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 + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAtlético Junior1988Campeonato Profesional10000119892000021990Categoría Primera A3980000398199147300000473019921060000106TotalAtalanta1992–93Serie A50200070Atlético Junior1993Categoría Primera A1718000017181994211500125332019952624000026241995–96360075741Total93001910103Veracruz1996–97Liga MX1066001012Morelia1997–98Liga MX15500001551998–991540000154Total34090000309Unicosta (loan)1998Categoría Primera A63000063Atlético Junior (loan)1999Categoría Primera A1060000106Independiente Medellín (loan)1999Categoría Primera A3824000038242000121100001211Total503500005035Atlético Bucaramanga (loan)2000Categoría Primera A1990000199Gama (loan)2001Série A40000040Deportivo Cali (loan)2001Categoría Primera A1350053188Millonarios2002Categoría Primera A50000000Real Cartagena2002Categoría Primera A12000000Unión Magdalena2003Categoría Primera A176000000Deportes Quindío2003Categoría Primera A144000000Olmedo2004Ecuadorian Serie A173000000Deportes Quindío2005Categoría Primera A150000000Millonarios2005Categoría Primera A81000000Atlético Junior2006Categoría Primera A61000000Olmedo2006Ecuadorian Serie A111000000Centauros (loan)2007Categoría Primera B135000000Valledupar2007Categoría Primera B00000000Alianza Petrolera2008Categoría Primera B8210083Career total422238272413448258

International Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Valenciano goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Iván ValencianoNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 15 Aug 1993 Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia 1–0 2–1 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification2 29 Aug 1993 Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia 1–0 4–03 28 Jan 1994 Estadio Agustín Tovar, Barinas, Venezuela 2–1 2–1 Friendly4 6 Feb 1994 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1–0 1–1 Friendly5 5 May 1994 Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States 3–0 3–0 1994 Miami Cup6 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States 1–1 2–2 Friendly7 6 Mar 1996 Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States 1–1 2–1 Friendly8 2–19 15 Dec 1996 Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo, San Cristóbal, Venezuela 2–0 2–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification10 8 Sep 1999 Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States 1–0 3–4 Friendly11 2–312 3–313 4 Jun 2000 Estadio Nemesio Camacho, Bogotá, Colombia 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.

Honors 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–present)

References