John Wilmar Pérez Muñoz (born 21 February 1970) is a Colombian football (soccer) player. A central midfielder, effective in winning the ball and passing it forward, Pérez played for the Colombian clubs

Independiente Medellín Deportivo Independiente Medellín, also known as Independiente Medellín or DIM, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at Estadio Atanasio Girardo ...

and Deportivo Cali. In 2000, he moved to the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. After a slow first season in Columbus, Pérez excelled in 2001 while forming the core of a sturdy midfield next to

Brian Maisonneuve Brian Maisonneuve (born June 28, 1973 in Warren, Michigan) is an American retired soccer player and current coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. He spent his entire professional career as a defensive midfielder with the Columbus Crew of Major L ...

. He finished the year with 8 goals and 15 assists,MLSSoccer.com
"John Wilmar Perez"
Retrieved 19 April 2013. earning recognition as the club's Most Valuable Player for the season. In 2002, Pérez experienced a decline in his statistics and playing time, but nonetheless helped the Crew win their first trophy, the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

. Pérez also represented the Colombia national team and was a participant at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, 1997 Copa America, and 1998 FIFA World Cup. He played in all four of Colombia's matches at the Copa America in 1997,Tabeira, Martín
"Copa América 1997"
''

RSSSF The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around th ...

'', 2 August 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2013. but remained on the bench throughout the World Cup the following year.

Honors

Club

Columbus Crew *

: 2002

References

1970 births Living people Colombian men's footballers Colombian expatriate men's footballers Colombia men's international footballers 1998 FIFA World Cup players 1997 Copa América players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Independiente Medellín footballers Deportivo Cali footballers Columbus Crew players Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Colombia Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Categoría Primera A players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Medellín {{Colombia-footy-midfielder-stub