Christian Alberto Cueva Bravo (born 23 November 1991) 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 an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Saudi Arabian club Al-Fateh and the Peru national team. Cueva was a member of the Peru national team that finished in third place at the 2015 Copa América and runners-up at the 2019 Copa América, also taking part at the

Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario ( pt, Copa América Centenário, french: Coupe Amerique Centennaire, en, Centennial Cup America; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's association football tournament that was hosted by the ...

, the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

and the 2021 Copa América.

Club career

Universidad San Martín

Born in Trujillo, Cueva started his career playing for amateurs Instituto Pedagógico Nacional Monterrico, at the age of 14. In August 2007, he played for a

Huamachuco Huamachuco (possibly from Quechua ''waman'', falcon or variable hawk, and Kulyi ''chuco'', earth or land, "land of falcons") is a town in northern Peru and capital of the province Sánchez Carrión in La Libertad Region. The city is the se ...

representative side in a friendly against Universidad San Martín, impressing enough to secure a subsequent move to the club's under-20 side. On 12 April 2008, aged only 16, Cueva made his first team – and Torneo Descentralizado – debut, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3–1 away loss against

Universidad César Vallejo Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

. Cueva finished his first senior season with two goals in 18 appearances, as his side was crowned champions. He only became a regular starter for the side from the 2010 season onwards, and finished his spell at the club with 20 goals in 121 league appearances.

Universidad César Vallejo

On 3 August 2012, Cueva moved to fellow first division side César Vallejo. In November, however, his contract was rescinded by the club after a series of indiscipline problems.

Unión Española

On 24 January 2013, after being linked to a move to Ponte Preta, he was announced at Chilean Primera División side

Unión Española Club Unión Española S.A.D.P. is a professional football club based in the Independencia neighborhood, commune of Santiago, Chile. They currently participate in the Primera División de Chile. It has a branch of women's football, and competes ...

Rayo Vallecano (loan)

On 13 August 2013, Cueva joined

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's ...

club

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Li ...

on a one-year loan deal. On 1 March 2014, after being rarely used by manager

Paco Jémez Francisco "Paco" Jémez Martín (born 18 April 1970) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a central defender. He is the manager of Iranian club Tractor. Over 11 seasons, he played 269 La Liga matches in representation o ...

, Cueva was assigned to the reserves in

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the '' Segunda División'', and the semi-professional '' Segunda ...

. On his debut for the B-team nine days later, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 3–2 defeat of

Internacional de Madrid Internacional de Madrid, simply known as Internacional or Inter de Madrid, is a Spanish football team based in Villaviciosa de Odón, in the Community of Madrid. Founded in 2002, it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games ...

Alianza Lima

On 18 August 2014,

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Cueva returned to his home country after agreeing to an 18-month contract with Alianza Lima. A regular starter during the 2014 Clausura Tournament, he was handed a six-match suspension after being

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in a 1–0 loss to

Real Garcilaso Cusco Fútbol Club (known as ''Real Garcilaso'' until 2019) is a professional Peruvian football club based in the city of Cusco, that competes in the Liga 2, the top flight of Peruvian football. History Beginnings The club was founded in ...

for the 2015 Apertura Tournament; the sentence was later reduced to three matches.

Toluca

On 18 July 2015, Cueva signed for Mexican club

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in Mexico. The city f ...

. He made his debut for the club on 29 July, replacing Diego Aguilar in a 4–3 home defeat of Necaxa, for the year's Copa Mexico.

São Paulo

On 2 June 2016, Cueva signed a four-year contract with Brazilian side São Paulo FC. On 22 February 2017, Cueva extended his contract until 2021. However, he subsequently had multiple indiscipline problems, being fined twice and having a face off with teammate

Rodrigo Caio Rodrigo Caio Coquette Russo (born 17 August 1993), known as Rodrigo Caio, is a Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, central defender for Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, Flamengo and the Braz ...

due to the club's poor results.

Krasnodar

On 19 July 2018, Cueva signed a four-year contract with the

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...

club

FC Krasnodar FC Krasnodar is a Russian professional football club based in Krasnodar that plays in the Russian Premier League. The club was founded in 2008. In 2009, the club was promoted to the Russian First Division, the second highest division of the R ...

Santos

On 7 February 2019, Cueva returned to Brazil after agreeing to a one-year loan deal with

Santos FC Santos Futebol Clube (), commonly known simply as Santos or Santos FC and nicknamed the ''Peixe'' (; "fish"), is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a '' bairro'' in the city of Santos. It is also the team with the most goals i ...

, with an obligation to buy on a three-year contract on 31 January 2020, for an estimated fee of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

6 million.

Dispute and transfer issues

In September 2019, Cueva was caught fighting on a nightclub in Santos, being subsequently dropped from the first team squad. Santos president José Carlos Peres later requested the lining up of Cueva in a TV interview, which was later dismissed by the club's director of football

Paulo Autuori Paulo Autuori de Mello (born 25 August 1956), known as Paulo Autuori, is a Brazilian association football, football executive and manager who is the current manager of Atlético Nacional. Early life A football fan since early childhood and a fu ...

. Despite appearing on time for the 2020 pre-season, Cueva left Santos in late January, being later found in Argentina; in the meantime, Santos tried to negotiate the player San Lorenzo unsuccessfully. Cueva later attempted to rescind his contract with the club through FIFA, after alleging unpaid wages; he also reached an agreement with

Pachuca Pachuca (; ote, Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of whi ...

. On 14 February 2020, FIFA authorized Cueva to play for the Mexican club, while also authorizing Santos to charge for a restitution fee for his transfer.

Pachuca

On 15 February 2020, after FIFA's clearance, Pachuca announced the signing of Cueva.

Yeni Malatyaspor

In August 2020, Cueva moved to Turkish club

Yeni Malatyaspor Yeni Malatyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Malatya, Turkey. The club plays in the TFF First League, which is the second tier of football in the country. History Founded in 1986 as Malatya Belediyespor. Its prim ...

Al-Fateh

In January 2021, Cueva moved to Saudi Arabian club Al-Fateh. On 4 February 2021, he made his debut for Al-Fateh in a 4–1 away loss against

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad (Arabic: الاتحاد "The Union"), sometimes transliterated as Al-Etihad or Al-Ettihad may refer to: Sports Football Libya *Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli), a football club based in Bab Ben Gashier * Al Ittihad Gheryan, a football club bas ...

International career

Cueva represented

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

at under-20 level in the 2011 South American Youth Championship. He made his full international debut on 1 June 2011, starting in a 0–0 draw against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, for the year's

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (International competition which nationa ...

. Cueva was included in Peru's squad for the 2015 Copa América, and scored the team's opening goal of the tournament in a 2–1 loss to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. He was an undisputed starter during the tournament, helping his side finish in the third place and being named one of the best midfielders of the competition. Cueva was also named in

Ricardo Gareca Ricardo Alberto Gareca Nardi (; born 10 February 1958), nicknamed ''el Tigre'' and ''el Flaco'' ("Tiger " and "Slim"), is an Argentine football manager and former player. Gareca was the manager of the Peru national team, with his contract endi ...

's squad for the

, and scored the opening goal in an eventual 2–2 draw against

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

University of Phoenix Stadium A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

on 8 June 2016. However, in the quarter-finals against

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, the match went to a penalty shoot-out, and Cueva missed his spot kick as his side were eliminated 4–2 as a result of this. He was also a first-choice during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, helping his side qualify to the final stage after a 36-year absence. On 4 June 2018, Cueva was named in Peru's provisional 23-man squad for the World Cup in Russia.

Style of play

With

, Cueva usually plays in an offensive midfield role through the centre of the pitch, for his club sides, such as

, he plays more frequently on the flank, mainly on the left wing. A good dribbler, he is known for his change of pace over short distances and his ability to manage himself well in tight spaces. His playing style has drawn comparisons with that of Brazilian playmaker

Paulo Henrique Ganso Paulo Henrique Chagas de Lima (born 12 October 1989), known as Paulo Henrique Ganso or just Ganso (lit. "goose" in Portuguese), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Fluminense as an attacking midfielder. A Santos youth gradua ...

, who plays for

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, as Cueva occupies a similar function for

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, in the way that he tends to move more through the pitch, making attacking runs into the rival area, scoring goals, and occasionally also helping out defensively by marking opponents. In his side's 4–0 victory against rivals

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

on 5 November 2016, Cueva demonstrated his great talent by netting a goal and providing three assists for his teammates

David Neres David Neres Campos (; born 3 March 1997) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Portuguese Primeira Liga club Benfica and the Brazil national team. Neres is a graduate of São Paulo's youth system and was promoted t ...

, Chávez and Luiz Araújo.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Individual

* Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2015 * Campeonato Paulista Team of the year: 2017

References

External links