Juan Manuel Peña


Juan Manuel Peña Montaño is a Bolivian retired footballer who played as a central defender.
The vast majority of his professional career was spent in Spain, where he played a total of 14 years for three teams, appearing in a total of 305 La Liga games.
Peña played more than 80 times with Bolivia, representing the nation at the 1994 World Cup and five Copa América tournaments.

Club career

Born in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Peña played for Club Blooming in his home country and Independiente Santa Fe in Colombia, before moving to Spain in 1995. At Real Valladolid he was a defensive stalwart for nine seasons – sharing teams with compatriot Marco Sandy in his first – leaving for Villarreal CF upon his first team's 2004 relegation from La Liga.
At Villarreal Peña figured less prominently, but managed to score a rare goal, in a 3–0 home win against Málaga CF on 19 December 2004. After just six league appearances during 2006–07 he switched to Celta de Vigo, in the second division.
Following two seasons of intermittent use, Peña retired in mid-November 2009 aged 36, not wishing to pursue his career anymore after careful deliberation. However, on 25 March of the following year, he signed with D.C. United of the Major League Soccer.

International career

After his debut for Bolivia in 1991, Peña went on to become one of its most capped players and team captain. With 85 international matches, he played a FIFA World Cup game, against Spain in 1994, and also appeared in five Copa América editions.
Peña scored only once for the national team, in a friendly match with Honduras played in Washington on 11 October 2003. In his penultimate appearance, on 1 April 2009, he helped to the 6–1 demolition of Argentina in La Paz for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

International goals

Honours

Club

;Villarreal