Carlos Alejandro Villanueva Martínez (4 June 1908 – 11 April 1944) was a

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 ...

vian

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, rugb ...

who played for

Alianza Lima Club Alianza Lima, popularly known as Alianza Lima or simply Alianza, is a Peruvian professional sports club based in La Victoria District of Lima, Peru. It is widely known for having one of the most historical and successful football teams in ...

and the

Peru national football team The Peru national football team represents Peru in men's international football. The national team has been organised, since 1927, by the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF). The FPF constitutes one of the ten members of FIFA's South America ...

. He is considered one of the most important Alianza strikers in the 1920s and 1930s.

Club career

Born in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

, started his career at Teniente Ruiz but moved on after a year to the club where he would play the rest of his career,

. He is known to be Peru's historic

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...

figure. Alejandro Villanueva 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

, Villanueva's fame increased as he made international appearances such as in 1933 when

made a tour in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

and, with fellow Peruvians such as

Teodoro Fernandez The name ''Teodoro'' is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish form of Theodore. People Given name * Teodoro Alcalde (1913–1995) * Teodoro Ardemans (died 1726) * Teodoro Borlongan (1955–2005) * Teodoro Buontempo (1946–2013) * Teodoro Cano Garc ...

, delighted the audiences with his skill and defeated a series of important Chilean clubs of that time such as

Club Deportivo Magallanes Deportes Magallanes is a Chilean Football team based in San Bernardo, Chile. They will play in the Primera División de Chile starting from 2023 after winning the 2022 Primera B championship. The club was founded on October 27, 1897 with the nam ...

Santiago Wanderers Club de Deportes Santiago Wanderers is a football club based in Valparaíso, a founding member of the Chilean Football Federation. Their home ground, Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, is in the north-west of the city. Wanderers have played their ...

Audax Italiano Audax Club Sportivo Italiano () is a Chilean football club based in La Florida. Founded in 1910, it plays in the Campeonato Nacional and has spent most of its history in the top tier of Chilean football. Audax has been national champions four t ...

, and

Colo-Colo Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo () is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano they play in the Chilean Primera División, from which they have never been relegated. The team has pla ...

. In Peru, Villanueva is often remembered as one of the finest exponents of that nation's association football and as the player that amazed the crowds with his bicycle kicks. The people of

at first thought 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 eternal club,

International career

With the

he played at the

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

and

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into ...

Copa America Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Asso ...

1930 FIFA World Cup The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930. FIFA, football's international governing body, selected Uruguay as host nati ...

and

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-s ...

. Villanueva played on the team that won the football tournament at the inaugural

Bolivarian Games The Bolivarian Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Bolivarianos'', full name ''Juegos Deportivos Bolivarianos'') are a regional multi-sport event held in honor of Simón Bolívar, and organized by the Bolivarian Sports Organization (''Organización Deport ...

in 1938.

Death and legacy

Villanueva died at the age of 35 after contracting

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

. Alianza Lima's stadium, located in the La Victoria district of Lima, is named after him and is popularly known as "Matute".

Honours

Club

** 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:''

References

External links

*
Club Alianza Lima
nbsp;– Villanueva honored in Alianza Lima's official website. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Villanueva, Alejandro 1908 births 1944 deaths Footballers from Lima Association football forwards Peruvian footballers Peru international footballers 1930 FIFA World Cup players Footballers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Peru Peruvian Primera División players Club Alianza Lima footballers 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Peru