Héctor Ramón Zelaya Rivera (born 12 August 1958) is a retired
Honduran football player.
Club career
Nicknamed ''Pecho de Águila'' (Eagle chest), he started as a forward but later played in defense or midfield for
F.C. Motagua. He made his professional debut in the
Honduran Liga Nacional on 7 March 1976 wearing the Motagua jersey in the 1–0 win against
Campamento.
Not to be confused with former Motagua teammate ''Héctor "Lin" Zelaya'', Zelaya also played for Spanish
Segunda División side
Deportivo de La Coruña
Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. They currently play in the Primera División RFEF – ...
but an injury to his left knee prevented him from making an impact and he had to retire in 1983. He played his final game for Motagua against Universidad, aged only 24.
International career
Zelaya played three games for the
Honduras U-20's at the 1977 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Tunisia.
He then played in 7 World Cup qualifying matches in 1980 and 1981, taking Honduras to their first ever World Cup. He made history by scoring his country's first ever goal at a World Cup Finals Tournament, when he scored against hosts
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
at the
1982 FIFA World Cup. He put
Honduras 1–0 up in
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
before Spain scored the equalizer.
Retirement
After his playing career came to a premature end, he worked 25 years in the coffee business of his wife's family. Also, he has been working for a children's football programme in Honduras called ''Fútbol para la vida''.
Personal life
Zelaya is married to journalist Marlen Perdomo and they have 4 children: Héctor, Iving, Alejandra and Marlen.
“Pecho de Águila” (interview)
- La Tribuna
Honours and awards
Club
;C.D. Motagua
*Liga Profesional de Honduras
Liga or LIGA may refer to:
People
* Līga (name), a Latvian female given name
* Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter
Sports
* Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain
* Lig ...
(1): 1978–79
References
External links
El gol más "bonito" del mundo
La Tribuna
Un día muy especial
- ESPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zelaya, Hector
1958 births
Living people
People from Santa Bárbara Department, Honduras
Men's association football defenders
Honduran footballers
Honduras men's international footballers
1982 FIFA World Cup players
F.C. Motagua players
Deportivo de La Coruña players
Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional de Honduras players
Honduran expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Honduran expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Segunda División players