Juan Carlos Espinoza (Honduran footballer)


Juan Carlos Espinoza Zerón is a retired Honduran football player, who most recently was assistant manager of Real España in the Liga Nacional de Honduras.

Club career

He started his career at Real España but spent the majority of his career with Olimpia. He also had a short stint at Costa Rican side Alajuelense. He played with Alex Pineda Chacón, Belarmino Rivera, Eugenio Dolmo Flores, Danilo Galindo and his brother Nahúm Espinoza in the Olimpia and they won the CONCACAF Champions League in 1988.

International career

Espinoza made his debut for Honduras in the 1980s and has earned at least 14 caps, scoring 2 goals. He has represented his country in 3 FIFA World Cup qualification match and played at the 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup as well as at the 1991 and 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cups. In the 1991 Gold Cup Final, he missed the decisive penalty.
His final international was a December 1994 friendly match against the United States, a game in which his brother Nahún made his international debut.

International goals

DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.2 June 1991Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, Tibas, Costa Rica1–02–11991 UNCAF Nations Cup
2.28 June 1991Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States2–04–21991 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Managerial career

As a manager, he won the 2002 Apertura with Olimpia as well as the 2008 Apertura. In March 2009 he succeeded Colombian Carlos Restrepo at Olimpia.
In September 2012, Juan Carlos was named as assistant to his brother, Nahúm Espinoza, who succeeded Chelato Uclés as manager of Real España while also still being assistant to manager Danilo Tosello at Olimpia.

Personal life

Juan Carlos is the older brother of former international defender Nahúm Espinoza. Their brother Enrique, who died in April 2012, was also a former player of Olimpia.

Honours and awards

Club

;C.D. Olimpia
;C.D. Real Espana