Marco Valencia

Wilmar Elar Valencia Pacheco (born 27 October 1961) is a Peruvian football manager and former player who played as a central defender. He is the current manager of Melgar.

Club career
Born Camaná, Valencia started playing for local side Deportivo Camaná before moving to Alianza Lima with his brother in 1990. Both left in 1994, with his brother retiring and him signing for Deportivo Sipesa.

Valencia returned to Alianza in 1996, but signed for Melgar ahead of the 1998 season. Regularly used, he represented Sporting Cristal before returning to Alianza Lima in 2000, where he was rarely used before returning to Melgar later in that year.

In 2004, after a spell at Atlético Universidad, Valencia retired at the age of 33.

International career
Valencia made his debut for the Peru national team on 27 January 1993, in a 1–1 friendly draw against Honduras. He would feature in four more matches for the nation during the year.

Managerial career
In January 2019, Valencia returned to Melgar to work as a youth manager. On 28 October of that year, he was appointed manager of the main squad until the end of the season, replacing sacked Diego Osella.

Back to his previous role in December 2019 after the appointment of Carlos Bustos, but was again named interim on 24 September 2020, after Bustos was sacked. He again left in November after the campaign ended, and continued to work with the youth sides.

Valencia was also an interim manager of Melgar for one match in March 2023, between Argentines Pablo Lavallén and Mariano Soso. He became an interim manager of the club for a fourth spell on 3 March 2024, replacing another Argentine, Pablo De Muner, and was later permanently appointed manager of the side for the entire Clausura tournament on 28 May.

Personal life
Valencia's older brother Wilmar was also a footballer and manager. A centre-back, he too played for Alianza and the national team.