Historically around Peruvian team He usually doesn’t do well in smaller tournaments. The fact that the most acclaimed campaign of recent years was the Jotita’s Great Achievement in 2007 reflects the reality of working in our country’s children’s departments. Despite coming close to reaching the 2013 U-20 World Cup and the 2019 U-17 World Cup, Peru were by no means close to winning the South American Championship. The first and only time he did so was in 2013, albeit with Juan José Oré and his Peru U15 team.
Recent precedent in the South American Sub-15 has not been encouraging. In 2011, Peru won just one game – their first in seven years – and finished second to bottom in their group. Because of this, nobody would have thought that the Peruvian team would make history in Bolivia, and even less without losing a single game. Unfortunately, as is often the case with youth teams, not all reach their full potential or excel at the senior level.
What happened to the players of the Peru U-15 team in 2013?
Juan José Oré’s team for the 2013 South American U-15 Championship consisted of a total of 22 players. About half of them made their debut in the first division.
Peru won 5 games and drew 1 in the 2013 South American U-15 Cup. Photo: Diario El Deber
Louis Carlo Abram
The brother of the Peru international was also a defender at Regatas Lima when he was called up. He was one of those who couldn’t add a minute in the South America U15 team nor did he manage to make his debut as a professional soccer player. According to his LinkedIn profile, he is now a Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Lima.
Luis Acuy
The left winger came from the smaller Alianza Lima squad but never made it to the first team. He only played 24 minutes in a game for the South American U15 team. He made his debut in the first division with Alianza Atlético on the seventh day of the 2017 Clausura and had his best season as a starter in Pirata in 2019. Today he is a substitute in San Martín.
Boris Alzamora
One of the smaller divisions at the absent Cobresol de Moquegua, the centre-back was a regular in defence. He played five of the six South American games. Alzamora made his debut with the Sport Boys in the last clash of the 2018 Clausura in the first division and was hardly used the following year. He signed for Liga 2 from Comerciantes Unidos in 2020 and only featured in one game. Today he plays for Defensor Laure Sur, with whom he made it to the semifinals of the Provincial Stage.
Boris Alzamora has failed to establish himself in professional football but has settled into Copa Perú. Photo: Defense attorney Laure Sur
Hideyoshi Arakaki
The well-known extreme was one of the most outstanding in South America. He was the undisputed regular player, played in all games and scored six goals. He is one of the few who has already had an extensive career in the first division since his debut with San Martín in 2016 and later progressed through the U20 and U23 divisions. Today he is a substitute at Cusco FC.
Junior Buleje
The midfielder, who played for San Martín, only played 15 minutes in a South American U-15 game. He was one of those guys who never made their professional debut. Today he posts some of his activities on TikTok and lives in the United States.
Jeremy Canela
The skilled Alianza Atlético winger was a regular for South America’s U-15 side, with whom he scored one goal in the five games he played. He made his debut in the first division with Sporting Cristal in the 2018 Clausura, although it was the only game he played. Since alternating with Vendaval in Liga 2 in 2020, he has gradually managed to add minutes and goals to the team.
Gianfranco Chavez
The Sporting Cristal defender and sometimes captain is someone who needs no introduction. He made his senior debut in the 2017 summer tournament, started half the season coaching Deportivo Coopsol in Liga 2 and since his return has managed to establish himself as a regular in the team. He was also one of the few who later went through the U20, the U23 and made his debut in the senior national team.
Alongside Luis Iberico, Gianfranco Chávez is perhaps the team’s best consolidated player today. Photo: GLR archives
Jose Corrales
Trained in the lower divisions of San Martín, the midfielder was a regular in the South American league, where he played four games and was also responsible for the ball. He managed to play for South America U-17 two years later but never made his debut in the top flight. He started as a professional with Deportivo Hualgayoc in the second division in 2018 but barely played in the 17th minute and never played again.
Jose Davila
The Cantolao Academy minor-league goalkeeper did not play a game in South America due to the good performance of Renato Solís. Curiously, he is one of the few who can boast a title: he won the second division with Delfín in 2016. Since then he has always remained the third goalkeeper. He played just three games in the 2017 Apertura and was a free transfer player at the end of the 2022 season.
Victor Egocheaga
The goalkeeper, trained in the Universitario subdivisions, didn’t have a chance like Dávila either. However, unlike ex-Cantolao, Egocheaga was called up for the 2015 South American U-17 team. Despite this, he never made his professional debut and his footballing whereabouts are unknown today.
Aldair Fuentes
The tall central midfielder is one of the most recognizable players in the squad, but at the time he wasn’t the protagonist: he only played 29 minutes in a South American U-15 game. Trained in the minor divisions of Alianza Lima, he made his first-team debut at the 2017 summer tournament and won two national titles. After an unobtrusive passage through the second team in Spain, he is now a regular at César Vallejo.
Aldair Fuentes failed to consolidate in Fuenlabrada but today he is the starter in Vallejo. Photo: GLR archives
Mitchell Gomez
The containment midfielder, who could also play at centre-back, only played 17 minutes in a South American U-15 game. His way into the Peru team was by participating in a tournament in Chile with the Lima Regional Government Sports School. After winning the gold medal in Bolivia, he went to Alianza Lima. However, he never made his pro debut.
Jordan Guivin
The attacking midfielder was the undisputed starter for the South Americans and was the only one alongside Gianfranco Chávez and Renato Solís to play every possible minute of the tournament. He scored one goal and was one of the most outstanding. He later managed to join Nolberto Solano after a Sub-23. Today he’s a new player from Cusco FC after barely playing at Universitario.
Louis Iberian
He is the great protagonist and the face of this Peru U-15 team as he is the top scorer of the tournament with seven goals. He scored the league goal against Colombia and the fans were amazed by his great performance. Although there were several years when he did not play, he bounced back from his level before establishing himself in Melgar, reaching the senior team and today making his first international experience with Latvia’s Riga FC.
Luis Iberico went through all the smaller categories of the Peruvian team. Photo: Riga FC
Jesus Mendieta
Trained in the smaller divisions of Cristal, he was the undisputed starter in midfield for Peru’s South America U-15 side, scoring two goals in six games. He never managed to play in the Sky Blue first team but managed to consolidate at Ayacucho FC and won Stage 2 with the Foxes in 2020. Today he is a regular at Alianza Atlético.
Christian Musto
The case of Cantolaos right-back, trained in the minors, is perhaps one of the most striking: he is the only one of the 11 starters not to make his professional debut. He played in five of the six South American U-15 games but was never considered for any other team. Until 2017 he played in the reserves of Delfín.
Leonardo parave
Trained in the Sporting Cristal subdivisions, the forward was a regular substitute in the South American U-15 where he played 176′ in four games. He was later considered for the U17s a number of times but ultimately did not take part in the South American Championship. In 2020, he was included in the Alianza Atlético squad for the 2020 league. However, he never appeared on the list, nor did he make his pro debut.
Kevin Rock
The Sporting Cristal minor league midfielder played five of South America’s six games and started in the final. He never played in the first team but made his professional debut with Deportivo Municipal in 2019. After a year at Comerciantes Unidos, he returned to Muni and managed to add many minutes between 2021 and 2023. He’s one of those guys who left the club because of the crisis and is now a new Sport Boys player.
Kevin Peña consolidated at Deportivo Municipal but left the club due to institutional problems. Photo: GLR archives
Carlos Rojas
The full-back was playing for Virgen de Chapi when he was called up to the South America U-15 side and then progressed through the reserves at Sporting Cristal. In the tournament he played four games and started in the final. He made his professional debut with Serrato Pacasmayo in 2018 and reappeared three years later with Santos de Nazca. In 2021 he always played, but in 2022 he only made the list a couple of times. He didn’t perform this year.
Renato Solis
The now Sporting Cristal goalkeeper was chosen to defend the goal in South America U-15 and lived up to expectations. He then went through the U20 and U23 classes and was called up to the senior national team. He made his professional debut with Sky Blues in the 2019 Apertura and has shown a very good level this season despite Alejandro Duarte’s injury.
Renato Solís is having a very good time at Sporting Cristal. Photo: GLR archives
Christian Velarde
The central midfielder was a substitute in the South American Championship, where he played 181′ in three games. Velarde started adding minutes early in the first class and made his pro debut with UTC in Apertura 2017, playing more than a minute. He became League 2 champion with Alianza Atlético in 2020, but his consolidation season didn’t come until 2021 with Comerciantes Unidos in League 2. Today he is a substitute at ADT.
Walter Zevallos
The right-back played four South American games as a starter. He belonged to Sporting Cristal, but was never allowed to play in the first team. He made his debut in the first division with San Martín in the Apertura 2019, a tournament in which he participated regularly. In 2021 he returned to Deportivo Coopsol and made several full appearances that year. Since then, however, he has not appeared on any professional teams.