municipal sport is in one of the worst institutional crises in recent years. Among the various consequences of the situation, the joint departure of several first-team players and Ángel Comizzo stood out. Given what happened, the mayor’s team had to draw on their reserves to complete the roster at the start of the final tournament. With the emergence of promising young people came consolidation Christian Floresthe university’s flamboyant worker.
Christian Flores, better known as “Ojitos”, is a famous player who excelled in the 2001 Federation Cup “U” category. He managed to move to the reserves after captaining two straight years and many fans recognized him for his charisma and wit as host of part of the Universitario Play bid. However, Flores had to work harder than anyone to show a smile and start at Deportivo Municipal today.
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Christian Flores and his emotional story of overcoming
Christian Flores was born on January 12, 2001 in Lima. His arrival at the Universitario was realized by Andrés “Balán” Gonzales, who took him to compete in the Federation Cup in early 2017. At the age of 16, “Ojitos” took his first steps to reach his goal of turning pro, but it wasn’t easy at all: he lived in Los Olivos and had to train to pay for the daily commute to Campo Mar.
Coming from a humble family, Flores hoped to financially facilitate a career as a football player. This was an important motivation to keep the strength to keep going despite the fact that money wasn’t always available. He himself admitted at the time that he had to resort to different cachuelos all the time to pay for the daily transport costs. So his day started hours before cream training.
Christian Flores reached the Universitario subsidiary departments in 2017. Photo: University
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The young aviator had to find Sol for Sol and worked as a waiter, bricklayer, bus collector and, what was even more difficult, as a scrap collector. This enabled him to manage the amount of travel to and from training in addition to what his father had given him at great expense. ‘Ojito’s’ father was a taxi driver and the support he received from him was also key to progressing until he consolidated in the reserve team.
Christian Flores and his rise to professional football
In 2020, Christian Flores was already an important part of the Universitario reserve. The next step was the debut in the first team. In 2021, he appeared in club videos interviewing his team-mates, giving a taste of himself: talkative, not shy and very confident. The only thing missing was the opportunity to show that his personality was the same on the pitch.
Christian Flores has been the undisputed starter at Deportivo Municipal since the beginning of the Clausura. Photo: GLR
Flores’ long-awaited professional debut came on May 10, 2021, when he started Day 3 of Phase 1 in Universitario’s 1-0 win over UTC. He was in the middle with Rafael Guarderas and put in an acceptable performance. He only managed to play 120 minutes in four games all season, but that didn’t stop him from continuing as usual.
Loaned to Deportivo Coopsol in 2022, ‘Ojitos’ managed to play in the starting XI on most occasions. This was the necessary training to be able to return to first grade the following year. The “U” didn’t renew him, but Flores signed for Deportivo Municipal and today he’s one of the team’s figures. Although he came on as a substitute in the Apertura, this situation forced him to take the lead in the Clausura and he has proved he is up to the task.