The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Peru

This page contains a list of the greatest Peruvian Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 93 of which were born in Peru. This makes Peru the birth place of the 38th most number of Soccer Players behind Cameroon, and Greece.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Peruvian Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Peruvian Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Peruvian Soccer Players.

1. Teófilo Cubillas (b. 1949)

With an HPI of 61.63, Teófilo Cubillas is the most famous Peruvian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 44 different languages on wikipedia.

Teófilo Juan Cubillas Arizaga (Spanish pronunciation: [teˈofilo kuˈβiʎas]; born 8 March 1949) is a Peruvian former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He was selected as Peru's greatest ever player in an IFFHS poll, in which he was also included in the world's Top 50. He was renowned for his technique, shooting ability and free kick ability. Nicknamed El Nene (The Kid), he was part of the Peru national team that won the 1975 Copa América. He helped Peru reach the quarter finals at the 1970 FIFA World Cup and again at the 1978 World Cup and was elected the South American Footballer of the Year in 1972. In 2004, Pelé selected Cubillas as one of the FIFA 100, a list of 125 footballing greats. In February 2008, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Brazilian World Cup victory, he was selected in the All-Star First Team of South America of the past 50 years. Cubillas is one of only three players to score five or more goals in two different World Cups, the other two being Miroslav Klose and Thomas Müller.

2. Claudio Pizarro (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 54.59, Claudio Pizarro is the 2nd most famous Peruvian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 54 different languages.

Claudio Miguel Pizarro Bosio (Latin American Spanish: [ˈklawðjo piˈsaro]; born 3 October 1978) is a Peruvian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently serving as club ambassador for Bayern Munich. He was captain of Peru's national football team, being its fifth highest scorer. He is the highest scorer and most successful Latin American football player in the history of German football. He is the all-time top scorer of SV Werder Bremen, the ninth top scorer in the history of Bayern Munich and the sixth top scorer in the history of the Bundesliga and its second top scorer in the 21st century. He is also among the 20 top scorers in the history of UEFA club competitions and is the seventh highest South American scorer in European football history. His professional debut came in 1996, with Deportivo Pesquero. In 1998, he joined Alianza Lima, where he won a Peruvian Primera División, being highlighted as the best player of the season. In 1999, he was signed by Werder Bremen from the Bundesliga. Just one year later, he was chosen as the newcomer player of the championship and was included in the ideal team of the 2000–01 season. In 2001, he signed for Bayern Munich and the following seasons he won one Intercontinental Cup, 2 Bundesligas, 4 DFB-Pokale (German Cups), 2 DFL-Ligapokale (German League Cups) and the DFL-Supercup (German Super Cup). In addition, he was the top scorer in the DFB-Pokal in the 2004–05 and 2005–06 editions. In 2007, he signed for Chelsea F.C. scoring on his debut and achieving runner-up in the Premier League at the end of the season. In 2009, he returned to Bremen, where he was champion of the 2008–09 DFB-Pokal and the unofficial 2009 German Supercup, in addition to becoming top scorer in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League. In 2012, he was hired again by Bayern Munich, winning the UEFA Champions League, the Club World Cup, the European Super Cup, the DFL-Supercup, three Bundesligas and two DFB-Pokale, thus becoming the foreign player with most titles in the history of Bayern Munich, a total of 18. In mid-2015, he returned to Werder Bremen. In 2017, he was hired by the 1. FC Köln, from which he separated a year later to return to Werder Bremen. Pizarro is the Peruvian football player with the most goals scored and games played in Europe and in German football. He is the second highest foreign scorer and sixth all-time historic scorer in the Bundesliga (197 goals). He is also the Latin American football player with the most goals scored and titles won in the history of German football. He is the ninth all-time top scorer for the DFB-Pokal (34 goals), top scorer for Werder Bremen (153 goals), the ninth all-time top scorer for Bayern Munich (125 goals), the tenth historical scorer of the UEFA Europa League (24 goals) and the fifth historical scorer of Peru's national football team (20 goals). He is also the foreign player with the most games played in the history of Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal. Pizarro is considered an idol by Bayern Munich's fans and a legend of Werder Bremen's, teams for which he scored more than 100 goals each. As well as being one of the players with the most seasons played in the history of the German league, Pizarro is also the oldest player to score a goal in the Bundesliga (at over 40 years old). In international competitions, he is the fourth highest Latin American scorer in European Cups (Champions League, UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League) with 48 goals, ranking only behind Lionel Messi, Alfredo Di Stéfano and Sergio Agüero. With the Peru national football team he is the fifth highest scorer with 20 goals and the tenth with the most matches (85). With the senior team, he achieved the third place at the 2015 Copa América. He also participated in the 2004 and 2007 Copa América.

3. Teodoro Fernández (1913 - 1996)

With an HPI of 51.58, Teodoro Fernández is the 3rd most famous Peruvian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Teodoro "Lolo" Fernández Meyzán (20 May 1913 – 17 September 1996) was a Peruvian professional footballer who played as forward. All his football work was carried out as a player of the Universitario de Deportes of the Peruvian First Division. He was champion, best player and top scorer in the 1939 Copa América. He is the top idol of Universitario de Deportes and Peruvian First Division. Fernández is the most emblematic player in the history of club Universitario de Deportes for which he played his whole career, winning six times the Primera División Peruana. Although he sporadically reinforced other clubs in friendly matches, clubs such as Alianza Lima and Colo-Colo, Fernández never represented a club other than Universitario in official competitions. Known as "El Cañonero" ("The Cannoneer") due to his excellence as a centre-forward and his strong shooting, Fernández was the Primera División Peruana top-scorer seven times.

4. Héctor Chumpitaz (b. 1943)

With an HPI of 50.32, Héctor Chumpitaz is the 4th most famous Peruvian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Héctor Eduardo Chumpitaz Gonzáles (Latin American Spanish: [ˈeɣtoɾ ˈtʃumpitas]; born 12 April 1943, in Cañete) is a former footballer from Peru. He was voted one of the greatest defenders of all time, among the 30 best defenders in football history, and included within the 100 best players in the history of the World Cup by FIFA in 2018. He is also a member of the Historic Ideal Team of Copa América by CONMEBOL. In addition, he is the seventh highest-scoring South American defender in football history, with 65 official goals. Considered by FIFA as one of the best South American defenders of all time, Chumpitaz is also one of the greatest exponents in the history of Peruvian football. He spent most of his career at Universitario de Deportes and Sporting Cristal. He currently has a football school named as him, where he is dedicated to training minors. Chumpitaz was regarded one of the best defenders in the world during the late 1960s and early 1970s, and is widely considered one of the four best South American defenders of all time along with Elías Figueroa, José Nasazzi, and Daniel Passarella. With great defensive skills, excellent reading of the game, possession and distribution of the ball and an imposing leader role, he became one of the most legendary figures of Universitario de Deportes, a club with which he won five titles in the Peruvian League and was a finalist in the Copa Libertadores in 1972. In addition to having won three other national titles with Sporting Cristal, Chumpitaz is remembered for having been captain of the American team that played a friendly match against the stars of Europe, among them were Giacinto Facchetti, Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, Johan Cruyff —who was the captain of Europe, among other figures. It was there that he was given the nickname "El Capitán de America" ("America's Captain"). At the national team level, for almost fifteen years Chumpitaz was the captain and great defensive bulwark of the Peru national football team that won the Copa América 1975 and reached the quarterfinals in the FIFA World Cup of Mexico 1970 and Argentina 1978. Chumpitaz is considered one of the greatest South American defenders of all-time and was named to the list of best World Cup players of all time by Terra.com in 2006. He was elected the 35th best South American footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS in 2000.

5. Alberto Gallardo (1940 - 2001)

With an HPI of 49.43, Alberto Gallardo is the 5th most famous Peruvian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Félix Alberto Gallardo Mendoza (28 November 1940 – 19 January 2001) was a Peruvian football player and manager who played as a forward. He is regarded as a renowned sprinter, possessing shooting power and an atypical physical display for Peruvian football. For years he was a renowned left wing of Sporting Cristal and the National Peruvian Team from where he launched strong shots with either of the two profiles. Because of his style of play, he was popularly known as the "Jet". He is considered one of the best Peruvian wingers of all time. He began his career with Club Mariscal Castilla but the Bentín family, founder of Sporting Cristal, signed him for the sky-blue team and his decision resulted in the consecration of the best player in the history of the Rimense club. Gallardo played 14 seasons with Sporting Cristal, scoring 148 goals in 261 games, won the Peruvian Primera División four times and became the top scorer twice in the championship. In 1963, he stood out in the Copa América by scoring four goals and, for the following season, joined AC Milan which was the current European champion at that time. Within the team, he had little continuity and shortly after he was loaned to Cagliari Calcio where he had some regularity. In 1966, he decided to go to Brazil and joined Palmeiras. There he had his best performance abroad, managing to be a two-time Brasileirao champion as well as winning the 1966 Campeonato Paulista. During the 1970 FIFA World Cup, he scored two goals one against Bulgaria in the group stage, and another against Brazil in the quarterfinals. In addition to Teófilo Cubillas, the top Peruvian scorer in the World Cups, is the only Peruvian player to have scored more than one goal in the history of Peruvian participation in the World Cups. He is considered the greatest idol of Sporting Cristal where he won five national championships with one of them as the technical director. He is also recognized for his great work in the lower divisions of the club, to which he dedicated a large part of his life until the day of his death. Within the Peruvian national team, he played 37 games in which he scored 11 goals, participated in the 1960 Summer Olympics, the 1963 South American Championship and the 1970 FIFA World Cup.

6. Paolo Guerrero (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 49.10, Paolo Guerrero is the 6th most famous Peruvian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 49 different languages.

José Paolo Guerrero Gonzáles (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse paˈolo ɣeˈreɾo ɣonˈsales]; born 1 January 1984) is a Peruvian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Peruvian Primera División club Alianza Lima and the Peru national team. "A legend in South American football" for the New York Times, he has been Peru's most important football player for two decades. Forging his career in Germany, Guerrero started at giants Bayern Munich, before making his name at Hamburger SV, scoring 47 goals across eight Bundesliga seasons. His greatest successes came in Brazil, where he scored the winning goal of the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup final for Corinthians. With 39 goals in 123 matches for Peru since debuting at 20, Guerrero holds the honour of being the highest goalscorer for his national team. He has represented them at six Copas América and one World Cup. He led them to third place in the 2011 and 2015 Copas, and to runners-up in 2019, finishing as top scorer in all three of these tournaments. He is also the top scoring active player in the Copa América. He was one of 59 nominees for the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or, becoming the first Peruvian to receive that recognition. He's also the oldest Peruvian player to appear in a World Cup, at the age of 34 and 177 days and the oldest to appear in the. In 2021, the IFFHS included Guerrero in their best South American team of the last decade, being recognized as the best South American center forward between 2010 and 2020 (joining the podium with Neymar and Sergio Agüero). In addition, he was voted the "best centre forward in America" in 2012 and 2017 by the newspaper El País, based on the opinion of some two hundred journalists from the region. He has also been named included by CONMEBOL in the teams of the tournament for the 2011, 2015 and 2019 Copas América.

7. Demetrio Neyra (1908 - 1957)

With an HPI of 48.74, Demetrio Neyra is the 7th most famous Peruvian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Demetrio Neyra Ramos (15 December 1908 - 27 September 1957) was a Peruvian football forward who played for Peru in the 1930 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Alianza Lima.

8. Luis de Souza Ferreira (1908 - 2008)

With an HPI of 48.69, Luis de Souza Ferreira is the 8th most famous Peruvian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Luis Emilio de Souza Ferreira Huby (October 6, 1908, in Lima – September 29, 2008, in La Punta) was a football forward player from Peru who played for Universitario de Deportes.

9. Hugo Sotil (b. 1949)

With an HPI of 48.47, Hugo Sotil is the 9th most famous Peruvian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Hugo Alejandro Sotil Yerén (born 18 May 1949) is a Peruvian former professional football player. Nicknamed El Cholo, he played as a striker or midfielder. Together with Teófilo Cubillas and Héctor Chumpitaz, he was one of Peru's most recognized football players of the 1970s. He also was a popular player in Peru, and a biopic on his life was released in that decade. He was a member of the Peruvian team that won the 1975 Copa América and reached the quarterfinals in Mexico 1970 and Argentina 1978. "Cholo" Sotil was a skilled forward, with great dribbling. He also played as attacking midfielder and was a great assistant of football, due to the large number of goal passes he offered to his teammates. He made his professional debut in 1967, standing out with Deportivo Municipal and became one of the most popular players in Peru. In 1973 he gained international fame by signing for FC Barcelona forming a historic attacking duo with the Dutch star Johan Cruyff winning the Spanish League in his first season after 14 years of drought for the Catalan club. He became the first Latin American player to wear the "10" for FC Barcelona. Carrying the number 10 on his back in addition to getting 2 league runners-up and one in the Copa del Rey after 4 seasons with the Barça shirt. In 1977 he returned to Peru and became two-time national champion with Alianza Lima in 1977 and 1978. In 1973 he joined the starting team of the America National Team that faced the Europe team of Johan Cruyff, Eusébio and Giacinto Facchetti The match ended 4 to 4, and Sotil scored the third goal for his team, then in a penalty shootout the American team won 7 to 6. That night he played alongside other South American figures such as Rivellino, Fernando Morena, Miguel Brindisi, Víctor Espárrago, Teófilo Cubillas and others. He was international with the Peruvian team, with which he played two editions of the FIFA World Cup: those of 1970 and 1978, where he reached the quarterfinals in both World Cups. On a continental level, he won the Copa América in 1975—, where he scored the only goal of the final match against Colombia, giving the Inca team the title of Champions of America. Hugo Sotil has been one of the most popular athletes in his country, to the point that in 1972, he starred in a film directed by Bernardo Batievsky (his great admirer) entitled Cholo.

10. Jefferson Farfán (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 48.32, Jefferson Farfán is the 10th most famous Peruvian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Jefferson Agustín Farfán Guadalupe (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɟʝefeɾsoɱ faɾˈfan]; born 26 October 1984) is a Peruvian former professional footballer who mainly played as a winger. Commonly known as Farfán or the nickname Foquita (Spanish for Little Seal), he is known for his speed and technical ability and was one of the best providers of assists during his time in the Bundesliga. Farfán began his career with Deportivo Municipal and Alianza Lima; the latter club saw him make his professional debut in 2001. In 2002, Farfán was highlighted as one of the next best players of Peruvian football and a year later, won his second Primera División title. After winning his third league title with Alianza in 2004, he was recognized as the best Peruvian player of that year. Having joined PSV Eindhoven in mid-2004, Farfán helped the Dutch giants win four Eredivisie titles. He signed for Bundesliga side Schalke 04 in 2008 and during his time with the club, he won the 2011 DFB-Pokal Final. In 2012, he was named the most expensive Latin American player in the league. Farfán briefly played for Al-Jazira in the United Arab Emirates before leaving due to a breach of contract. He last played in Russia for Lokomotiv, when, in his second season, helped the club win their first league title in 14 years and finished as the team's top scorer. With the national team, Farfán is the country's second top goalscorer, behind only Paolo Guerrero. He is very popular in Peru, with coach Ricardo Gareca naming him "one of the most important players in the history of Peruvian football." He helped his side finish third at the 2015 Copa América and second in Brazil 2019.

People

Pantheon has 122 people classified as Peruvian soccer players born between 1900 and 2003. Of these 122, 80 (65.57%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Peruvian soccer players include Teófilo Cubillas, Claudio Pizarro, and Héctor Chumpitaz. The most famous deceased Peruvian soccer players include Teodoro Fernández, Alberto Gallardo, and Demetrio Neyra. As of April 2024, 29 new Peruvian soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Orlando de la Torre, Julio Quintana, and Eloy Campos.