César Augusto Cueto Villa (born 6 June 1952 in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

) is a

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian former

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, nicknamed "El Poeta de la zurda" (), recognized as one of the most talented players that Peruvian soccer has produced. He was regarded one of the best South American

midfielders In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

between the 70s and 80s and probably the most technically gifted player that Peru produced in its history. Nicknamed «El Poeta de la Zurda», he was an attacking

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

of exceptional ability, ball control, great vision of the game and capacity for assistance, as well as a very showy style that marked an era, characteristics that have made him win a place among the best left-footed midfielders in the history of Peruvian soccer. He played 51 times for the Peru national team between 1972 and 1985 and was part of the squad that won the

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. He also competed for Peru at the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

and

1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national footbal ...

. One of Peru's greatest footballers, Cueto was renowned for his agility, close control and passing range.

Biography

Club career

He started his professional career with a local club

Alianza Lima Club Alianza Lima, more commonly known as simply Alianza Lima, is a Peru, Peruvian professional sports club based in La Victoria District, Lima, La Victoria District of Lima, Peru. The club was founded under the name of Sport Alianza on February ...

in 1969, and between 1973 and 1974 he was on loan with the teams ''José Galvez'' and

Deportivo Municipal Club Centro Deportivo Municipal, commonly known as Deportivo Municipal, is a Peruvian Association football, football club based in Lima, Peru. They are among Peru's most recognizable clubs and enjoy considerable popularity. The bulk of their succ ...

. After Cueto's return to

in 1975, the club won the league titles of 1975, 1977, and 1978. In 1979, he moved to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

to play for

Atlético Nacional Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the other ...

, where he became the team captain, and won the national title in 1981 with great performances. He received positive coverage and he was elected " Mustang Cup best player on the Year": 1980, 1981. He is also considered

's most renowned player, and was

Carlos Valderrama Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio (Colombian Spanish: ; born 2 September 1961), also known as ''"El Pibe"'' ("The Kid"), is a Colombian former professional footballer and sports commentator for Fútbol de Primera, who played as an attacking m ...

's favorite player and initial inspiration. He signed with

América de Cali América de Cali S. A., best known as América de Cali or América, is a Colombian professional football club based in Cali. It competes in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight league of Colombian football. The team plays its home games at ...

in 1984, winning another league title that year with the club. also as captain and team leader. After an injury in 1985, he retired from the national team but returned to play for Alianza after the 1987 air disaster; another injury struck him in 1988, forcing him away from playing. He played irregularly until his definite retirement in 1991.

International career

Also a member of the Peru national team, he earned 51 caps and scored 6 goals for Peru. He was part of the Peru squad that won the

Copa America 1975 Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Association * Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association * Parli ...

and represented it in the

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

– scoring in the opening match against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

– and

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

. Cueto was part of the Peru team which eliminated Colombia and Uruguay in the World Cup Qualifiers in 1981. Peru won in the South American qualifying group B. In 1982, the Peru National team then toured North America and Europe. After losing to

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

, it went on to defeat

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

and both the

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

national teams. Cueto is best remembered for his great performance in the match against France of Platini on 28 April 1982 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, which the France press acclaimed Peru national team as "one of the best teams in the world". Coming into the

, there were high expectations for Peru as a dark horse favorite to win the cup with a team that included such notable players as

Julio César Uribe Julio César Uribe Flores (born May 9, 1958) is a Peruvian football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. Playing career Club Uribe started his career with Peruvian club Sporting Cristal. Then he ...

, José Velásquez,

Teófilo Cubillas Teófilo Juan Cubillas Arizaga (; born 8 March 1949) is a Peruvian former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is considered Peru's greatest ever player and one of the best in the history of South America. In an IFFHS poll he wa ...

and Cueto. With 2 draws and 1 defeat, Peru finished at the bottom of their group went out in the first round. Cueto himself had a disappointing tournament, Peru failed to advance to the next round, despite having an excellent team. Also noteworthy was his strong appearance in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

qualifying match against the

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in Buenos Aires in 1985. He contributed a scintillating pass to

Geronimo Barbadillo Gerónimo (, ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a military leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache bands the Tchihende ...

for go-ahead goal (the game ended in a tie).

Participation in the World Cup

Personal life

Cueto is a practising Roman Catholic. He is divorced, has four daughters and four grandchildren. Now Cesar Cueto, belongs to the Neocatechumenal Way, is a catechist in the northern part of Peru.

Honours

Individual awards

*1980: Peruvian Footballer of the year *1981: Mustang Cup Best player on the year

References

External links

*
Interview: Luis Fernando Suárez, Colombian manager

Futbol Factory profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cueto, Cesar 1952 births Living people Footballers from Lima Peruvian men's footballers Peruvian Roman Catholics Peru men's international footballers 1975 Copa América players 1978 FIFA World Cup players 1982 FIFA World Cup players Peruvian Primera División players Categoría Primera A players Club Alianza Lima footballers José Gálvez FBC footballers Deportivo Municipal footballers Atlético Nacional footballers América de Cali footballers Deportivo Pereira footballers Cúcuta Deportivo footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia Peruvian expatriate men's footballers Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Copa América–winning players Men's association football midfielders 20th-century Peruvian sportsmen