Iván René Valenciano Pérez (born 18 March 1972) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as forward.[8] He is the second top goalscorer of all-time in the Colombian Primera A with 217 goals, behind Argentine Sergio Galván Rey, who surpasses him with 224 goals.[9][10]

Iván Valenciano
Personal information
Full name Iván René Valenciano Pérez
Date of birth (1972-03-18) 18 March 1972 (age 52)
Place of birth Barranquilla, Colombia
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1992 Atlético Junior 96 (47)
1992–1993 Atalanta 5 (0)
1993–1996 Atlético Junior 64 (93)
1997 Veracruz[2] 10 (6)
1998–2001 Morelia[3] 30 (9)
1998Unicosta (loan)[4] 6 (3)
1999Atlético Junior (loan) 10 (6)
1999Independiente Medellín (loan) 50 (35)
2000Bucaramanga (loan) 19 (9)
2001Gama (loan) 4 (0)
2001Deportivo Cali (loan) 13 (5)
2002 Millonarios[5] 5 (0)
2002 Real Cartagena[6] 1 (2)
2003 Unión Magdalena 17 (6)
2003 Deportes Quindío 14 (4)
2004 Olmedo 17 (3)
2005 Deportes Quindío 15 (0)
2005 Millonarios 8 (1)
2006 Atlético Junior 6 (1)
2006 Olmedo 11 (1)
2007 Independiente Medellín[7] 0 (0)
2007Centauros (loan) 13 (5)
2007 Valledupar 0 (0)
2008 Alianza Petrolera 8 (2)
Total 422 (238)
International career
1989–1991 Colombia U20[1] 6 (2)
1991–2000 Colombia 29 (13)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

During his first spell at Atlético Junior, he scored many goals and was visibly overweight. Due to this, he earned the nickname "El Gordito de Oro" (The Golden Fat Man).

Club career

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Junior

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Valenciano was born in Barranquilla. He debuted as a professional player in the Junior from Barranquilla, on 23 October 1988 in a match against Independiente Santa Fe played in Bogotá, in which he scored a goal. Since then, there would be the beginning of a long history of goals that covered two decades – he was the top goal scorer for Junior six times. In 1991, only being 19 years old, he scored 30 goals, winning his first Golden Boot award.

Atalanta (Italy)

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He participated in the Italian Serie A in 1992, playing for Atalanta, where he was unable to score a goal, though he was assigned a goal erroneously. Due to his underperformance, he returned to Barranquilla in the middle of the following year.

Junior

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In 1993, playing for Junior, he won his first title and was the team's top scorer with 18 goals. He then won his second Golden Boot award in 94–95 season, in which Junior won its fourth domestic title, scoring 24 goals in 30 matches. In the season 95–96, he scored 36 goals, breaking his own record and winning another Golden Boot award, the last of the three he won during his football career in Colombia.

Veracruz

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Valenciano was signed for Mexican club Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz. In the 1996–97 season, he made his debut in a match against Potros de Hierro from Atlante, to which he scored a goal on his debut. He then had an injury to his knee during a match against Panzas Verdes from León, leaving him out of the field for about 2 or 3 months. Given the relegation of his team, he was signed by Monarcas Morelia for which he played from 1997 to 1999. He then returned to Colombia.

Return to Colombia

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In Colombia, besides Junior, he played for Deportivo Unicosta, Independiente Medellín, Atlético Bucaramanga, Deportivo Cali, Millonarios, Unión Magdalena, Deportes Quindío and Alianza Petrolera.

Farewell Match

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On 11 July 2009, a testimonial match was carried out for Iván René Valenciano in the Roberto Meléndez Stadium.[11] For the friendly match, many recognised football players were invited such as the Dutch player Edgar Davids, the Chilean Iván Zamorano, the Uruguayan Paolo Montero, the Argentinian Sergio Goycochea, and the Colombians Carlos Valderrama, Faustino Asprilla, Arnoldo Iguarán, Mauricio Serna, Víctor Hugo Aristizábal, among others. The match ended up with an 8–7 win for the foreign team and Valenciano scoring two goals.[12]

International career

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He played for the Colombia national football team and was a participant at the 1992 Summer Olympics and at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. For the national team he scored 13 goals in 29 games between 1991 and 2000. He made his debut for the national side on 15 July 1991 at the 1991 Copa América, when he replaced Arnoldo Iguarán in the 78th minute.[13]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[14]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Atlético Junior 1988 Campeonato Profesional 1 0 0 0 0 1
1989 2 0 0 0 0 2
1990 Categoría Primera A 39 8 0 0 0 0 39 8
1991 47 30 0 0 0 0 47 30
1992 10 6 0 0 0 0 10 6
Total
Atalanta 1992–93 Serie A 5 0 2 0 0 0 7 0
Atlético Junior 1993 Categoría Primera A 17 18 0 0 0 0 17 18
1994 21 15 0 0 12 5 33 20
1995 26 24 0 0 0 0 26 24
1995–96 36 0 0 7 5 7 41
Total 93 0 0 19 10 103
Veracruz 1996–97 Liga MX 10 6 6 0 0 10 12
Morelia 1997–98 Liga MX 15 5 0 0 0 0 15 5
1998–99 15 4 0 0 0 0 15 4
Total 340 9 0 0 0 0 30 9
Unicosta (loan) 1998 Categoría Primera A 6 3 0 0 0 0 6 3
Atlético Junior (loan) 1999 Categoría Primera A 10 6 0 0 0 0 10 6
Independiente Medellín (loan) 1999 Categoría Primera A 38 24 0 0 0 0 38 24
2000 12 11 0 0 0 0 12 11
Total 50 35 0 0 0 0 50 35
Atlético Bucaramanga (loan) 2000 Categoría Primera A 19 9 0 0 0 0 19 9
Gama (loan) 2001 Série A 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Deportivo Cali (loan) 2001 Categoría Primera A 13 5 0 0 5 3 18 8
Millonarios 2002 Categoría Primera A 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Real Cartagena 2002 Categoría Primera A 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Unión Magdalena 2003 Categoría Primera A 17 6 0 0 0 0 0 0
Deportes Quindío 2003 Categoría Primera A 14 4 0 0 0 0 0 0
Olmedo 2004 Ecuadorian Serie A 17 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
Deportes Quindío 2005 Categoría Primera A 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Millonarios 2005 Categoría Primera A 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Atlético Junior 2006 Categoría Primera A 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Olmedo 2006 Ecuadorian Serie A 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Centauros (loan) 2007 Categoría Primera B 13 5 0 0 0 0 0 0
Valledupar 2007 Categoría Primera B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Alianza Petrolera 2008 Categoría Primera B 8 2 1[15] 0 0 8 3
Career total 422 238 2 7 24 13 448 258

International

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Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Valenciano goal.
List of international goals scored by Iván Valenciano[1][14]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 15 Aug 1993 Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia   Argentina 1–0 2–1 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 29 Aug 1993 Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia   Peru 1–0 4–0
3 28 Jan 1994 Estadio Agustín Tovar, Barinas, Venezuela   Venezuela 2–1 2–1 Friendly
4 6 Feb 1994 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia   Saudi Arabia 1–0 1–1 Friendly
5 5 May 1994 Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States   El Salvador 3–0 3–0 1994 Miami Cup
6 30 Nov 1995 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States   Mexico 1–1 2–2 Friendly
7 6 Mar 1996 Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States   Honduras 1–1 2–1 Friendly
8 2–1
9 15 Dec 1996 Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo, San Cristóbal, Venezuela   Venezuela 2–0 2–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 8 Sep 1999 Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States   Trinidad and Tobago 1–0 3–4 Friendly
11 2–3
12 3–3
13 4 Jun 2000 Estadio Nemesio Camacho, Bogotá, Colombia   Venezuela 3–0 3–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Personal life

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Valenciano who is currently a resident of Weston, Florida was arrested on 30 of October 2023 for driving while intoxicated. He was detained but no bail was set for his release. The state of Florida however has suspended his driving license for the offense.[16]

Honours

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Junior

Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b "Iván Valenciano International Matches"., 11v11.com Retrieved on 8 August 2014
  2. ^ "René Iván Valenciano - Morelia - mediotiempo.com". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  3. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (5 July 2001). "COLOMBIANOS EN VENTA". El Tiempo.
  4. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (25 May 1998). "UN PUNTO SALVÓ DUPLA VALENCIANO-CANTILLO". El Tiempo.
  5. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (26 January 2005). "MILLONARIOS HACE HOY SU PRESENTACIÓN OFICIAL". El Tiempo.
  6. ^ "Liga Colombiana (Águila) - Fútbol Colombiano". www.colombia.com.
  7. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (24 February 2007). "Regresa Valenciano y no para un "reality"". El Tiempo.
  8. ^ "Fútbol colombiano: El "gordo" teme volver a las canchas como "flaco"". Xinhuanet (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 January 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2007.
  9. ^ Casa Editorial El Tiempo. "Sergio Galván, el 'Rey' del gol en la historia del fútbol colombiano". futbolred.com.
  10. ^ "Confederación: Conmebol". www.conmebol.com. Archived from the original on 29 April 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Barranquilla despide al Bombardero". El País (Colombia). 11 July 2009.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "Valenciano jugó por última vez". Univisión. 12 July 2009. Archived from the original on 7 February 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. ^ "Colombia International Matches - Details 1990-1999". RDFC. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  14. ^ a b Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Iván Valenciano". www.national-football-teams.com.
  15. ^ "Toda la información de la Copa Colombia". www.colombia.com.
  16. ^ Khan, Salman (30 October 2023). "Footballer Iván René Valenciano Arrested in Florida: A Legacy Marginalized by Personal Struggles". BNN.network. Retrieved 30 October 2023.