Byron Romeo Pérez Solórzano (born 18 March 1959) is a

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and former player who spent most of his career with local club

Comunicaciones Comunicaciones Fútbol Club S.A., better known as Comunicaciones F.C. or Comunicaciones, are a football club based in Guatemala City. They compete in the Liga Nacional, the top tier of Guatemalan football. The most popular and successful footba ...

, and was also a member of the Guatemala national team for over a decade, playing in three World Cup qualifying campaigns and at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Club career

Nicknamed "''El Duende''" ("the elf") due to his short height (he is 1.64 m tall), Pérez was a talented

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who played primarily on the left wing. He began his professional career with

in the late 1970s, and would go on to become one of the symbols of that club. He helped Comunicaciones win the 1978 CONCACAF title as he scored a goal against CD Once Municipal in the 3-1 victory in the first leg of the first round of the tournament. He also had stints with

Municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Galcasa C.S.D. Galcasa was a Guatemalan football club, which won the Copa de Guatemala in 1980, and were Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala ''Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala'' (National Football League of Guatemala), formerly known as Liga Mayo ...

, Suchitepéquez,

Once Lobos Once Lobos Chalchuapa, commonly known as Once Lobos (the Eleven Wolves), is a professional Salvadoran football club based in Chalchuapa, Santa Ana, El Salvador. Created in February 1918, Once Lobos are the oldest club still active in any form ...

of El Salvador,

Aurora F.C. Aurora Fútbol Club is a Guatemalan professional football club. They are based in Guatemala City and play their home matches in the Estadio Cementos Progreso. Once one of the most powerful teams in the country and a traditional rival of fellow ...

, and

Deportivo Jalapa Jalapa was a Guatemalan professional football club that played in the '' Liga Nacional'', the top level division in the country. They were based in Jalapa, and their home stadium was the Estadio Las Flores. History The team was founded on Ju ...

. In 1988 his services were required by the then Mexican top-flight club Leones Negros de la U. de G., where he played during the 1988-89 season. His team reached the final of the 1988-89 domestic cup tournament, where he scored a goal against

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...

in the second leg, although U. de G. lost 2-3 on aggregate.

National team

In 1979, Pérez was a member of the U-23 national squad that won the II ''Unión Centroamericana'' youth tournament. As a member of the senior national team, he participated at the

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to include relatively accurate steroid testing.Taylor, William N., ''Anabolic Steroids and the ...

, winning the bronze medal, and later played during the

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, and

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

World Cup qualifying processes, scoring three goals in nine World Cup qualification matches. A tough moment came during 1986 World Cup qualification when against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with the score 2-1 in favor of the Canadians, he missed a penalty kick, which would have equalized the score and given his team a good chance of advancing to the next round. Instead, Canada advanced by finishing first of the group, two points ahead of Guatemala. Pérez was also a member of the squad that competed at the 1988 Olympic Tournament in

Seoul, Korea Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, where he played all three matches.

Coaching career

Following his retirement, Pérez became a coach, managing several clubs, including Xinabajul, whom he led to win the 2007 ''

Primera División de Ascenso The Primera División de Ascenso is the second highest level of football in Guatemala. Formerly, it was known as ''Liga Mayor "B"''. It is sanctioned by the National Football Federation of Guatemala The National Football Federation of Guatemala ( ...

'' Apertura championship which gave the team the right to fight for a promotion spot into the Liga Nacional the following year. He also managed Deportivo Heredia in the top flight (2008),

Juventud Retalteca Club Social y Deportivo Juventud Retalteca was a Guatemalan professional football club based in Retalhuleu and who competed in the '' Liga Nacional'', the nation's top footballing division. History Nicknamed ''Los Algodoneros'' (the Cotton pi ...

(2008), San Pedro (2010), and Sacachispas (2011).
/ref>

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Byron 1959 births Living people Footballers from Guatemala City Guatemalan men's footballers Guatemalan expatriate men's footballers Guatemala men's international footballers Pan American Games bronze medalists for Guatemala Olympic footballers for Guatemala Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Comunicaciones F.C. players Aurora F.C. players C.S.D. Municipal players Leones Negros UdeG footballers Liga MX players Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Guatemalan expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in El Salvador Guatemalan expatriate sportspeople in El Salvador Pan American Games medalists in football Men's association football forwards Footballers at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games C.S.D. Galcasa players