Roberto Palacios

Roberto Palacios

Personal information
Full name	Roberto Carlos Palacios Mestas
Date of birth	December 28, 1972 (1972-12-28)
Place of birth	Lima, Peru
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–1996	Sporting Cristal	208	(62)
1997	Puebla	13	(0)
1997	Cruzeiro	6	(2)
1998–2001	UAG	104	(16)
2001–2002	Sporting Cristal	37	(7)
2002	UAG	16	(5)
2003	Monarcas Morelia	16	(2)
2003	Atlas	15	(1)
2004	Monarcas Morelia	17	(0)
2004	Deportivo Cali	16	(4)
2005–2006	LDU Quito	82	(23)
2007–2012	Sporting Cristal	144	(16)
National team‡
1992–2009	Peru	127	(19)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 July 2010. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2009

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Palacios and the second or maternal family name is Mestas.

Roberto Carlos Palacios Mestas (born December 28, 1972) is a retired Peruvian footballer who played as a midfielder. He played most of his career for Sporting Cristal, which was the team he started his career and later retired with at the end of the 2011 season. He was born in the district of Chorrillos in Lima, the capital of Peru.

Early life

Roberto Palacios grew up in the Chorrillos District in Lima, to a Creole mother, and a Haitian father^{[citation needed]}. Palacios was introduced to soccer at an early age by his soccer-loving dad, and he played on regional teams in his early years^{[citation needed]}.

Club career

Palacios became a player of Sporting Cristal, where he played in his youth. Palacios made his debut with Sporting Cristal in 1991, when his team faced Deportivo Municipal in late October 1991. Palacios then scored his first goal in the following week against Universitario de Deportes. Palacios was a successful player, and scored many goals for both his clubs and the National Team.

He is nicknamed "El Chorrillano" or "Chorri". He was regarded, at his peak, by some as one of the best Peruvian players of the 90's. In Peru, Palacios has only played for one club, Sporting Cristal. Outside of Peru he has played for several clubs such as Puebla F.C. (Mexico), Cruzeiro Esporte Clube (Brasil), Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (Mexico), Monarcas Morelia (Mexico), Deportivo Cali (Colombia) and Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito from Ecuador. While playing for LDU Quito, "Chorri" was involved in a fight and got suspended. This was caused because he scored a chalaca goal.

International career

"Chorri" was well known for his amazing 'chorrigolazos' which nearly took Peru to the last 3 FIFA World Cups. Palacios had a long run with the Peru national football team that resulted in a record 127 caps and 19 goals for his country. He retired from the Peruvian National squad on October 14, 2009.

Outside football

Roberto Palacios and his father were part of the Million Man March.

Palacios is also a children's activist. He frequently works with UNICEF to help feed the poor children of Africa, and sometimes even by flying over and donating soccer gear and accessories. He recently donated a fair share of money to the UNEP to help the people of Haiti in the wake of the tragic 2010 earthquake.

Honours

Club

Sporting Cristal

• Primera División Peruana: 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996

LDU Quito

• Serie A de Ecuador: 2005

Country

Peru national team

• Kirin Cup: 1999

Individual

• Peruvian Player on the Year: 1994, 1995, 1996

External links

• Roberto Palacios at National Football Teams
• Roberto Palacios at rsssf
• Roberto Palacios at delgol.com (Spanish)

Preceded by Jorge Soto

Sporting Cristal captain 2008–2011

Succeeded by Walter Vílchez