José Velásquez (footballer, born 1952)

José Manuel Velásquez Castillo (born 4 June 1952 in Lima) is a retired Peruvian footballer who played as a midfielder. Nicknamed "El Patrón", he stood out for his elegance, presence, courage and technical play, being recognized as one of the players with the most personality that Peruvian football has given and the best defensive midfielder in the history of his country. He was nominated for the Global Ballon d'Or by FIFA in 1977.

Famed for his elegance, leadership and technical game, along with Víctor Benítez he is recognised as one of Peru's most important defensive midfielders ever.

"El Patrón" was probably the best midfielder defensive player in South America between the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was a containment midfielder with an enormous defensive display, great passing game and strong personality that combined his dominant physical presence with a very technical and elegant game. He formed with Alianza Lima debuting in 1971 at the age of 17 as a central defender, although he was soon positioned in the midfield and became one of the greatest "blue and white" leaders, winning the Peruvian Primera División and integrating one of the best teams in the club's history during the two-time championship in 1977 and 1978. In 1979 he emigrated to Colombia to join Independiente Medellín, in which he coincided with his compatriot Hugo Sotil, and then he also went through the Toronto Blizzard and Hercules of the Spanish First Division.

He was a member of the Peruvian team that won the 1975 Copa América and participated in the World Cup in Argentina 1978, where he reached the quarterfinals of final and Spain 1982 where it was important in the qualifiers to eliminate Uruguay and Colombia.

Club career
At club level he played for Alianza Lima in Peru, where he was part of three league championship winning campaigns (1975, 1977 & 1978). He also played for Independiente Medellín of Colombia, Hércules CF of Spain and Deportes Iquique of Chile.

International career
Nicknamed "El Patrón", he played for the Peru national football team that won the Copa América in 1975 and competed at the 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cup, wearing the number six jersey. He played a total of 82 games for Peru between 1972 and 1985, scoring 12 goals.

International goals

 * Scores and results table. Peru's goal tally first:

Club

 * Alianza Lima
 * Peruvian League: 1975, 1977, 1978

International

 * Peru national football team
 * Copa América: 1975