Quick Facts
PiscesBiography
Iván René Valenciano Pérez (born 18 March 1972) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as forward. 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.
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
Junior
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)
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
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
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
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
On 11 July 2009, a testimonial match was carried out for Iván René Valenciano in the Roberto Meléndez Stadium. 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.
International career
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.
Career statistics
Club
| 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 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | |
| Career total | 422 | 238 | 2 | 7 | 24 | 13 | 448 | 258 | ||
International
- Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Valenciano goal.
| 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
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.
Honours
- Junior
- Colombian Championship: 1993,1995
Individual
- All-time top scorer in Junior de Barranquilla (157 goals).
- Second all-time top scorer Categoría Primera A. (2009–)
