José del Solar

José Guillermo del Solar Alvarez-Calderón (born 28 November 1967) is a Peruvian retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and the current coach of Sporting Cristal.

During his playing career, spent in four different countries – mainly in Spain, where he amassed La Liga totals of 149 games and ten goals during six seasons – he was nicknamed Chemo.

Club

Born in Lima, Del Solar developed at the youth system of Universitario de Deportes, but played his first professional game with Asociación Deportiva San Agustín after he was loaned by Universitario to continue his development as a player. He won his first Peruvian Primera División championship with San Agustín, defeating Alianza Lima in December 1986.

Del Solar's last official club game was a 0–0 draw with traditional rivals Alianza Lima for the Apertura on 7 July 2002, playing for his first club which won 1–0 in the first game, with 0–0 in Trujillo.

From 1992 to 1998, del Solar competed in Spain, always in La Liga. He started at CD Tenerife – where he partnered Argentine Fernando Redondo in central midfield, and also his compatriot Percy Olivares – helping the Canary Islands side rob Real Madrid of the league title in the last round in his first season, playing in 30 matches and scoring once (the club also qualified for the first time ever to the UEFA Cup); this dramatic league scenario also happened in the following year, but his presence was much more testimonial.

In 1996, after suffering relegation with UD Salamanca, del Solar started at Celta de Vigo but appeared rarely for Valencia CF, after which he left the country, resuming his career in Turkey and Belgium (one season apiece, interspersed with spells in his country), and finally retiring at his very club as a footballer, at the age of 34.

International

Del Solar obtained 74 caps for Peru, in which he scored nine goals. He made his debut on 28 January 1986 against China (1–3), playing his last international match on 8 November 2001 against Argentina (0–2), twenty days before his 34th birthday.

Del Solar was selected to six Copa América tournaments, netting three times in four matches – twice through penalties – as the national team reached the quarter-finals in the 1993 edition, in Ecuador.

International goals
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	20 August 1989	La Paz, Bolivia	Bolivia	0–1	2–1	1990 World Cup qualification
2.	8 July 1991	Concepción, Chile	Chile	3–2	4–2	1991 Copa América
3.	12 July 1991	Concepción, Chile	Venezuela	4–1	5–1	1991 Copa América
4.	21 June 1993	Cuenca, Ecuador	Paraguay	1–1	1–1	1993 Copa América
5.	24 June 1993	Cuenca, Ecuador	Chile	1–0	1–0	1993 Copa América
6.	27 June 1993	Quito, Ecuador	Mexico	1–4	2–4	1993 Copa América
7.	15 August 1993	Asunción, Paraguay	Paraguay	2–1	2–1	1994 World Cup qualification
8.	19 February 2000	Miami, United States	Honduras	1–3	3–5	2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup
9.	12 July 2001	Cali, Colombia	Paraguay	3–2	3–3	2001 Copa América

Del Solar began his coaching career with Colón de Santa Fe, aided by former Tenerife teammate Juan Antonio Pizzi, without luck, as the pair was sacked after only three matches and as many losses. Then, he was named manager of Sporting Cristal, leading the team to the domestic league in 2005.

In 2007, del Solar was appointed at former club Club Deportivo Universidad Católica, finishing second behind Colo-Colo in Apertura 2007. On 3 August of that year, he replaced Julio César Uribe as manager of the national side; he went on to be part of the disastrous 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, as they only won three times and ranked last.

Player

• Peruvian Primera División: 1986

• Peruvian Primera División: 1987, 1999, 2000
• Apertura 2002

• Copa Chile: 1991

Manager

• Peruvian Primera División: 2005