Luis Amaranto Perea Mosquera (born 30 January 1979) is a Colombian former professional footballer. He is currently manager of Independiente Medellín.
Gifted with incredible stamina and pace,No hay peor astilla que la del mismo palo (Nothing worse than the apple who does not fall far from the tree); ESPN Deportes, 11 March 2004 (in Spanish) the central defender could also be adapted at right-back. He spent most of his senior career with Atlético Madrid, appearing in 314 competitive matches over eight La Liga seasons.La saga de los Perea sigue: "Estoy viviendo un sueño, el Atlético te hace vivir emociones" (The Perea saga continues: "I'm living a dream, Atlético makes you experience emotions"); Mundo Deportivo, 19 August 2022 (in Spanish) In 2012, he signed with Cruz Azul.
Perea earned 72 caps for the Colombia national team in more than one decade.
Club career Perea was born in Turbo. He began his professional career with Independiente Medellín,Campeón europeo, capitán y leyenda del Atlético: así ha sido la carrera de Luis Amaranto Perea, nuevo DT de Independiente Medellín (European champion, captain and Atlético legend: this has been the career of Luis Amaranto Perea, new HC of Independiente Medellín); Diario AS, 21 July 2026 (in Spanish) moving in 2003 to Argentina with Boca Juniors, with whom he won that year's Intercontinental Cup.PERFIL – Luis Amaranto Perea ahora es campeón de Europa (PROFILE – Luis Amaranto Perea is now European champion); Caracol Radio, 12 May 2010 (in Spanish)
In June 2004, Perea signed for Atlético Madrid on a four-year deal,Atlético sign defender Perea; UEFA, 11 June 2004 as another centre-back, Pablo Ibáñez, also arrived that season.Perea y Pablo firman su renovación hasta 2009 (Perea and Pablo sign their renewal until 2009); Diario AS, 10 February 2005 (in Spanish) Both were the starters as the Colchoneros returned to the UEFA Champions League in 2008–09 after a 12-year absence, with Perea appearing in 30 La Liga matches; after the campaign kicked off, he received his Spanish passport.Atlético allowed to register Cléber; UEFA, 2 August 2007
After the signing of Fiorentina's Tomáš Ujfaluši for the 2008–09, Perea saw some additional time at right-back, but eventually lost that place to another newly signed, John Heitinga.Heitinga y Ujfalusi desplazan a Perea al lateral (Heitinga and Ujfalusi push Perea to full-back); El Mundo, 28 July 2008 (in Spanish)Perea jugará de lateral para ayudar a Pablo y a Ujfalusi (Perea will play as full-back to help Pablo and Ujfalusi); Diario AS, 11 March 2009 (in Spanish) From 2009 to 2011, with the latter departed to Everton,La salida de Heitinga bloqueó la de Perea al Stoke City (Heitinga's departure blocked Perea's to Stoke City); Diario AS, 3 September 2009 (in Spanish) he managed to total 56 league games, with qualification for the UEFA Europa League in his second season after a seventh-place finish.El legado de Quique en el Atlético a juicio (Quique's legacy at Atlético takes the stand); Mundo Deportivo, 24 May 2011 (in Spanish)
On 29 September 2011, following a Europa League fixture against Rennes, Perea became the foreign player with most competitive appearances for Atlético Madrid with 289, surpassing Argentine Jorge Griffa.Perea, el extranjero con más partidos (Perea, foreign with the most games); UEFA, 29 September 2011 (in Spanish) He left the club at the end of the 2011–12 campaign at the age of 33, after having contributed 34 official games and won the Europa League.
Perea joined Mexico's Cruz Azul in June 2012 as a free agent,Luis Amaranto Perea deja Atlético de Madrid y ficha por Cruz Azul (Luis Amaranto Perea leaves Atlético de Madrid and signs for Cruz Azul); Goal, 15 June 2012 (in Spanish) winning the following year's Copa MXCampeon Cruz Azul al derrotar 4–2 al Atlante – Copa MX – Vídeo con los goles (Cruz Azul champions after defeating Atlante 4–2 – MX Cup – Video with goals); Sitios Total, 11 April 2013 (in Spanish) and the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League.Cruz Azul, a Marruecos (Cruz Azul, to Morocco); Marca, 24 April 2014 (in Spanish)Luis Amaranto Perea se siente agradecido con Cruz Azul (Luis Amaranto Perea shows appreciation towards Cruz Azul); Goal, 6 September 2015 (in Spanish) In December 2015, after one year out of football due to injury, the 36-year-old chose to retire, settling in Madrid and focusing on becoming a coach.Luis Amaranto Perea se retira del fútbol (Luis Amaranto Perea retires from football); Marca, 4 December 2015 (in Spanish)
International career A Colombia international since 20 November 2002, in a 1–0 friendly loss with Honduras in San Pedro Sula, Perea appeared at the 2007 and 2011 Copa América tournaments. He was named team captain before the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Bolivia in La Paz, in a first-ever win in that country (2–1),Las lágrimas del capitán (The captain's tears); Fútbol Primera, 13 October 2011 (in Spanish) and represented his nation for 12 years.Luis Amaranto Perea – International Appearances; at RSSSF
Coaching career In late August 2018, following a brief spell in Atlético's youth academy,Amaranto Perea es nombrado DT en inferiores del Atlético (Amaranto Perea named HC in Atlético's youth system); Diario AS, 12 January 2018 (in Spanish) Perea was appointed at Leones in his country's Categoría Primera A for his first managerial experience.Luis Amaranto Perea nuevo entrenador de Leones (Luis Amaranto Perea new manager of Leones); ESPN Deportes, 27 August 2018 (in Spanish) On 28 May 2019, with the team back in the Primera B after relegation, he resigned.Amaranto Perea renuncia como técnico del Leones (Amaranto Perea resigns as Leones manager); Mundo Deportivo, 28 May 2019 (in Spanish)
On 14 September 2020, Perea replaced the dismissed Julio Comesaña at the helm of Atlético Junior.Comesaña renuncia a Junior, Perea y Grau quedan a cargo (Comesaña resigns at Junior, Perea and Grau are left in charge); Diario AS, 14 September 2020 (in Spanish) He oversaw elimination from the Copa Libertadores after losing 3–1 to Flamengo, but qualified for the second phase of the Copa Sudamericana by finishing third in their group.Junior, eliminado de la Libertadores, pero va a Sudamericana (Junior, ousted from Libertadores, but they go to Sudamericana); El Colombiano, 21 October 2020 (in Spanish)
Perea joined the national team's coaching staff in June 2022.Luis Amaranto Perea será el asistente técnico de Néstor Lorenzo (Luis Amaranto Perea will be Néstor Lorenzo's assistant manager); El Heraldo, 2 June 2022 (in Spanish) He returned to head coaching duties four years later, at Independiente Medellín also in the Colombian top division.Entre lágrimas de emoción, Amaranto Perea fue presentado como nuevo técnico del DIM: “A este equipo no se le puede decir que no” (Amid tears of emotion, Amaranto Perea was presented as the new coach of DIM: "You can't say no to this team"); El Colombiano, 16 July 2026 (in Spanish)
Honours Independiente Medellín Categoría Primera A: 2002–II
Boca Juniors Argentine Primera División: 2003–04 Intercontinental Cup: 2003
Atlético Madrid UEFA Europa League: 2009–10, 2011–12 UEFA Super Cup: 2010 UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2007 Copa del Rey runner-up: 2009–10Ganó el serio, cayó el alegre (Serious won, playful lost); El País, 19 May 2010 (in Spanish)
Cruz Azul Copa MX: Clausura 2013 CONCACAF Champions League: 2013–14Perea e Pavone rompem malefício do Cruz Azul (Perea and Pavone break Cruz Azul jinx); CONMEBOL, 24 April 2014 (in Portuguese)
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