Luis Ramírez Zapata

Luis Baltazar Ramírez Zapata (born 6 January 1954) is a retired Salvadoran football forward, who played for the El Salvador national team for nearly two decades.

Club career Nicknamed El Pelé, he spent nearly 20 years playing for Salvadoran club Águila. He started with Águila, after being recommended by Brazilian technical director Arnaldo Da Silva, under the legendary Juan Francisco Barraza, before leaving to join other clubs and later in his career make a return to the San Miguel-based club. He also would go on to play for Atlético Marte and Alianza in his homeland El Salvador and spent time abroad playing for Cartaginés in Costa Rica, scoring 11 goals, and Puebla in Mexico. In 1990, he played for the Washington Diplomats of the American Professional Soccer League.

International career Zapata made his international debut aged 17 years, 8 months and 9 days against Nicaragua, he also scored on debut, becoming the youngest Salvadorian to score on debut, holding the record for 53 years. The record was broken on 31 May, 2025 by Brandon Stanley Ramirez who scored on debut aged 16 years, 8 months and 26 days against Guatemala, Ramírez represented El Salvador at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico. He also represented his country in 24 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and was a member of the El Salvador team at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. During the tournament, he scored their only goal in World Cup history. It came in the infamous 10–1 defeat to Hungary on 15 June 1982, which remains the single biggest loss for a team in the competition's history.

Ramírez Zapata scored 16 goals for the El Salvador national team from 1971 to 1989.

His final international game was an August 1989 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Trinidad & Tobago.

International goals Scores and results list El Salvador's goal tally first.

No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 15 September 1971 Estadio Nacional Flor Blanca, San Salvador, El Salvador 1–0 1–0 1971 CONCACAF Championship qualification 2. 9 February 1976 Estadio Nacional Flor Blanca, San Salvador, El Salvador 1–? 1–2 Friendly 3. 2 May 1976 Estadio Revolución, Panama City, Panama 1–0 1–1 1977 CONCACAF Championship qualification 4. 1 August 1976 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador 1–0 4–1 1977 CONCACAF Championship qualification 5. 2–0 6. 4–0 7. 15 December 1976 Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica 1–1 1–1 1977 CONCACAF Championship qualification 8. 8 October 1977 Estadio Tecnológico, Monterrey, Mexico 1–0 2–1 1977 CONCACAF Championship 9. 2–0 10. 30 September 1980 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador 2–1 3–2 Friendly 11. 15 June 1982 Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, Elche, Spain 1–5 1–10 1982 FIFA World Cup 12. 27 June 1984 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador 3–1 3–1 Friendly 13. 5 August 1984 Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamón, Puerto Rico 1–0 3–0 1985 CONCACAF Championship qualification 14. 27 February 1985 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador 2–0 3–0 1985 CONCACAF Championship 15. 16 October 1988 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador 4–0 5–0 1989 CONCACAF Championship qualification 16. 5–0

Managerial career and personal life His first job as a manager was at Águila, where he replaced Panamanian coach Gary Stempel in 2007. After his own dismissal, he coached Atlético Balboa and Salvadoran second division side ADI F.C., before joining the Department of Culture and Sports of the San Miguel mayorship. He was sacked by the municipal council in October 2011.

Honours

Club honours

As a player Águila Primera División (5): 1972, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1983, 1987–88 CONCACAF Champions' Cup (1): 1976

Individual Primera División Golden Boot (2): 1975-76, 1976-77