Luis Alonso Anaya Merino (born May 19, 1981) is a Salvadoran former professional football player. He was banned for life in 2013, for match fixing while playing for the El Salvador national football team.

Club career

Anaya started his senior career at local side San José, before moving to Salvadoran Second Division side Platense where he stayed for almost 8 years. In May 2005, he made his debut in the

Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador The ''Primera División'' of the (''Professional Football League''), more commonly known as ''La Liga Mayor'' or ''La Primera'', is the top professional football league in El Salvador. It was established in 1969, and in 2011 had 10 clubs. Init ...

for Salvadoran giants FAS against Águila, whom he joined after winning the 2005 Clausura title with FAS a month after that debut. In 2008, he signed with Chalatenango, only to move on to Alianza in the same year. He joined CD UES for the 2010 Apertura season.

International career

Anaya officially received his first cap on October 7, 2006, in a friendly match against

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. He scored his first goal for the national team on August 22, 2007, in a friendly match against Honduras. His second, and most important goal came almost a year later on June 22, 2008, in a FIFA World Cup qualification match against

. His 87th-minute goal, led El Salvador to a 3–1 win, and in doing so helped secured the national team a spot in the following round of qualification. He has earned a total of 35 caps, scoring 2 goals. He has represented his country in 8 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at the

2007 UNCAF Nations Cup The 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup was the ninth version of the biennial football tournament for the CONCACAF national teams of Central America. The event took place in San Salvador, El Salvador from February 8 to February 18, 2007. It was the second time ...

. He also was a non-playing squad member at the

2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the ninth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean ( CONCACAF), and was won by the United States over Mexico. It was contested in the United States fr ...

. He did not play for his country since an October 2008 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Suriname and was only over two years later called up for the

2011 Copa Centroamericana The 2011 Copa Centroamericana ( en, 2011 Central American Cup) was the eleventh edition of Copa Centroamericana (formerly known as the UNCAF Nations Cup), an international football championship for national teams affiliated with the Central Ameri ...

by then coach

José Luis Rugamas José Luis Rugamas Portillo (born 5 June 1953 in San Salvador) is a Salvadoran football manager and former professional player. He was interim manager of the El Salvador national team. As a player, he represented his country at the 1982 F ...

. With

Rubén Israel Rubén Jorge Israel Yelen (8 December 1955 – 5 July 2021) was a Uruguayan footballer and a football team manager. Coaching career Libertad In the Paraguayan championships, since the start of the Clausura 2007 tournament, Israel coached Cl ...

as coach, Anaya was called up to take part at the

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the 21st CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's 50 years of existence. The United States was the host nation. The competition started on June ...

where he earned 4 caps in 4 games. Anaya received two yellow cards at the semi-finals match against

for complaining. In a friendly match against

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, on 7 August 2011, Anaya was sent off with two yellow cards, because he complained and celebrated in front of the technical area of the Venezuelans. On September 20, 2013, Anaya was one of 14 Salvadoran players banned for life due to their involvement with match fixing.

International goals

Honours

: 2 :: 2005 Clausura, 2006 Clausura

References

External links

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Profile
- El Gráfico {{DEFAULTSORT:Anaya, Luis 1981 births Living people People from Cuscatlán Department Association football central defenders Salvadoran footballers El Salvador international footballers 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2011 Copa Centroamericana players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players C.D. FAS footballers C.D. Águila footballers C.D. Chalatenango footballers Alianza F.C. footballers Sportspeople involved in betting scandals Sportspeople banned for life