Edwin Rodolfo Westphal Véliz (born 4 March 1966) is a Guatemalan former professional

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 played as a forward. As a member of several

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands a ...

, he was a prolific goalscorer in the Guatemalan top-flight, especially during the 1990s. He was also a member of the Guatemala national team.

Club career

A native of Puerto Barrios, Westphal began his career playing for local club ''Bandegua'' (Bananera de Guatemala, later renamed DelMonte), making his '' Liga Mayor'' debut in 1985 at the age of 18. While playing for Bandegua, the big striker was the top scorer of the 1987 championship. Later, he played for ''Izabal JC'', where he won another goalscoring title. In the 1993–94 season, he played for

Aurora F.C. Aurora Fútbol Club is a Guatemalan professional Association football, 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 tra ...

, and after that he joined

Comunicaciones Comunicaciones Fútbol Club S.A., better known as Comunicaciones F.C. or Comunicaciones, is a professional association football, football club based in Guatemala City. They compete in the Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala, Liga Nacional, th ...

, where he was part of three championship-winning teams. After an unsuccessful stint with USAC, he returned to Comunicaciones, before ending his career playing for

Antigua GFC Antigua Guatemala Fútbol Club is a Guatemalan professional football team based in Antigua Guatemala. They compete in the Liga Nacional, the top tier of Guatemalan football. They play their home games at the '' Estadio Pensativo''. They are nic ...

. He retired from professional football in 2004 and had a farewell match in 2005. With 201 career league goals, he is the fourth-highest goalscorer in the history of the Guatemalan league.

International career

Westphal was a member of the Guatemala national team for more than a decade, representing the country in three World Cup qualification processes (1990, 1994, and 1998).FIFA.com - Individual record at FIFA tournaments
- FIFA He also played at the Gold Cup tournaments of 1991, 1996, and 1998. Overall, he scored 16 international goals. His final international was a February

1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fourth edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Gold Cup, the association football, soccer championship for the member associations of CONCACAF, which governs the sport in North America, Central America, and the Caribb ...

match against

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

References

1966 births Living people People from Izabal Department Men's association football forwards Guatemalan men's footballers Guatemala men's international footballers 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Comunicaciones F.C. players Antigua GFC players 20th-century Guatemalan sportsmen {{Guatemala-footy-bio-stub