Luis Balbo

Luis Balbo
Personal information
Full name Luis Francisco Balbo Vieira
Date of birth (2006-03-28) 28 March 2006
Place of birth Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position Left-back
Team information
Current team
 Sturm Graz
Number 27
Youth career
2016–2017 União da Madeira
2017–2020 Porto
2020–2024 Famalicão
2024–2026 Fiorentina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2026 Fiorentina 6 (0)
2026– Sturm Graz 4 (0)
International career‡
2022 Portugal U16 1 (0)
2023 Venezuela U17 5 (0)
2025 Venezuela U20 2 (0)
2025 Venezuela U23 1 (0)
2025– Venezuela 2 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Venezuela
FIFA Series
Runner-up2026 Uzbekistan
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:04, 22 August 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 19:28, 27 March 2026 (UTC)

Luis Francisco Balbo Vieira (born 28 March 2006) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a left-back for the Austrian Bundesliga club Sturm Graz. A former youth international for Portugal and Venezuela, he plays for the Venezuela national team.

Club career

Balbo is a youth product of the academies of the Portuguese clubs União da Madeira, Porto and Famalicão. On 30 January 2024, he joined the Italian club Fiorentina on a contract until 2028.[1]

International career

Balbo was born in Venezuela to Venezuelan parents, and is of Portuguese descent through a grandmother.[2] He moved to Portugal and holds dual Venezuelan and Portuguese citizenship.[3] He made an appearance for the Portugal U16s in 2022.[4] He played for the Venezuela U17s at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He was also called up to the Venezuela U20s at the 2025 South American U-20 Championship.[5]

He was called up to the senior Venezuela national team for a set of friendlies in November 2025.[6] He debuted in a 1–0 win over Australia on 14 November 2025.[7]

Personal life

Luis Balbo has a brother, Luis Estefano, who is also a footballer but plays as a goalkeeper in Portugal.[2]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22 August 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
LeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Fiorentina 2025–26 Serie A 60103[a]0—100
Sturm Graz 2026–27 Austrian Bundesliga 400000—40
Career total 100103000140
  1. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

As of match played 27 March 2026
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Venezuela 202510
202610
Total20

Honours

Venezuela

References

  1. ↑ Negri, Simone (30 January 2024). "Fiorentina, innesto per il futuro: preso Luis Balbo".
  2. 1 2 "🇻🇪 LUIS BALBO: MI SUEÑO SIEMPRE FUE REPRESENTAR A VENEZUELA | SOLOVENEX". 7 May 2023 – via YouTube.
  3. ↑ CV, Redazione (30 January 2024). "Fiorentina, rinforzo vinotinto per la Primavera: ecco Luis Balbo | Cantera Viola".
  4. ↑ "Luís Balbo". FPF.
  5. ↑ "Lista la Convocatoria de Venezuela Sub-20 para el Campeonato Sudamericano" [Venezuela U-20 call-up list for the South American Championship] (in Spanish). Balonazos. 20 January 2025.
  6. ↑ @SeleVinotinto (10 November 2025). "𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀: Fecha FIFA de noviembre" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 November 2025 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  7. ↑ Pegan, Martin (15 November 2025). "Venezuela 1-0 Australia: men's international football friendly – as it happened" – via www.theguardian.com.
  8. ↑ dearmas, Bloque. "FIFA Series: Uzbekistán vence a Venezuela por la tanda de penales". Meridiano.net (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 March 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.