Alfredo Alberto Pacheco (December 1, 1982 – December 27, 2015) was a Salvadoran

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 lea ...

who had the record for most appearances on the

El Salvador national football team The El Salvador national football team (), known as ("the National Team"), represents El Salvador in international football, and is governed by the Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol (). The national team's first match was played in Septemb ...

when he was banned for life in 2013, for match-fixing while playing for the national team. He was murdered on December 27, 2015.

Career

Club

Pacheco spent the majority of his career with one of El Salvador's biggest clubs, FAS. After moving through the junior ranks and into the first team reserves, he was given his first chance to play in the

Salvadoran Primera División Salvadorans (), also known as Salvadorians, are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvadoran diaspora, particularly Salvadoran Americans, in the Unite ...

in 2001. He made his professional debut on March 3, 2001, in a league match against C.D. Municipal Limeño. In 2005, he was named club captain. On February 18, 2009, it was announced that

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

head coach Juan Carlos Osorio had gone to El Salvador with the hopes of bringing Pacheco to

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. Pacheco had been scouted for several months, most notably during

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

matches, as well as during the

UNCAF Nations Cup The Copa Centroamericana () was an association football competition organized by UNCAF as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from Central America. The tournament was held from 1991 to 2017, every two years in the years be ...

tournament. It was initially announced that Pacheco signed with

on March 5, 2009, but due to difficulties surrounding his International Transfer Card, the New York front office did not officially announce his signing until April 17, 2009. In the meantime Pacheco started training with the Red Bulls on April 7, 2009 and after his official signing, made his first appearance on April 18, 2009. After a bright start, Pacheco struggled on the field for New York, and the team terminated his loan deal before the end of the season. Pacheco signed a two-year contract with C.D. Águila on June 30, 2010. However, he left the club just one year into his contract with Aguila to join Isidro Metápan starting with 2011/12 season.

International

Pacheco began his international career with El Salvador's U-20 national team in 2000. He took part in the 2003 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament, which was held throughout 2002. El Salvador failed to qualify for the FIFA World Youth Championship that was to be held in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. That same year Pacheco was also part of the El Salvador U-23 team that won the

Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for 32 countries and ...

gold medal, after defeating

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in the final. Again, that same year, Pacheco received his first cap with the men's national team. This was on November 17, 2002, in a friendly match against the USA. Pacheco scored his first goal for El Salvador, off a free-kick vs Costa Rica in a 2003 Gold Cup Quarterfinals match. Pacheco was then the top most capped player of all-time for El Salvador with 86 caps. On September 20, 2013, Pacheco was one of 14 Salvadoran players banned for life over

match fixing In organized sports, match fixing (also known as game fixing, race fixing, throwing, rigging, hippodroming, or more generally sports fixing) is the act of playing or officiating a contest with the intention of achieving a predetermined result, v ...

Personal life

Pacheco lived with his wife Elizabeth de Pacheco, their daughter Alexia Pacheco and son Marco Pacheco.

Death

Pacheco was shot and killed on December 27, 2015. Early reports said he was shot when leaving a bathroom at a gas station in

Santa Ana, El Salvador Santa Ana () is the second largest city in El Salvador, after the capital of San Salvador. It is located 64 kilometers northwest of San Salvador, the capital city. Santa Ana has approximately 250,760 (2024) inhabitants and serves both as the cap ...

. Apparently several shots were fired and two other people were also injured. It was later reported Pacheco was shot from point blank range and killed by a shot in the abdomen.Asesinan a Alfredo Pacheco, exseleccionado de fútbol suspendido por amaños
- El Salvador.com

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pacheco, Alfredo 1982 births 2015 deaths Footballers from Santa Ana, El Salvador Men's association football defenders Salvadoran men's footballers 21st-century Salvadoran sportsmen El Salvador men's international footballers 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players C.D. FAS footballers New York Red Bulls players C.D. Águila footballers A.D. Isidro Metapán footballers Major League Soccer players Salvadoran expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Sportspeople involved in betting scandals Sportspeople banned for life People murdered in El Salvador Salvadoran murder victims Deaths by firearm in El Salvador 2015 crimes in El Salvador 2015 murders in North America 2010s murders in El Salvador