006.

Balboa was praised by Capello's replacement, Bernd Schuster, upon his return from loan, and his contract was extended until 2011. During the 2007 pre-season, he was played as a right and a left winger, and did well in various occasions, scoring against FC Lokomotiv Moscow.

Balboa came on in the second half of the UEFA Champions League home game against Olympiacos F.C. on 24 October 2007 and, during injury time, scored his first goal in the competition and for Real after being set up by Robinho, in a 4–2 win. On December 19, he scored his first goal in the Spanish Cup, in a 1–1 draw against Alicante CF. The previous month, Balboa had come to blows with teammate Pepe during a training session. He would not be called-up for Real Madrid's next match, whereas the Portuguese centre back would.

On 25 June 2008, Balboa signed a four-year deal with S.L. Benfica for €4 million, as the Portuguese League outfit was managed by Quique Flores. His stay in Lisbon would be disastrous, as he rarely appeared in his first year, being demoted to the reserves in the second, following a wages dispute.

On 28 January 2010, Balboa was loaned to FC Cartagena in Segunda División, until the end of the season. Returning to Benfica, he found himself limited to training with the first team and, in another winter transfer window, returned to Spain with Albacete Balompié (also in division two), in the same predicament.

On 13 August 2011, Balboa rescinded his contract with Benfica. Two days later, he signed with S.C. Beira-Mar, also in that country and in the top division.

International career

Balboa made his international debut with Equatorial Guinea on 2 June 2007, in a 2–0 loss to Rwanda for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying stage.

Also, he appeared in B matches against the Region of Murcia and Extremadura in 2007, against Brittany on 2 June 2011 and against French side FC Issy-les-Moulineaux.

Source: Wikipedia