Luis Baltazar Ramírez Zapata (born 6 January 1954) is a retired Salvadoran football forward, who played for the El Salvador national team for nearly two decades.
Nicknamed El Pelé, he spent nearly 20 years playing for Salvadoran club Águila. He started with Águila, after being recommended by Brazilian technical director Arnaldo Da Silva, under the legendary Juan Francisco Barraza,[1] before leaving to join other clubs and later in his career make a return to the San Miguel-based club. He also would go on to play for Atlético Marte and Alianza in his homeland El Salvador and spent time abroad playing for Cartaginés in Costa Rica, scoring 11 goals,[2] and Puebla in Mexico. In 1990, he played for the Washington Diplomats of the American Professional Soccer League.[3]
Ramírez represented El Salvador at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico.[4] He also represented his country in 24 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[5] and was a member of the El Salvador team at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. During the tournament, he scored their only goal in World Cup history.[6] It came in the infamous 10–1 defeat to Hungary on 15 June 1982, which remains the single biggest loss for a team in the competition's history.
Ramírez Zapata scored 16 goals for the El Salvador national team from 1971 to 1989.[7]
His final international game was an August 1989 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Trinidad & Tobago.
His first job as a manager was at Águila, where he replaced Panamanian coach Gary Stempel in 2007. After his own dismissal, he coached Atlético Balboa and Salvadoran second division side ADI F.C., before joining the Department of Culture and Sports of the San Miguel mayorship.[9] He was sacked by the municipal council in October 2011.[10]