How are the last 3 foreign scorers of Cristal, Universitario, and Alianza Lima doing?

Standing out in a foreign place is a very complicated situation, not only in football or sports, but also in many areas of life. While there are great footballers like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Neymar who make success seem like an everyday thing, the reality for many athletes is full of ups and downs throughout their careers.

In Peruvian football, we have had outstanding foreigners who are well remembered by the different teams in the professional first division. Some for their goals, for their performance, or for their titles with the club they belonged to. But after changing countries, they did not repeat what they had done in Liga 1. Let's take a look at the present situations of three forwards who are remembered in Sporting Cristal, Universitario de Deportes, and Alianza Lima: Emanuel Herrera, Jonathan Dos Santos, and Adrián Balboa.

Emanuel Herrera

Two titles, 70 goals, 18 assists, and 90 games played. The legacy left by Emanuel Herrera in Sporting Cristal is impressive. Not only because he managed to win two cups in three years with the blue club, but also because he achieved the spectacular record of 43 goals in a season in 2018. A record that is very difficult to surpass.

But, like any story that begins, this one had an end. Herrera left the rimense team in 2021 to join Argentinos Juniors and fulfill the dream of playing in the Argentine first division. Although it would be short-lived, as he only played 16 matches and scored three goals. Currently, the forward belongs to Celaya of the Mexican second division, a team where he has scored only two goals in six matches so far this season.

Jonathan Dos Santos

After Germán Denis' departure in mid-2019, Universitario was left without a goal scorer. That's why they missed the chance to qualify for the playoffs in the last few rounds of that championship. In 2020, Jonathan Dos Santos joined the crema team with the expectation of recovering that scoring touch, and he fulfilled that aspect with flying colors. His 14 goals in 26 games allowed the merengue club to reach a national final after seven years, although they didn't achieve glory in the end.

Universitario tried to retain the Uruguayan attacker for 2021, but the loan with Cerro Largo had ended. The Uruguayan team decided to sell the player to Querétaro of Mexico, a team where he signed for four seasons. In the year and a half that Dos Santos has been in the Mexican League, he has played 22 games, scored four goals, and provided one assist. A change for the worse.

Adrián Balboa

While Adrián Balboa's time at Alianza Lima couldn't be crowned with a title, mainly due to the loss in the final against Binacional, he became an interesting piece in the team's attack. With the white and blue club, the Uruguayan played 26 games, scored five goals, and provided four assists. In the end, he left the victorian team under negative circumstances, but managed to win the affection of the fans with the nickname 'Rocky'.

After leaving Alianza Lima in the middle of 2020, the striker played for Belgrano and Racing in Spain, where he failed to stand out. However, he is currently a key player of Defensor Sporting in Uruguay, with 22 games played, eight goals, and two assists.