Valeriano López Mendiola (4May 19267May 1993) was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

forward from

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 ...

, nicknamed ''Tanque de Casma''. Recognized as one of

's most important players, he was an all round forward with great finishing, positioning, and heading skills. Prolific goalscorer, next to Ferreyra and Friedenreich, have been only the American

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

footballers 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 le ...

with an average of more than 1 goal per match, having made 207 goals in 199 games of 1946 to his retirement in 1960.

Career

López's career began with the Peruvian club

Sport Boys The Sport Boys Association, commonly referred to as the Sport Boys or simply the Boys, is a Peruvian association football club based in the port city of Callao, founded on 28 July 1927. The club currently participate in the Peruvian Primera Divi ...

at the age of 20. He became a prolific goalscorer, winning the Peruvian league top-scorer honor its three first seasons, (1946, 1947 and 1948) with 62 goals scored in 54 matches. After a successful beginning in

, in 1949 it is punished to perpetuity for the practice of soccer to escape of the concentration of the

Peru national football team The Peru national football team (), nicknamed ''La Bicolor'', represents Peru in men's international football. The national team has been organised, since 1927, by the Federación Peruana de Fútbol (). It has been a member of FIFA since 1924 ...

days before the South American Championship of Brazil. López moved to Colombia club Deportivo Cali and remains one of their most iconic players.

Honours

Individual Honours

* Peruvian Championship's Top Scorer: 1946, 1947, 1948, 1951 * 1948 Bolivarian Games: Best Player * 1948 Bolivarian Games: Top Scorer * 1951 South American Top scorer on the year *

1952 Panamerican Championship The 1952 Panamerican Championship was the first edition of the Panamerican Championship, an association football tournament featuring national teams from North, Central and South America. Organized by the Panamerican Football Confederation, this fi ...

: Top Scorer

Records

*He also set a record by scoring in 12 consecutive Colombian League games.Scoring Streacks, Valeriano López
/ref>

References

External links

*
Biography of Valeriano López
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Valeriano 1926 births 1993 deaths People from Casma province Men's association football forwards Peruvian men's footballers Peru men's international footballers Peruvian Primera División players Categoría Primera A players Argentine Primera División players Sport Boys footballers Deportivo Cali footballers Club Atlético Huracán footballers Club Alianza Lima footballers Peruvian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia Bolivarian Games gold medalists for Peru Bolivarian Games medalists in football 20th-century Peruvian sportsmen