Wilmer Velásquez

Wilmer Raynel Neal Velásquez (born April 28, 1972) is a retired Honduran footballer who played as a forward. He was regarded as one of the greatest footballers in Honduran soccer for Olimpia, and by foremost as the nation's greatest striker ever alongside Carlos Pavón.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Neal and the second or maternal family name is Velásquez.
Wilmer Velásquez
Portrait of Wilmer Velasquez.
Personal information
Full name Wilmer Raynel Neal Velásquez
Date of birth (1972-04-28) April 28, 1972
Place of birth Tela, Honduras
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1995 Olimpia 35 (12)
1996 Concepción 19 (8)
1996–1998 Olimpia 78 (48)
1999 Sport-Recife 8 (1)
1999–2000 Olimpia 61 (32)
2001 Atlas 13 (1)
2001–2009 Olimpia 287 (120)
Total 489 (222)
International career‡
1994–2007 Honduras 47 (35)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2007
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 June 2008

He is currently the all-time top goalscorer in the Honduran National Football League with 196 goals, and was the second player to reach 150 goals after Denilson Costa.

Club career

Nicknamed El Matador, Velásquez started his professional career with Olimpia and he would not play for any other Honduran team during his career. He made his debut on 1 November 1990 against Platense and scored his first goal on 23 January 1992 against city rivals Motagua.[1] He did play for other teams though, with Concepción in Chile, Sport-Recife in Brazil and Atlas in Mexico but was not very successful with all of them.

In 2005, Velásquez was crowned one of the Top Goalscorers in the World by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics. He made 15 goals with both the Honduras national football team and his club, Olimpia, finishing second only behind Brazilian player Adriano Leite Ribeiro, who scored 18 goals.[2]

He has won 12 titles of the Honduran League, all of them with Olimpia. In December 2008 he announced he would retire after the 2009 Clausura.[3] He has scored 318 goals in competitive games, 258 of them for Olimpia.[4]

International career

Velásquez made his debut for Honduras in an April 1997 UNCAF Nations Cup match against Panama in which he famously scored four goals. He has earned a total of 47 caps, scoring 35 goals.[5] He has represented his country in only 2 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[6] and played at the 1997,[7] 2005[8] and 2007 UNCAF Nations Cups[9] as well as at the 1998,[10] 2003[11] and 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cups.[12]

His final international was a February 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup match against Nicaragua, in which he again scored four goals.

Career statistics

Club
Club Season League Cup League Cup CONCACAF Other[nb 1] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Olimpia 1990–91 20
1991–92 82
1992–93 41
1993–94 103
1994–95 116
1996–97 179
1997–98 A 2419
1997–98 C 2015
1998–99 44
1999–2000 A 1912
1999–2000 C 1912
2000–01 A 189
2001–02 A 127
2001–02 C 1910
2002–03 A 196
2002–03 C 184
2003–04 A 186
2003–04 C 72
2004–05 A 199
2004–05 C 166
2005–06 A 165
2005–06 C 153
2006–07 A 179
2006–07 C 146
2007–08 A 112
2007–08 C 1810
2008–09 A 155
2008–09 C 186
2009–10 A 178
Total 400196

International goals
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.December 11, 1994Fullerton, California, USA United States1–1DrawFriendly
2.April 16, 1997Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala Panama5–0Win1997 UNCAF Nations Cup
3.April 16, 19975–0Win
4.April 16, 19975–0Win
5.April 16, 19975–0Win
6.April 18, 1997Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala El Salvador3–0Win
7.April 18, 19973–0
8.January 21, 1998Estadio Chorotega de Nicoya, Nicoya, Costa Rica Costa Rica4–1WinFriendly
9.January 21, 19984–1
10.January 29, 1998San Salvador, El Salvador El Salvador1–1Tie
11.November 17, 1999Estadio Imperio del Sol Naciente, Tegucigalpa, Honduras Trinidad and Tobago3–2Win
12.March 8, 2000Estadio Casa Blanca, Quito, Ecuador Ecuador3–1Win
13.November 14, 2000Arnos Vale Stadium, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines7–0WinWorld Cup 2002 Qualifier
14.April 25, 2003Stade En Camée, Rivière-Pilote, Martinique Trinidad and Tobago2–0Win2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualifier
15.April 27, 2003Stade d'Honneur de Dillon, Fort-de-France, Martinique Martinique4–2Win
16.April 27, 20034–2Win
17.June 7, 2003Orange Bowl, Miami, United States Venezuela1–2LossFriendly
18.June 29, 2003Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras El Salvador1–1TieFriendly
19.February 19, 2005Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala Nicaragua5–1Win2005 UNCAF Nations Cup
20.February 19, 2005 5–1
21.February 19, 2005 5–1
22.February 21, 2005Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala Belize4–0Win
23.February 23, 2005Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala Guatemala1–1Win
24.February 25, 2005Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala Panama1–0Win
25.July 2, 2005Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada Canada2–1WinFriendly
26.July 10, 2005Orange Bowl, Miami, United States Colombia2–1Win2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
27.July 10, 20052–1
28.July 16, 2005Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, United States Costa Rica3–2Win
29.September 7, 2005Miyagi Stadium, Miyagi, Japan Japan4–5LossFriendly
30.September 7, 20054–5
31.September 7, 20054–5
32.February 15, 2007Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador Nicaragua2–09–12007 UNCAF Nations Cup
33.February 15, 20073–0
34.February 15, 20074–1
35.February 15, 20075–1


Honours and awards

Club
CD Olimpia

Individual

Notes
  1. Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup

References
  1. El primer y último grito de Wilmer Velásquez - El Heraldo (in Spanish)
  2. "The World's Top Goal Scorer (2005)". IFFHS. 2005.
  3. Wilmer Velásquez anuncia retiro - Diez (in Spanish)
  4. Desafíe a Ismael - La Prensa (in Spanish)
  5. Luis Fernando Passo Alpuin. "Wilmer Raynel Neal Velasquez - Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
  6. Wilmer Velásquez – FIFA competition record (archived)
  7. UNCAF Tournament 1997 - RSSSF
  8. Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup 2005 - Details - RSSSF
  9. UNCAF (Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup) 2007 - Details - RSSSF
  10. CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 1998 - Full Details - RSSSF
  11. CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2003 - Full Details - RSSSF
  12. CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2005 - Full Details - RSSSF
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