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Position: Defender

Height: 6-1 (1.86 m)

Weight: 175 (80kg)

Born: Aug. 8, 1967, in Chicago

Hometown: Cerritos, California

College: San Diego State University

Club: Leon (Mexican 1st division)

National Team: Became the first U.S. soccer player to reach 100 international appearances on June 11, 1995, in a 3-2 win over Nigeria, scoring the USA's second goal ... One of five U.S. players to play every minute of every game during the 1994 World Cup ... Came within inches of scoring a phenomenal bicycle kick goal late in the 2-1 win over Colombia ... Winner of U.S. Soccer's 1994 and 1992 Male Athlete of the Year ... Played for the Christmas Stars all-star team vs. AS Roma in Italy Dec. 28, 1994, alongside U.S. teammate Tab Ramos and international greats such as Jean-Pierre Papin (France) and Luis Oliveira (Belgium) ... Played in the FIFA World All-Star Game Sept. 2, 1995, in Tokyo alongside Brazil's Dunga and Jorginho and Colombia's Valderrama ... Received a 1994 Pontiac Trans-Am after winning the U.S. Soccer/Soccer America MVP Award for his outstanding play during the 1994 World Cup based on balloting of Soccer America readers ... Named 1994 Futbol de Primera Player of the Year ... Suffered a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee April 17, 1993, against Iceland ... Returned to the U.S. lineup against El Salvador Dec. 5, 1993, after a miraculous 7 1/2 month rehabilitation as ACL tears usually cause athletes to be out of action for nine-to-12 months ... Scored two goals from his defender position in '91, including the winning goal on a bicycle kick in the first game of the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Trinidad & Tobago ... A member of the 1990 U.S. World Cup Team in Italy, he played in all three first-round matches, starting two ... Participated in CONCACAF U-20 qualifying in Trinidad, where the Americans beat Mexico 3-0 with Balboa providing one of the goals ... Captained the U-20 team in the 1987 World Youth Championship in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Cup in Chile ...

College: Played two seasons at San Diego State University, tallying four goals and six assists in 1988 and eight goals and seven assists in 1989 ...

Professional: Signed with Leon of the Mexican first division in January 1995 ... Played six years in the American Professional Soccer League with the San Diego Nomads (3 years), the San Francisco Blackhawks (2) and the Colorado Foxes (1) ... In his first year with the Foxes (1992), he led the team to the APSL championship ...

Youth: A product of the American Youth Soccer Association program in Southern California, where he played for his father, Luis ... Father is a former professional player in Argentina who also played with the Chicago Mustangs of the North American Professional Soccer League ... Won the 1986 under-19 national championship with his club Fram-Culver .

First Appearance: Jan. 10, 1988, vs. Guatemala

First Goal: May 30, 1990, vs. Liechtenstein