Alejandro Villanueva

Carlos Alejandro Villanueva Martínez (4 June 1908 – 11 April 1944) was a Peruvian footballer who played for Alianza Lima and the Peru national football team. He is considered one of the most important Alianza strikers in the 1920s and 1930s.

Club career Born in Lima, Peru, Villanueva started his career at Teniente Ruiz but moved on to Alianza Lima after a year, where he would play the rest of his career.

He was noted to have an extraordinary handling the football and his many outrageous moves won him the nickname "Manguera". Among his many exploits, the bicycle kick was one of the moves that won him widespread recognition. While playing for Alianza Lima, Villanueva's fame increased as he made international appearances, such as in 1933 when Alianza Lima made a tour in Chile. With fellow Peruvians such as Teodoro Fernandez, he delighted the audiences with his skill and defeated a series of important Chilean clubs of that time, including Club Deportivo Magallanes, Santiago Wanderers, Audax Italiano, and Colo-Colo. In Peru, Villanueva is often remembered as one of the finest exponents of association football. Early on, the people of Lima believed the bicycle kick was his invention when he executed it in 1928, and commonly called it "tiro caracol". Later, the name changed to "chalaca" when people began to favor the idea that the move was invented in Callao several decades earlier. As a result of these achievements, Villanueva remains a famous figure in Peru to the point that several songs have been made about him and his club, Alianza Lima.

International career With the Peru national football team, he played at the 1927 and 1937 Copa América, 1930 FIFA World Cup and 1936 Summer Olympics. Villanueva played on the team that won the football tournament at the inaugural Bolivarian Games in 1938.

Death and legacy Villanueva died at the age of 35 after contracting tuberculosis. Alianza Lima's stadium, located in the La Victoria district of Lima, is named after him and is popularly known as "Matute".

Honours

Alianza Lima Peruvian League: 1927, 1928, 1931, 1932, 1933 First tier of the league of Lima and Callao: 1939

Individual Peruvian League's Top Scorer: 1929, 1931

Statistics

International goals

Scores and results table. Peru's goal tally first: Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 27 November 1927 Lima, Peru 1–1 1–5 1927 Copa America 2. 6 August 1936 Berlin, Germany 2–0 7–3 1936 Summer Olympics 3. 6 August 1936 Berlin, Germany 6–1 7–3 1936 Summer Olympics 4. 8 August 1936 Berlin, Germany 2–2 4–2 1936 Summer Olympics 5. 8 August 1936 Berlin, Germany 3–2 4–2 1936 Summer Olympics 6. 27 December 1936 Buenos Aires, Argentina 2–3 2–3 1937 Copa America