Carlos Antonio Ascues Ávila (born 19 June 1992), also known as Pogbascues, due to his physical and technical similarities to Paul Pogba, is a Peruvian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder or as a striker on occasion for Peruvian Primera División side Club Deportivo Universidad César Vallejo.

Carlos Ascues
Personal information
Full name Carlos Antonio Ascues Ávila
Date of birth (1992-06-19) 19 June 1992 (age 31)
Place of birth Caracas, Venezuela
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 12 in)
Position(s) Midfielder / Striker
Team information
Current team
UCV
Number 19
Youth career
2003–2010 Alianza Lima
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Alianza Lima 22 (1)
2012–2013 Benfica B 22 (0)
2013–2015 Panetolikos 0 (0)
2014Universidad San Martin (loan) 19 (1)
2015 Melgar 6 (0)
2015–2017 VfL Wolfsburg 1 (0)
2017–2021 Melgar 21 (0)
2017–2018Alianza Lima (loan) 23 (6)
2018–2019Orlando City (loan) 26 (1)
2020Alianza Lima (loan) 24 (4)
2021Alianza Atlético(loan) 17 (2)
2022– Club Deportivo Universidad César Vallejo 67 (0)
International career
2014– Peru 26 (5)
Medal record
Representing  Peru
Association football
Copa America
Bronze medal – third place Chile 2015
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 November 2019
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 March 2024

Club career edit

Early career edit

Born in Caracas, Venezuela to Peruvian parents of African descent, Ascues began his youth career at Alianza Lima and moved up to the first team in the 2011 season.[1] He finally made his professional league debut in the Torneo Descentralizado on 15 May 2011 in the 2–0 away win over Sport Huancayo.[2]

Move to Europe edit

On 11 August 2012, Ascues signed for Portuguese side Benfica but was immediately sent to the B-team where he played 22 times in the second division.[3]

On 21 August 2013, Ascues signed a two-year contract with Panetolikos in Greece.[4]

Return to Peru edit

However, in January 2014, Ascues returned to Peru when he joined Universidad San Martin in a one-year loan deal.[5] On 3 February 2015, Ascues returned to Peru on a permanent deal when he signed a two-year contract with Melgar of the Primera División.[6]

VfL Wolfsburg edit

On 23 July 2015, Ascues returned to Europe, signing a three-year deal with Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg for a fee of €1.5 million.[7] He made his debut for the team as a substitute on 1 April 2016, subbing on for Robin Knoche in the 82nd minute of a defeat to 3–0 away defeat to Bayer Leverkusen. The only other senior appearance he would make was in a DfB Pokal first round game against FSV Frankfurt the following season.

Third spell in Peru edit

On 3 January 2017, Ascues rejoined former club Melgar on loan until the end of the 2016–17 Bundesliga season.[8] Upon the completion of the loan, he rejoined another of his former clubs, Alianza Lima, for the second half of the season. Ascues played 10 games and scored four goals as Alianza Lima won the 2017 Peruvian Primera División title.

Orlando City edit

On August 16, 2018, he joined Orlando City on loan until the end of the 2018 MLS season with an option for a 12-month extension. He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Atlanta United on August 25 and started every remaining game except for the final day of the season when he was ruled out with a quad injury as Orlando lost 1–0 to New York Red Bulls. The loan was extended for the 2019 season. On November 21, 2019, it was announced Ascues had his contract option for the 2020 season declined by Orlando as part of the end-of-season roster decisions.[9]

Club statistics edit

As of 21 September 2019
Club Season Domestic League Domestic Cup[a] League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Alianza Lima 2011 Primera División 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
2012 17 1 0 0 0 0 5 0 22 1
Total 22 1 1 0 0 0 5 0 28 1
Benfica B 2012–13 Segunda Liga 22 0 22 0
Panetolikos 2013–14 Super League 0 0 1 0 1 0
Universidad San Martín (loan) 2014 Primera División 19 1 15 1 34 2
Melgar 2015 6 0 8 0 14 0
Wolfsburg 2015–16 Bundesliga 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2016–17 0 0 1 0 1 0
Total 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Melgar (loan) 2017 Primera División 21 0 21 0
Alianza Lima 10 4 5 0 15 4
2018 13 2 4 0 17 2
Total 23 6 0 0 0 0 9 0 32 6
Orlando City (loan) 2018 MLS 9 0 0 0 9 0
2019 17 1 2 0 19 1
Total 26 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 28 1
Career Total 140 9 27 1 0 0 14 0 181 10

International career edit

In 2011, Ascues featured for and was captain of the Peru U20 side at the 2011 Sudamericano U-20.[10]

On 6 August 2014, Ascues made his full senior debut for the Peruvian national team, scoring two goals in a 3–0 friendly win against Panama. He was a member of the squad that finished in third place at the 2015 Copa América and also featured six times during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification as Peru finished fifth before beating New Zealand in a playoff to reach the team's first World Cup since 1982. However, Ascues was not selected for the tournament.

International goals edit

Ascues – goals for Peru
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 6 August 2014 Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru   Panama
1–0
3–0 Friendly
2.
3–0
3. 14 October 2014 Estadio Alejandro Villanueva, Lima, Peru   Guatemala
1–0
1–0
4. 18 November 2014 Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru   Paraguay
1–0
2–0
5.
2–0

Honours edit

Alianza Lima

References edit

  1. ^ "Player – Carlos Ascues". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Match: Sport Huancayo 0–2 Alianza Lima". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Carlos Ascues é reforço". www.ojogo.pt.
  4. ^ "Carlos Ascues". Panetolikos Official Website. Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  5. ^ "Carlos Ascues on loan". Panetolikos Official Website. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  6. ^ "Carlos Ascues es nuevo jugador de Melgar" [Carlos Ascues is new player of Melgar] (in Spanish). El Bocón. 3 February 2015. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  7. ^ "Wolfsburg sign Peruvian defender Ascues". DPA News. 23 July 2015. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  8. ^ "Auf Leihbasis" [On Loan] (in German). Vfl Wolfsburg. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Orlando City SC Announces 2019 End-of-Season Roster Decisions". Orlando City SC. November 21, 2019.
  10. ^ "Ficha – Carlos Ascues". delgol.com. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.

External links edit