Ronaldo Peña

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Ronaldo Peña
ARGENTINA VS VENEZUELA SUB 20 1 (cropped).jpg
Personal information
Full name Ronaldo Luis Peña Vargas
Date of birth (1997-03-10) 10 March 1997 (age 25)
Place of birth Acarigua, Venezuela
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Universidad Central
Number 7
Youth career
2010–2013 Caracas
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Caracas B 12 (7)
2014–2018 Caracas 4 (1)
2014–2015 → Portuguesa (loan) 8 (1)
2015–2016 → Las Palmas C (loan) 1 (3)
2016–2017 → Las Palmas B (loan) 16 (7)
2017–2018 → Moreirense (loan) 25 (3)
2018–2020 Houston Dynamo 14 (1)
2019 → Rio Grande Valley FC (loan) 3 (0)
2021– Universidad Central 2 (0)
National team‡
2012–2013 Venezuela U17 21 (10)
2014–2017 Venezuela U20 9 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:45, 3 May 2021 (UTC).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 November 2020
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Peña and the second or maternal family name is Vargas.

Ronaldo Luis Peña Vargas (born 10 March 1997) is a Venezuelan footballer who plays as a forward for Universidad Central in the Venezuelan Primera División.

Club career[]

Caracas[]

Peña made his debut as a senior with Caracas FC's B-team after coming through the club's youth academy. He first appeared with the main squad on 23 February 2014 by starting and scoring in a 4–1 home win Deportivo La Guaira in a Primera División match. He appeared in a further three matches for the first team before being loaned to Portuguesa FC on 25 August.[1]

On 22 July 2015, Peña was loaned to UD Las Palmas for two years.[2] After spending nearly nine months without playing a single match for the club due to bureaucratic problems,[3] he made his debut with the C-team on 10 April 2016 by scoring a hat-trick in a 4–0 home routing of CD Becerril.[4]

Promoted to the reserves ahead of the 2016–17 season, Peña scored another hat-trick in his first game for the side, a 5–0 thrashing of CD Buzanada.[5]

Ahead of the 2017–18 season, Peña was loaned to Portuguese Primeira Liga side Moreirense.[6] He made his debut for Moreirense on August 6, scoring in the 83rd minute to give Os verdes e brancos a 1–1 draw with Vitória Setúbal.[7] He had 3 goals and 2 assists from 30 games across all competitions, helping Moreirense finish 15th in the league and avoid relegation by 2 points.[8][9]

Houston Dynamo[]

On 5 July 2018, Peña was sold to MLS club Houston Dynamo.[10] He made his debut on 4 August when he came on in a 1–0 loss to Sporting Kansas City. He would get his first goal with the Dynamo on 23 August, when he came on as a sub and scored a late equalizer in a 1–1 draw against the Dynamo's biggest rival, FC Dallas. Peña was rewarded with his first start in the team's next match. However he failed to find the net as the team lost 1–0 to the New York Red Bulls.[11] He ended his first season in Houston with 1 goal from 9 appearances.[8] It was a disappointing season for the Dynamo in league play, failing to qualify for the playoffs.[12] They enjoyed a successful cup run, winning the U.S. Open Cup, but Peña did not appear in the tournament.[8]

Peña made his first appearance of the 2019 season on 26 February in a 2–1 win over C.D. Guastatoya in a CONCACAF Champions League match.[13] He missed the start of the MLS season due to a red card in the final game of 2018. He then missed extended time due to a knee injury at the start of the season.[14] Peña scored his first goal and picked up his first assist of the season on 11 June in a 3–2 win over Austin Bold in a US Open Cup match. Peña would score again on 18 June in a 3–2 defeat to Minnesota United in the US Open Cup. He ended the season with 4 appearances and no goals or assists in MLS play, but did score 2 goals from 2 appearances in the Open Cup.[8] Peña also spent time on loan with Houston's USL Championship affiliate Rio Grande Valley FC, making 3 appearances.[14][8]

In 2020, Peña made 1 appearance all season, coming off the bench in a 1–1 draw against the LA Galaxy on July 23.[15]

His contract option was declined by Houston following their 2020 season.[16]

Universidad Central[]

In April 2021, Peña signed with Venezuelan Primera División side Universidad Central de Venezuela FC.[17] He made his debut for UCV FC on 25 April, coming off the bench in a 2–0 loss to Monagas.[18]

International career[]

On 2 October 2018, Peña was called up for the Venezuelan National team for friendlies against the United Arab Emirates and Basque Country but did not feature in either game.[19]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of 3 May 2021[20][21][22]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Caracas 2013–14 Primera División 4 1 0 0 — 0 0 4 1
Portuguesa (loan) 2014–15 Primera División 8 0 0 0 — — 8 0
Las Palmas C (loan) 2015–16 Regional Preferente 1 3 — — — 1 3
Las Palmas B (loan) 2016–17 Tercera División 16 7 — — — 16 7
Moreirense (loan) 2017–18 Primeira Liga 25 3 3 0 2 0 — 30 3
Houston Dynamo 2018 MLS 9 1 0 0 — — 9 1
2019 4 0 2 2 — 2[a] 0 8 2
2020 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
Total 14 1 2 2 0 0 2 0 18 3
Rio Grande Valley FC (loan) 2019 USLC 3 0 — — — 3 0
Universidad Central 2021 Primera División 2 0 0 0 — — 2 0
Career totals 73 15 5 2 2 0 2 0 82 17
  1. ^ Appearances in CONCACAF Champions League

Honours[]

Club[]

Houston Dynamo

International[]

Venezuela U-20
Venezuela U-17
  • South American Under-17 Football Championship: Runner-Up 2013

Personal life[]

His father played for professionally for Venezuelan club Portuguesa. Peña is named after legendary Brazilian footballer Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima.[23]

References[]

  1. ^ "Ronaldo Peña cedido al Portuguesa" [Ronaldo Peña loaned to Portuguesa] (in Spanish). Líder en Deportes. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Ronaldo Peña jugará en Las Palmas" [Ronaldo Peña will play in Las Palmas] (in Spanish). El Universal. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Ronaldo Peña espera pronto debutar en el fútbol español" [Ronaldo Peña hopes to debut quickly in Spanish football] (in Spanish). La Viñotinto. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Las Palmas 'C' golea al Becerril (4–0)" [Las Palmas 'C' thrash Becerril (4–0)] (in Spanish). UD Las Palmas. 10 April 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  5. ^ "El filial arranca con fuerza (5–0)" [The reserves start strong (5–0)] (in Spanish). UD Las Palmas. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Ronaldo Peña jugará cedido en el Moreirense". MERIDIANO.net (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  7. ^ "Ronaldo Peña 2017-2018 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Venezuela - R. Peña - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  9. ^ "2017-2018 Primeira Liga Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  10. ^ "Houston Dynamo acquire forward Ronaldo Peña on full transfer from Caracas FC". Houston Dynamo. July 5, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Ronaldo Peña 2018 Major League Soccer Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  12. ^ "2018 Major League Soccer Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  13. ^ "Venezuela - R. Peña - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  14. ^ a b "Dynamo loan four players to RGV FC for Saturday's match". Houston Dynamo. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ "Ronaldo Peña 2020 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  16. ^ "Houston Dynamo FC exercise 2021 contract options on 10 players | Houston Dynamo".
  17. ^ "El venezolano Ronaldo Peña se viste de tricolor". MERIDIANO.net (in Spanish). 23 April 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "Ronaldo Peña 2021 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  19. ^ "Federación Venezolana de Fútbol". www.federacionvenezolanadefutbol.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  20. ^ "Venezuela - R. Peña - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  21. ^ "Ronaldo Peña Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  22. ^ "Ronaldo Peña". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 14 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ "Ronaldo Peña". houstondynamo.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.

External links[]

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