Cristian Benavente and the Real Madrid academy players who played in League 1

A few years ago, very few imagined that a ‘Jewel’ like Christian Benavente will seek to shine in Peruvian soccer. Even less with only 27 years. But what before seemed like a utopia is now reality. El ‘Chaval’ undertook a promising adventure with Lima Alliance and joined a short list of homegrown players Real Madrid with presence in the local tournament.

Benavente was only eight years old when he began his football adventures in the minor categories of the Real Madrid.

For the 2013/14 campaign, the Peruvian striker was inscribed on the Real Madrid first-team player list to face the UEFA Youth League; however, he was never able to make his debut with the club.

The rest is history. He played half a year in the Milton Keynes Dons of the Second Division of England; then he ventured into Belgium’s Royal Charleroi for four seasons; he played a few months at Pyramids FC in Egypt; he suffered the same fate with Nantes of France; he wore the colors of Belgium’s Royal Antwerp for a while; he returned to Charleroi for five months and ended his wanderings abroad with a second spell at Pyramids, although he did not play any games. Then Alianza Lima came into his life.

The intention of the ‘Chaval’ is to feel happy again playing ball and that is what he will look for in this 2022 with the ‘intimate’.

“After the start of this season in Europe, my priority was to enjoy myself, to feel happy on a soccer field and when the Alianza Lima option appeared, it was my priority, the club knows it. There may have been other options out there, which I think is not relevant, both in South America and in Europe, but my priority was to enjoy myself, to feel at home”he said in his official presentation.

Well, the player who grew up at Real Madrid has already found a new home. It will be the first great adventure of Benavente in League 1 and does not plan to miss the opportunity. However, it is not an exceptional case.

– Other madridista academy players in League 1 –

The arrival of Cristian Benavente to Alianza Lima reminds us of the few cases of soccer players who were trained in the Real Madrid youth academy and who later played in Peruvian soccer. In addition to ‘Chaval’, only three players with a presence in the local league have passed through the lower categories of the Spanish club.

John Romagnoli: He was just 13 years old when he traveled to Europe to try out for big clubs. His first chance was at West Ham in England, where he only spent two weeks. However, his early age and his loneliness in the ‘Old Continent’ made him return to his homeland, Argentina. “Being away from home was not easy”expressed in an interview with the newspaper El Bocón.

So it was that Romagnoli decided to continue his training process with Vélez Sarsfield, where he even alternated some games in the club’s reserves, but he did not make his debut with the first team. He returned to Spain in 2015, after being sold to Alcorcón’s B team, and later played for Toledo and Júpiter Leonés in the same country.

The Argentine striker stayed in the Cusco team until the end of the 2021 season and now undertakes a challenge with Querétaro from Mexico.

Fernando Guerrero: It is the case most similar to that of Benavente. At just 11 years old, the Ecuadorian footballer was present at a Real Madrid tryout along with 2,000 children, according to what he himself said in an interview with Diario AS. “I can say that that day I won the lottery”he told in the interview.

after that day, Fernando Guerrero continued with his training process in Spain and

In 2009, the Ecuadorian ended his adventure with the Madridistas and later played in his country’s league with teams such as Emelec and Liga de Loja and Independiente del Valle. He returned to Europe to wear the colors of England’s Burnley and Spain’s Villarreal B, but was unable to establish himself.

Later he played in several clubs such as Chapecoense in Brazil, Leones Negros in Mexico, Liga de Quito in Ecuador, among others.

Christian Florez: He is the son of Alfredo ‘Cachorro’ Flórez, an outstanding left-back who wore the colors of Deportes Tolima. The football blood that ran through his veins allowed him to develop early with a ball.

Later he decided to try his luck in the subsidiary of Rayo Vallecano, although he could not reach the first team. Racing Ferrol and Alcorcón B were also part of his career on Spanish soil before returning to Colombia.

This is how he played for six years in his native country, defending the colors of teams such as Once Caldas, Alianza Petrolera, América de Cali, Deportivo Pasto and Deportivo Pereira.