César Obando


César Augusto Obando Villeda, nicknamed El Nene, is a retired Honduran professional football player who is considered one of the best players ever in Honduras but a serious injury cut his career early.

Club career

The diminutive Obando played in the Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Honduras for F.C. Motagua, C.D. Victoria and Real C.D. España. He also played abroad with Mexican outfit Correcaminos UAT, with fellow Honduran Eugenio Dolmo Flores at Peruvian side Universitario and in Costa Rica with Cartaginés. At Cartaginés, he played alongside compatriots Arnold Cruz and Christian Santamaría but was released in February 2003.
He played in the 1994 Copa Libertadores with Universitario, where the club were eliminated by Independiente Medellín in the knock-out stages. In 1992, he was named World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year by the IFFHS.
His last game as a professional player in the Honduran league was on 21 May 2002 with his team F.C. Motagua defeating C.D. Olimpia 2 - 1. He is known for his powerful right footed shot. He scored 23 league goals for Motagua.

International career

Obando made his debut for Honduras in a May 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup match against Panama and has earned a total of 33 caps, scoring 15 goals. He has represented his country in 7 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at the 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup.
His final international was a March 2002 friendly match against the United States.

International goals

DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.30 June 1992Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras4–04-0Friendly match
2.26 July 1992Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras1–02-01994 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.12 August 1992Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States3–02-0Friendly match
4.13 September 1992Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador1–01–3Friendly match
5.22 September 1992Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras1–15–1Friendly match
6.24 September 1992Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras1–07–0Friendly match
7.24 September 1992Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras3–07–0Friendly match
8.24 September 1992Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras5–07–0Friendly match
9.8 November 1992Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica3–23-21994 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.28 November 1992Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras2–04-01994 FIFA World Cup qualification
11.5 December 1992Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras2–02-11994 FIFA World Cup qualification
12.25 March 1993Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras3–14-1Friendly match
13.4 April 1993Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras2–22–21994 FIFA World Cup qualification
14.17 November 1998Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States2–33–3Hurricane Relief Tournament
15.18 November 1998Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States1–02–1Hurricane Relief Tournament

Managerial career

Obando was named Motagua's reserves coach in 2013.
He was then made coach of a bilingual school called International School of Tegucigalpa at the capital of Honduras.