Osama Vinladen Jiménez: The strange case of the man who will play League 1 2023 with Unión Comercio

Year after year, Reniec never ceases to surprise with the large number of curious and strange names that appear in its register. And there is no doubt that one of the most peculiar names on the list is that of Osama Vinladen Jimenez Lopeza 20-year-old soccer player, who recently rose to the top flight of Peruvian soccer with none other than Unión Comercio.

It was not born on September 11, but on October 7, 2002, when the issue of the attack on the twin towers (09/11/2001) was still fresh. His father decided to name him Osama Vinladen, which has the same pronunciation as the founder of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, without further explanation. The only difference is the replacement of the “V” by the “B” and the second name pasted with the preposition. Nothing more.

“The name was in fashion. There are no more people with that name. It’s strange, but it seems normal to me, I’ve already been through this situation and it seems normal to me. They say Osama on my shirt.”the same player explained years ago in an interview with the program ‘Què T’hi Jugues’ on the Ser Catalunya channel, in Spain.

At first, calling yourself that was awkward. His friends made fun of him, but along the way he learned to live with it and downplay it, because it is something common not only for him, but also for his family.

“My brother’s name is Saddam Hussein (Iraqi dictator) and my father wanted to name George Bush (former president of the United States) for the third child, but it was a girl”revealed Osama in the aforementioned program, evidencing the singular family theme of the names related to the terrorist attacks.

Even the son of the Unión Comercio soccer player – on the recommendation of his grandfather – was going to take the name that remained vacant between the same brothers, that of George Bush, but they finally called him Santiago.

At the time, changing your name was a real option, but there is no longer any desire to do so. Osama Vinladen feels comfortable with this, since the name does not indicate anything special, from his point of view. Being called that should not represent any kind of problem.

“I think there is a Hitler in Peru as well (…) Jesus saved the world and there are Jesus who do harm. Because there is an Osama who killed people… I don’t think because of a name… I don’t think there has to be a law. It draws a lot of attention, from what I see ”expressed Osama in ‘Què T’hi Jugues’.

From Sub-15 to First Division

The first time that Osama Vinladen was in the news happened in 2017, when he was called up in the Under-15 of Peru to play the South American of the category in Argentina. The inclusion of his name on the list caused a stir not only nationally, but also internationally.

It was thus that Osama had a brief stint with one of the lower categories of the Peruvian team. Later, he went unnoticed in sports issues. Since he was little, he has been wearing the Unión Comercio shirt and it continues to be so to this day.

In fact, the Moyobambino team -relegated to the Second Division in 2019- gave this young footballer the opportunity to join the first team in October 2020. And, since then, he has been fighting to earn an important place with this club. , an objective that he already fulfilled by being the protagonist of the promotion this 2022.

“I already got used to the name, I have a lot of leash. They have given me a thousand plates. Now my colleagues call me ‘Bomb’ or ‘Bomber’”he told in an interview with this newspaper.

While he used to play as an attacking midfielder or winger before, this season Osama has established himself more as a left-back. He has played a total of 19 games this year -all as a starter-, including the first leg for promotion against Ayacucho FC, in which his team thrashed 3-0 to leave the key almost sentenced.

In the second leg in Ayacucho, Unión Comercio -without Osama’s presence- fell 1-2 against its rival, but thanks to its lead on aggregate (4-2) it was able to secure promotion to the country’s First Division.

After that, the 20-year-old footballer is expected to remain in the team and be able to play in League 1 in 2023, which in reality would not be anything new. Vinladen already knows what it is to add minutes in the First Division: he made his debut in a match against Universidad San Martín in 2018 at the age of 15, playing the last minutes.

After that time, Osama never played again in the highest category of Peruvian soccer and now he would have the great opportunity to do so with the Moyobambino team. At only 20 years old, he still has a lot to prove. He will see.