Wilfredo Iraheta Sanabria (born February 22, 1967 in

Sensuntepeque Sensuntepeque () is a town and municipality in the Cabañas department of El Salvador. It is the seat of the department and principal town in the area. Sensuntepeque is located about northeast of the capital, San Salvador, at an altitude of . His ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

) is a retired Salvadoran football (

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

) player who played as a defender. He is currently a politician.

Club career

Iraheta started playing football in the streets of his hometown and joined then

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

side Sesuntepeque at 15 years of age. At 20 he joined Chalatenango and later played for

Atlético Marte Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico * Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy * Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic ...

. In 1994 his father was killed during the civil war and he moved to Águila to play alongside 41-year-old veteran Luis Ramírez Zapata, then

Luis Ángel Firpo Luis Ángel Firpo (October 11, 1894 – August 7, 1960) was an Argentine boxer. Born in Junín, Argentina, he was nicknamed ''The Wild Bull of the Pampas''. Boxing career In 1917, Firpo began his professional boxing career by beating Frank Ha ...

and FAS with whom he finished playing actively to pursue a career in politics. Iraheta was a versatile and sturdy defender whose strength in the air and tackling made instant success, also gaining a spot in the national squad on several occasions. He has played in virtually every outfield position. In 2001, he retired from both international and domestic football bringing an end to a marvellous career.

International career

Iraheta made his debut for

in a December

1995 UNCAF Nations Cup Six national football teams from Central America competed in the 1995 UNCAF Nations Cup (''Copa Centroamericana''). The winning team was Honduras, defeating Guatemala in the final. Squads Preliminary round Stadium First round Group A ' ...

match against

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and has earned a total of 37 caps, scoring 2 goals. He has represented his country in 11

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

matches and played at the 1995 and 1997 UNCAF Nations Cups as well as at the 1996 and

1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fourth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). The tournament was once again held in the United States, in Los Angeles, Miami, and O ...

s. His final international match was a November 1998

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

International goals

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

Personal life and after retirement

Iraheta married Patricia Iraheta and they have four children: William, Maria Jose, Alejandra and Ximena. Since 1995, he has a degree in medicine which earned him the nickname ''Doctor'', and he has also entered into politics. In February 2011, Iraheta was candidate to become mayor of

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

.Ex futbolista Iraheta Sanabria posible candidato a alcalde de San Salvador
- ElSalvador.com

Honours

** Primera División de Fútbol Profesional (1): 1998

References

External links

*
Player profile
- CD FAS {{DEFAULTSORT:Iraheta, Wilfredo 1967 births Living people People from Sensuntepeque Association football defenders Salvadoran footballers El Salvador international footballers 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players C.D. Chalatenango footballers C.D. Atlético Marte footballers C.D. Águila footballers C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo footballers C.D. FAS footballers Sportsperson-politicians