Ronaldo Peña

Ronaldo Luis Peña Vargas (born 10 March 1997) is a Venezuelan footballer who plays for Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo as a forward.

Ronaldo Peña
Personal information
Full name Ronaldo Luis Peña Vargas
Date of birth (1997-03-10) 10 March 1997
Place of birth Acarigua, Venezuela
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Houston Dynamo
Number 21
Youth career
2010–2013 Caracas
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Caracas B 12 (7)
2014–2018 Caracas 4 (1)
2014–2015 → Portuguesa (loan) 8 (1)
2015–2016 → Las Palmas C (loan) 1 (3)
2016–2017 → Las Palmas B (loan) 16 (7)
2017–2018 → Moreirense (loan) 25 (3)
2018– Houston Dynamo 13 (1)
2019– → RGVFC Toros (loan) 3 (0)
National team‡
2012–2013 Venezuela U17 21 (10)
2014–2017 Venezuela U20 9 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 October 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 January 2017
This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Peña and the second or maternal family name is Vargas.

Club career

Peña made his debut as a senior with Caracas FC's B-team, and first appeared with the main squad on 23 February 2014 by starting and scoring the second in a 4–1 home routing of Deportivo La Guaira for the Primera División championship. He appeared in a further three matches for the first team before being loaned to Portuguesa FC on 25 August.[1]

On 22 July 2015, Peña was loaned to UD Las Palmas for two years.[2] After spending nearly nine months without playing a single match for the club due to bureaucratic problems,[3] he made his debut with the C-team on 10 April 2016 by scoring a hat-trick in a 4–0 home routing of CD Becerril.[4]

Promoted to the reserves ahead of the 2016–17 season, Peña scored another hat-trick in his first game for the side, a 5–0 thrashing of CD Buzanada.[5]

On 5 July 2018, Peña was sold to MLS club Houston Dynamo.[6] He made his debut on 4 August when he came on in a 1-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City. He would get his first goal with the Dynamo on 23 August, when he came on as a sub and scored a late equalizer in the 1-1 draw against the Dynamo's biggest rival, FC Dallas. Peña was rewarded with his first start in the team's next match. However he failed to find the net as the team lost 1-0 to the New York Red Bulls.[7]

Peña made his first appearance of the 2019 season on 26 February in a 2-1 win over C.D. Guastatoya in a CONCACAF Champions League match.[8] He would miss extended time due to a knee injury at the start of the season.[9] He scored his first goal and picked up his first assist of the season on 11 June in a 3-2 win over Austin Bold in a US Open Cup match. Peña would score again on 18 June in a 3-2 defeat to Minnesota United in the US Open Cup. He struggled to find much playing time during the season and spent time on loan with Houston's USL Championship affiliate Rio Grande Valley FC.[8]

International career

On 2 October 2018, Peña was called up for the Venezuelan National team for friendlies against the United Arab Emirates and Basque Country but did not feature in either game.[10]

Career statistics

Club
As of 17 December 2019[11][12]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Caracas 2013–14 Primera División 4100 —0041
Portuguesa (loan) 2014–15 Primera División 8000 ——80
Las Palmas C (loan) 2015-16 Preferente Autonómica 1 3 — — — 1 3
Las Palmas B (loan) 2016-17 Tercera División 16 7 — — — 16 7
Moreirense (loan) 2017-18 Primeira Liga25330 2 0—303
Houston Dynamo 2018 MLS 9100——91
2019 4022—2[lower-alpha 1]082
Rio Grande Valley FC (loan) 2019 USLC 30———30
Career totals 701552 2 0207917
  1. Appearances in CONCACAF Champions League

Honours

Club
Houston Dynamo

International
Venezuela U-20
Venezuela U-17
  • South American Under-17 Football Championship: Runner-Up 2013

Personal life

His father played for professionally for Venezuelan club Portuguesa. Peña is named after legendary Brazilian footballer Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima.[7]

References
  1. "Ronaldo Peña cedido al Portuguesa" [Ronaldo Peña loaned to Portuguesa] (in Spanish). Líder en Deportes. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  2. "Ronaldo Peña jugará en Las Palmas" [Ronaldo Peña will play in Las Palmas] (in Spanish). El Universal. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  3. "Ronaldo Peña espera pronto debutar en el fútbol español" [Ronaldo Peña hopes to debut quickly in Spanish football] (in Spanish). La Viñotinto. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  4. "Las Palmas 'C' golea al Becerril (4–0)" [Las Palmas 'C' thrash Becerril (4–0)] (in Spanish). UD Las Palmas. 10 April 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  5. "El filial arranca con fuerza (5–0)" [The reserves start strong (5–0)] (in Spanish). UD Las Palmas. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  6. "Houston Dynamo acquire forward Ronaldo Peña on full transfer from Caracas FC". houstondynamo.com. July 5, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  7. "Ronaldo Peña". houstondynamo.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  8. "Venezuela - R. Peña - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  9. "Dynamo loan four players to RGV FC for Saturday's match". Houston Dynamo. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  10. "Federación Venezolana de Fútbol". www.federacionvenezolanadefutbol.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  11. "Venezuela - R. Peña - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  12. "Ronaldo Peña Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
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