Carlos Pavón

Carlos Alberto Pavón Plummer (born 9 October 1973) is a Honduran former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is regarded as one of the best Honduran footballers in history, and by most as the nation's greatest player ever.

Most prominently affiliated with Real España, he has made over 200 appearances for Los Aurinegros in the Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Honduras, and is Honduras' all-time leading national team goalscorer.

Club career
Born in El Progreso, Yoro, to Blanca Nieves Pavón Macedo and Costa Rican footballer Allard Plummer, Pavón began his career at the age of 18 in his native Honduras with Real España on 30 May 1992 against Platense in the 1992 Honduran Cup, the final score was 1-1. While with Real España, Pavón won four Honduran league championships, as well as leading the league in scoring.

Mexican years
Pavón then played in Mexico for seven successive years, except for a short stint in Spain. He played for Morelia in the Mexican Primera División, winning the 2000 Clausura with the club. He has also played for Toluca, San Luis, Correcaminos, Necaxa, Cruz Azul, and Celaya, where he led the Mexican Second Division in scoring.

Europe
He has played in Italy in Serie A for both Udinese and Napoli from 2001 to 2003 and in Spain's first division with Real Valladolid (1995).

Major League Soccer
On 19 June 2007, he signed a deal to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy.  He scored twice in the away match against New York Red Bulls on 18 August 2007, both coming from David Beckham assists. The match attracted 66,000 fans, the highest attendance ever recorded for a Bulls game. Pavón was waived at the end of the season.

Despite other offers from MLS teams, he went back to Real Club España in Honduras for 2008. After being released, he signed on with the struggling Club Necaxa of the Primera División de México. He made his debut for Necaxa on 1 March 2009 after only one training session with the club. He started the match and assisted both goals in their 2–2 draw with Club Santos Laguna.

After trying his luck at Club Necaxa he returned to Real España and retired after the 2012 Clausura to become assistant coach at the club as well as a football commentator.

International career
Pavón made his debut for Honduras in a July 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup match against the USA and has earned a total of 101 caps, scoring a Honduran record 57 goals. He has represented his country in 37 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at the 2008 Summer Olympics and in only 1 game at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

He also played at the 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2009 UNCAF Nations Cups as well as at the 1993, 1998, 2000 and 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cups.

His final international was a June 2010 FIFA World Cup match against Chile. After participating in the World Cup through pain, it was discovered Pavón had a hernia. His future in football was in limbo, as a result of the injury.

Honours and awards
C.D. Real Espana
 * Liga Profesional de Honduras: 1993–94, 2003–04 A, 2006–07 C, 2010–11 A
 * Honduran Cup: 1992

Monarcas Morelia
 * Liga MX: Invierno 2000

Honduras
 * Copa Centroamericana: 1993, 1995

Individual
 * Mexico Primera División A top scorer: Verano 1997 (shared with Ángel Lemus)
 * Honduran Footballer of the Year: 2009
 * IFFHS Most Popular Player Award: 2009
 * CONCACAF Gold Cup Top Goalscorer: 2007
 * CONCACAF Gold Cup All-Star Team: 2007
 * Top goalscorers in Liga Nacional de Honduras: 2006–07 C
 * All-time Top Scorer of Honduras National Football Team: 58 goals
 * All-time Top Scorer of Real España: 72 goals

Personal life
He is the son of Costa Rican Allard Plummer, who played for Marathón in the 1970s and Blanca Nieves Pavón Macedo. He is married to Emy Diana James de Pavón and they have two sons, Carlos and André. His son Carlos Alberto Plummer James was enlisted by Real España in 2011.

Pavón also tried his luck on the music scene, but without major success. He was selected by UNICEF to for their campaign to prevent violence against women.