It’s always something new for those around us to see a Peruvian soccer player succeed abroad. In case of Gustavo Dulanto, who joined Sheriff Tiraspol from the Portuguese league at Boavista, was heavily questioned at the time. Although the vast majority saw playing in Moldova as a setback, the former university player proved all his critics wrong: he established himself as an undisputed starter, winning the local tournament twice and achieving historic qualification for the group stage. the Champions League.
Gustavo Dulanto made it through four knockout rounds into Group D of the Champions League alongside Shakhtar Donesk, Inter and Real Madrid. The most memorable event of the season was the epic 2-1 win over the Meringues at the Santiago Bernabeu, in which the Peruvian started from the bottom. Before finding himself in the international press spotlight, Dulanto had played just 11 games for Boavista and played a few seasons in League 1.
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Gustavo Dulanto and his arrival in European football
Gustavo Dulanto made his professional debut with Universitario on May 1, 2015 in a 1-0 defeat by Unión Comercio on the first day of the Apertura. Although he played as a starter throughout the short tournament, he did not play in either the Clausura or the following season. Dulanto signed with UTC in 2017 and had one of the best seasons of his career there, being unflappable alongside Jonathan Segura and also scoring seven goals.
With “Gavilán”, the 1.96 meter tall Peruvian defender showed his skills as a good free-kick taker and a good long-range striker. In 2018 he played for Real Garcilaso and was also in the starting XI, with Lampros Kontogiannis as his key teammate in defence. The 2019 season wasn’t so good with Minzum Quina winning the job for him, but Dulanto surprised everyone by his sudden signing for Boavista de Portugal mid-year.
Gustavo Dulanto had a very good season at UTC in 2017, in which he even scored several goals despite being a central defender. Photo: GLR archives
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What happened to Gustavo Dulanto?
Unfortunately, Gustavo Dulanto didn’t have the continuity he wanted at Boavista and he terminated his contract in early 2021. This decision proved very successful as his arrival at Sheriff Tiraspol brought two more titles to his career, Continuity and Great Experience at Europe’s Top Club Tournament. Dulanto played every minute of the group stage and even captained the last three games.
After being eliminated from the Champions League, the Peruvian defender continued to perform well in the local tournament until winning the title. Despite this, he decided to change coaches in mid-2022 and signed for Riga FC in Latvia. Although he started as a regular right after his arrival, Gustavo Dulanto suffered the worst thing of his career, tearing his cruciate ligament in the first month of his stay at his new club.
Gustavo Dulanto has a contract with Riga FC from Latvia until the end of 2023. Photo: Riga FC
Although the Latvian league is also not in the media, Dulanto stopped playing mainly due to this serious injury. The Peruvian has not played an official game since August 21, 2022, when he started the 2-0 victory over Auda on matchday 25 of the Virsliga. The tear forced him to undergo surgery and subsequent recovery, which has kept him out of the courts to this day.