Baltasar Sánchez Martín (born 9 May 1962), commonly known as Balta, is a Spanish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, and a current

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Playing career

Born in

Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

, Balta was a

UD Salamanca Unión Deportiva Salamanca, S.A.D. () was a historical Spanish football team based in Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 February 1923 and nicknamed ''Los Charros'', the club played in white shirts and blac ...

youth graduate. After being promoted to the first team in 1984, he represented them in both

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

and

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

over 11 seasons, playing 274 league matches and scoring 22 goals. Balta was part of the squad that competed in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

in 1983–84, but failed to appear in any games. He retired in 1995 at the age of 33, after helping to promotion to the top flight.

Coaching career

Shortly after his retirement, Balta started working as an assistant manager at his only club, acting as an occasional interim coach. In March 2001 he was appointed at the main squad, but was dismissed in October of the following year. In November 2003, Balta was named

Zamora CF Zamora Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team based in Zamora, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded in 1968 it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at '' Estadio Ruta de la Plata'', with a ...

manager, and led the side to the play-offs final in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, losing to

CD Castellón Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional Spanish football team based in Castellón de la Plana, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 20 July 1922, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at '' N ...

. He was relieved of his duties in November 2005, and was appointed at the helm of

Logroñés CF Logroñés Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Logroño, in the autonomous community of La Rioja. Founded in 2000 and dissolved in 2008 it held home games at ''Estadio Las Gaunas'', with a capacity of 16,000 spectators. History ...

in the summer of 2006. Balta was fired on 19 November 2007, after failing to win a single match in the campaign. In August 2009 he returned to Salamanca, now as a

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

. On 12 April 2011, Balta was appointed manager of the ''Charros'' after replacing

José Murcia José 'Pepe' Murcia González (born 3 December 1964) is a Spanish association football, football manager (association football), manager who manages Qatari Second Division side Muaither SC. Career Born in Córdoba, Andalusia, Murcia never playe ...

. He eventually suffered relegation from the second level and left his post on 14 November, returning to his previous staff role. Balta returned to Zamora on 30 April 2015, tasked with saving the team from relegation in the last three games of the third-tier campaign. They descended to

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segunda División'', and the semi-professional ''Segunda Di ...

, and won their group the next season, but he was sacked on 5 June 2016 after a 3–1 loss to

UD Mutilvera Unión Deportiva Mutilvera is a Spanish football team based in Mutilva, Aranguren, in the autonomous community of Navarre. Founded in 1968, it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 2. Its stadium is Estadio ''Valle Aranguren'' with a capac ...

in the first leg of the second round of the play-offs.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balta 1962 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Santander, Spain Men's association football defenders Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players UD Salamanca players Spanish football managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers UD Salamanca managers Zamora CF managers

Playing career

Coaching career

See also

References

External links