Eder Fabian Alvarez Balanta Football Manager 14
Later versions of Championship Manager and Football Manager took a lot more care with scouting players than the earlier editions, but there were still some gems available with huge potential for improvement. In FM 14, there were just three players that had a potential ability of -10, Paul Pogba, Marquinhos and Eder Balanta. Balanta started the game as a very good defender/defensive midfielder, who could be coached into being world class and good enough for any trophy winning team to build around.
In reality, Balanta was born on 28th February 1993 in Bogota, Colombia and spent his time as a youngster playing for Deportes la Equidad, before joining Academia Compensar (who have since dissolved and reformed as Llaneros). His performances at Academia in their youth team impressed, first as an attacking midfielder before moving back to become a standout defensive midfielder. Despite injuries preventing him playing for his country at youth level, clubs in Argentina showed interest in him and early in 2011 he went to Argentino Jrs for a trial and then onto River Plate, who were impressed enough to sign him.
Balanta began his career there mainly as a substitute for the youth team and also in a new position of left-back, as they had so many options in midfield. In 2012 he became a regular player for the youth team and played a big part in the 2012 U-20 Copa Libertadores win, as a central defender. The following year, 2013, was when he made his mark after stepping up to the first team squad for the new season. Regular centre-back Jonathan Botinelli picked up a suspension and Balanta was given his chance in the first team and immediately impressed immensely with his play. It was not just that he defended well, he also used his skill on the ball to dribble out of defence and charge up field with the ball and he also scored two goals in his first month in the team.
Barcelona showed an interest and, after just 5 first-team appearances, Inter Milan made a bid for him, but River set a €12m price tag on the youngster. Another injury, this time a torn internal obturador muscle (hip/pelvis), ruled him out for two weeks and River used it as a reason to stop him participating in the 2013 U-20 World Cup. In July 2013 Eder Balanta signed his first senior professional contract, a 3-year deal with a €30m release clause. In September, Barca began to scout him more heavily, with the youngster being seen as a potential long-term replacement for Carles Puyol. River were looking for around €50m to sell him, but just weeks later they reduced his release clause to €15m.
“Balanta is worth €15 million; he is a great player with a great future. I think that Balanta would be liked by Tata Martino, as it would not seem odd to me if Barca are interested in him. He is a player that will come good whichever team he plays for. Balanta is not like Mascherano nor like Piqué; he is a different sort of player with more presence. He is a strong defender, is good on the ball and knows how to play going forward.” – River Plate vice president Omar Solassi.
Balanta himself was not so keen to talk up his abilities and responded to reports of Barca interest by saying: “I am not as skillful as everyone thinks I am; I understand that people are excited for me and what I can do which is good, as it proves that I am on the right path and that my hard work is paying off. However, I am really just ‘normal’ and not a ‘star’, yet. People are often asking me when ‘I will go to Barcelona’ and it makes me feel uncomfortable because I am still young and learning. But the rumors that run around often make me feel as if my head will explode. It puts stress on my mind when I am trying to focus on River Plate and possibly get the chance to represent Colombia. It’s a dream of mine to play for Colombia during a World Cup, but I cannot make it if I don’t continue working hard.” That modesty was followed by a severe dip in form, which saw all the interest in him from the likes of Inter and Barca, dry up.
Despite his form, Balanta was named in a couple of Colombia squads without making an appearance, until the 5th March 2014, when he made his international bow. He was also picked for Colombia’s 2014 World Cup squad. There were still stories of European clubs looking at him and, on 24th June 2014, River Plate dismissed a rumour that West Ham United had bid for their centre-back, stating that they had not received any bids for him from anyone. Despite the statement, rumours continued to swirl and a couple of months later, in August, Marca falsely reported that Lazio had signed Balanta for a fee of €4.5m.
In February 2015, he made his first appearance in the senior Copa Libertadores, in a 2-0 defeat against Bolivian club San Jose. In March, he scored his first goal in the competition in a 1-1 draw with Peru’s Juan Aurich. He finally made his long awaited move to Europe in July 2016, as he signed for Swiss side FC Basel on a 4-year deal for €3.5m, a far cry from the early valuation of €30m. River sources admitted that the player had lost his way due to “emotional and personal reasons” and he was not performing to his best any more. A week later he made his debut in the Swiss league in a 3-0 home win over Sion at St Jakob-Park.
In September, he played his first game in Europe’s version of the Copa Libertadores, the UEFA Champions League, in a 1-1 group stage draw with PFC Ludogrets Razgrad. Just over a week later, Balanta scored his first league goal for Basel in a 2-1 victory away to Lausanne-Sport. That season, the 2016/17 one, Basel won the league and cup double in Switzerland, with Balanta making 19 appearances in the leaguebut just 1 in the Swiss Cup, where he scored in a 4-1 win away to Tuggen. It was Basel’s 8th consecutive Swiss Super League title. Head coach Urs Fischer left in the summer and was replaced by Raphael Wicky, who used Balanta less in the league, he made just 15 appearances, but he played all 6 Champions League group stage matches as Basel made it through to the knockout stages. The season ended with Basel trophyless for the first time in 8 years.
Wicky was replaced by Marcel Koller early in the season, after just one league game. Koller could do nothing to stop Young Boys once again beating them to the Swiss title, but they did manage to win the cup again. Balanta was now surplus and Belgian side Club Brugge stepped in to sign him, on 2 September 2019, for just €2.4m, on a 3-year deal. He was back in a defensive midfield role for Brugge and started off playing well for them. Well enough to earn a 2 year contract extension in 2020, tying him to the club until 2024. The good form once again failed to last and, at the end of the January 2023 transfer window, relegation-battling Schalke 04 moved to sign him on loan until the end of the season, but he was unable to stop them doing down and they sent him back to Brugge.
In June 2024, after being released by Brugge at the end of his contract, Balanta returned to Colombia to sign for America de Cali, despite offers from Argentine clubs, such as Rosario Central. Still just 31, but his career has slumped markedly since the early promise, despite FIFA’s official website describing him as “left-footed, powerfully built, strong in the air and a fearless tackler …. blessed with skill and speed”. The early promise has long since vanished and his career is winding down without him having anything like the career that was expected by Football Manager 2014.
For the previous Champ Man Legends article on Franny Jeffers click HERE
Written by Tris Burke November 17 2024 09:14:14
