The Zambrano legacy: Who is Luciano, the son of ‘León’ who continues his lineage in Cantolao?

More than half of his life was spent abroad, he wore heavy T-shirts, but first love is never forgotten. Carlos Zambrano returned to Peru to wear the Alianza Lima shirt, but under it he plays with Cantolao’s. That’s why the feelings last Saturday after the game against the Buenos Aires, in which he wore the ‘Dolphin’ shirt that he exchanged with Giancarlo Carmona.

And Carlos Zambrano is Cantolao, like many of the footballers who were trained at the Chalaca academy. Claudio Pizarro, Yoshimar Yotún, Reimond Manco, among others of the current ones. “Cantolao means a lot to me. I played my career as a soccer player from the ages of 10 to 16 in Cantolao and I had a very strong feeling for those colors ”, he assured a few years ago.

“I always thought about retiring in Cantolao and that is still on my mind. I love Alianza Lima, but my beginnings were in the academy and, for this reason, I have a very special affection for them, ”he declared after the match against Cantolao on Saturday. And he did not stop there, the next day, “León” accompanied his son to the match that was his turn, precisely, with the “Dolphin” shirt.

Zambrano Legacy

The Zambrano-Cantolao relationship began in the 2000s, with Carlos training at the Cantolao Academy and continues to the present day with little Luciano, who plays in the ‘Delfín’ team in the 2007 category.

“I play defense and my dream is to be able to play alongside my dad in defense,” Luciano assured Toque y Gol magazine in 2016, when Carlos was a member of Frankfurt. Then in 2019, Luciano accompanied his father in the Copa América in Brazil, where he was present as one more fan. “I am proud because he represents us. My dad is good,” the little boy told Movistar Deportes.

Luciano plays central defense, but a few years ago he said that he liked playing in midfield much more. He now stands out behind the chalaco team in the Elite Tournament.

According to the VSN-Fútbol de Menores account, Carlos Zambrano was supporting his son on Sunday in the Elite Federation Gold Cup Tournament, in the match in which Cantolao equalized 1-1 against Club Interno de Menores in Chorrillos.

“He is dutiful. Aggressive in the brand and well above, “they tell us from the portal VSN – Youth Soccer about Luciano’s performance. He has size and makes himself feel, like a good Zambrano.

chalaco heart

Carlos has always given Cantolao a place in his heart, even in 2016 he took advantage of the fact that the Peruvian team of children traveled to Europe for a tour to visit them in Austria. Zambrano traveled from Russia to Austria to welcome the boys, where Adriano was, the son of Jefferson Farfán, and he rewarded them with ice creams for their victories in their matches.

“I miss my big head. He met my brother Carlos Zambrano. Really, what a nice gesture you had with the boys from Cantolao ”, Farfán wrote on his social networks for what Carlos did.

The gratitude that Carlos has for Cantolao is great, so much so that it was marked on him forever and he had gestures with his trainers. “The technicians who took me in my childhood demanded more from me because they knew that I could reach the professional level. I had three technicians and I was always grateful to them, ”he recently told Al Ángulo.

“I promised one of them a car because he had a little car in which he took me to train. He reminded me and I gave him a good Christmas present, ”she continued with the story. ‘Slapped’ Solís, Miguel Castillo and Tomi Vargas were his discoverers whom he always remembers.

Whenever he can, Zambrano is one more for Cantolao, as in 2016 when he went to Matute to cheer on the team on the final date against Sport Áncash to define promotion to the First Division.

That is the relationship between the Zambranos and Cantolao. Carlos started it at the age of 10 and it is continued by Luciano, now 16 years old.

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