Alexander Martín Callens Asín (born 4 May 1992) is a Peruvian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

side

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...

and the Peru national team.

Club career

Sport Boys

Born in Callao, Callens played youth football with

Sport Boys Sport Boys Association, commonly referred to as Sport Boys or simply Boys, is a Peruvian football club based in the port city of Callao. It was founded on 28 July 1927. Its classic and historic rival is the Atlético Chalaco against whom dispute ...

. He made his professional debut on 18 April 2010 in a 3–1 loss at

León de Huánuco Club Social Deportivo León de Huánuco is a professional Peruvian football (soccer), football club based in the city of Huánuco. It is the biggest football club of Huánuco city. The club was founded in 1946 and play in the Copa Peru (''Peruvian ...

in the

Peruvian Primera División The Peru First Division (; ''First Division'') —known as Liga 1 Betsson for sponsorship reasons and officially as Liga 1 — is the top flight of association football in Peru. It has been referred to as Torneo Descentralizado since 1966, when ...

, and scored his first goal on 19 June in another away defeat, 2–1 against Inti Gas Deportes.

Spain

Callens signed a two-year contract with Real Sociedad from Spain in August 2011, being assigned to the reserves. He went on to spend several Segunda División B seasons with the latter. On 4 December 2014, Callens made his debut with the first team, featuring the entire second half of the 0–0 draw at Real Oviedo in the

round of 32 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

of the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

. On 6 June 2015, he was released. On 10 August 2015, Callens joined Segunda División side

CD Numancia Club Deportivo Numancia de Soria, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club in Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 April 1945, it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at ''Nuevo Estadio Los ...

on a one-year deal. He scored his first goal in the league the following 16 January, in a 2–0 away win over

Albacete Balompié Albacete Balompié is a Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 2 August 1940, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish football, holding home matches ...

New York City

On 23 January 2017, Callens terminated his contract and joined

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned b ...

shortly after. He scored his first goal in the Major League Soccer on 3 June, helping the hosts to beat Philadelphia Union 2–1. Callens converted his attempt in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

victory against the Portland Timbers in the

MLS Cup 2021 MLS Cup 2021 was the 26th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS) at the conclusion of the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs. The soccer match was played on December 11, 2021, at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon, U ...

on 11 December, closing the 4–2 score at Providence Park. On 14 September 2022, he scored from open play to open an eventual 2–0 victory over Atlas F.C. in the Campeones Cup.

International career

Callens won his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

on 17 April 2013, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute for Orlando Contreras in a 0–0 friendly draw with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

held in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. He scored his first goal for his country on 9 September 2014 in another exhibition game, opening the 2–0 win over

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

. Callens was part of the squads at the

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and 2021 Copa América tournaments, making five appearances in the latter for the fourth-placed team.

Personal life

In June 2018, Callens earned a U.S. green card which qualified him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Peru's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Callens goal.''

Honours

New York City FC *

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

* Campeones Cup:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Callens, Alexander 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Callao Peruvian footballers Association football defenders Peruvian Primera División players Sport Boys footballers Segunda División players Segunda División B players Real Sociedad B footballers Real Sociedad footballers CD Numancia players Major League Soccer players New York City FC players Girona FC players Peru international footballers 2019 Copa América players 2021 Copa América players Peruvian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate soccer players in the United States Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in the United States