Juan Manuel Peña Explained

Juan Manuel Peña
Fullname:Juan Manuel Peña Montaño
Birth Date:17 January 1973
Birth Place:Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Position:Centre-back
Youthclubs1:Tahuichi Academy
Years1:1990–1993
Caps1:48
Goals1:0
Years2:1993–1995
Caps2:62
Goals2:0
Years3:1995–2004
Caps3:249
Goals3:0
Years4:2004–2007
Caps4:56
Goals4:1
Years5:2007–2009
Caps5:33
Goals5:0
Years6:2010
Caps6:10
Goals6:0
Totalcaps:458
Totalgoals:1
Nationalyears1:1991–2009
Nationalcaps1:85
Nationalgoals1:1

Juan Manuel Peña Montaño (born 17 January 1973) is a Bolivian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

The vast majority of his professional career was spent in Spain, where he played a total of 14 years for three teams (mainly Valladolid), appearing in a total of 305 La Liga games.

Peña played more than 80 times with Bolivia, representing the nation at the 1994 World Cup and five Copa América tournaments.

Club career

Born in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Peña played for Club Blooming in his home country and Independiente Santa Fe in Colombia, before moving to Spain in 1995. At Real Valladolid he was a defensive stalwart for nine seasons – sharing teams with compatriot Marco Sandy in his first – leaving for Villarreal CF upon his first team's 2004 relegation from La Liga.[1]

At Villarreal Peña figured less prominently, but managed to score a rare goal, in a 3–0 home win against Málaga CF on 19 December 2004.[2] After just six league appearances during 2006–07 he switched to Celta de Vigo, in the second division.

Following two seasons of intermittent use, Peña retired in mid-November 2009 aged 36, not wishing to pursue his career anymore after careful deliberation. However, on 25 March of the following year, he signed with D.C. United of the Major League Soccer.[3]

International career

After his debut for Bolivia in 1991 (aged 18), Peña went on to become one of its most capped players and team captain. With 85 international matches,[4] [5] he played a FIFA World Cup game, against Spain in 1994 (1–3 group stage loss),[6] and also appeared in five Copa América editions.

Peña scored only once for the national team, in a friendly match with Honduras played in Washington on 11 October 2003. In his penultimate appearance, on 1 April 2009, he helped to the 6–1 demolition of Argentina in La Paz for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.[7]

International goals

Honours

Club

Villarreal

2004

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=219740.html Peña inks Villarreal deal
  2. http://espnfc.com/uk/en/report/169738/report.html?soccernet=true&cc=5739 Villarreal 3–0 Málaga
  3. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2010/03/dc_united_signs_carey_talley.htmlD.C. United to sign Carey Talley
  4. https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/jmpena-intl.html Juan Manuel Peña – International Appearances
  5. https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/bol-recintlp.html Bolivia – Record international players
  6. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/28/sports/world-cup-94-bolivia-scores-but-will-still-go-home.html World Cup '94; Bolivia scores, but will still go home
  7. http://www.marca.com/2009/04/01/futbol/mundial_2010/1238621078.html Bolivia humilla a Argentina (Bolivia humiliates Argentina)