José Alegría (born 5 October 1980) 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 footballer. He holds the

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

record for fastest

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

in league history, earning one in 18 seconds during a match on 13 June 2001.

Career

Born 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 ...

, he moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

when he was 12 and grew up in

Springfield, Virginia Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 31,339 as of the 20 ...

. He was initially signed by D.C. United directly out of high school in 1998. However, after participating in their spring training, he was forced to return to Peru in order to obtain a work visa. The process was delayed because he overstayed his initial tourist visa limit and he missed both the 1999 and 2000 seasons as a result.For Alegria, the Wait of the World
washingtonpost.com While waiting in Peru, Alegría trained with

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 ...

, the country's most successful team, and played in the second division. He joined D.C. United in October 2001 and made 38 league appearances across three seasons with the team, registering one goal and three assists before he was waived in early 2004.

References

External links

Jose Alegria
at MLSsoccer.com * Living people 1980 births Peruvian men's footballers 21st-century Peruvian sportsmen Men's association football midfielders D.C. United players Major League Soccer players Footballers from Lima Sportspeople from Springfield, Virginia Soccer players from Fairfax County, Virginia Peruvian emigrants to the United States {{Peru-footy-bio-stub