Among the various foreign players who come to Peruvian football every year, there are many who are forgotten because they only had a few minutes in the season. There are even some that don’t end the year. However, the case of the Colombian John Paul Pino In university It was most odd: he is well remembered for not being able to play, having already been hired by the cream club. As if that wasn’t enough, this inconvenience resulted in the ‘U’ losing a classic on the table.
Juan Pablo Pino is known in Colombia for being one of the great promises that didn’t blow up. There are many coffee fans who remember the ’10’ who shone in the South American sub-20 in 2007 and came to European football at just 19 to play for Monaco. Despite staying there for several seasons, he has revealed that he has not found stability in the teams where he has prioritized money.
Juan Pablo Pino, along with Raúl Leguía, when he signed his contract with the Universitario. Photo: University
YOU CAN SEE: How did Brenner Marlos join Cristal, how much is he worth and how many goals does he have?
Juan Pablo Pino and his eventful way through the university
Juan Pablo Pino was officially announced as the ‘U’ signing on August 5, 2016. While his talent and quality were well known, there was also much talk of the fact that he had arrived at the club without having played for more than a year since he was based in Bastia, France. The Colombian debuted the creams on August 10 in the 3-0 defeat by Emelec in the first round of the Copa Sudamericana.
After the disappointing international elimination, Pino returned to see activity in the classic against Alianza Lima in Matute. His debut in the Descentralizado was a dream: as a starter and catch-up, he was the figure of the “U” and the game with his key role in the starts and especially in the equalizer. Unfortunately, thanks to a fair and reasonable post-game request from Alianza, the joy was to be short-lived.
YOU CAN SEE: What happened to Patricio Arce, the champion with Melgar who ended up in the penalty shootout of “Sarita Colonia”?
The Blue and Whites asked for the points of the classic under the protection of Article 55 of that tournament’s fundamentals, which stated that a foreign player over the age of 25 must have been registered in a first division club for up to three months prior to signing for a decentralized team. Pino also played against UTC on the following date, but after this problem he did not play again until the end of November.
What happened to Juan Pablo Pino?
After just 196 minutes in four games at the local tournament, Juan Pablo Pino left the Universitario in silence. After his ill-fated spell in Peruvian football, the Colombian found some continuity in Indonesia 2017 with Arema FC. However, the following year he switched to Barito Putera and never completed 90 minutes in a single game there. He only played nine games and was fired.
In 2021, Pino surprised everyone when he signed for second division club Real Cartagena after a nearly three-year break. He was mainly a substitute and the club fell short of promotion. Recently, after being clubless for the whole of 2022, the ‘Wizard’ announced on his Instagram account that he’s ventured into the jewelry business. “I’m enjoying my new facet,” he wrote in the post.
Juan Pablo Pino with his new facet outside the football fields. Photo: Instagram by Juan Pablo Pino