Lucas Daniel Wilchez (, born 31 August 1983) is an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He began his career at the Cambaceres youth squad, then moved to

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...

and joined the

football academy In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

of his hometown club, Estudiantes, at eighteen. The coach of Estudiantes,

Reinaldo Merlo Reinaldo Carlos Merlo (born 20 May 1950) is an Argentine association football, football coach and former player, who played as a midfielder. Playing career Known as ''Mostaza'' (mustard) because of his off-blond hair, Merlo played his entire ca ...

, had not assigned him to the team for the 2003–04 season, and Wilchez was loaned to

San Martín de San Juan Club Atlético San Martín, mostly known as San Martín de San Juan, is an Argentine football club from the city of San Juan. The team currently plays in the Argentine Liga Profesional de Futbol, the first division of the Argentine football league ...

, playing with professional form during his first season in the

Primera B Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera Ely Rafael Primera Ros ...

. After another loan, he won his first title with Tigre in the third tier and returned to Tolosa in June 2007, thanks to

Diego Simeone Diego Pablo Simeone González (; ; born 28 April 1970), nicknamed "El Cholo" (), is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. He has been the manager of club Atlético Madrid since December 2011 mak ...

, who wanted him in the club. The next season he signed for

Talleres de Córdoba Club Atlético Talleres (; ), mostly known simply as Talleres ( in Rioplatense Spanish, Rioplatense accent and or in Cordobés Spanish, Cordobés accent; ), is an Football in Argentina, Argentine professional sports club based in the city of C ...

, then moved to Europe after signing for

Asteras Tripolis Asteras Tripolis Football Club (), currently known as Asteras AKTOR for sponsorship reasons, commonly referred to as Asteras, is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Tripoli in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Asteras Tripolis ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in 2009, and years later for

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

. In June 2010, it was confirmed that Wilchez signed for Primera División club

Colo-Colo Colo-Colo (), officially Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo, is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano, it competes in the Chilean Primera División, from which the club has never been ...

, a team led by coach

Diego Cagna Diego Sebastián Cagna (born 19 April 1970) is an Argentine football coach and former player who played as midfielder. Club career Cagna was born in Buenos Aires. His first professional first-division match was in December 1988, with Argentinos ...

, who directed him years ago in Tigre. Only days after his arrival, he earned the nickname of Peter Veneno, because of his similarity with the Chilean actor who plays

Daniel Alcaíno Daniel Alcaíno Cuevas (, born April 6, 1972) is a Chilean actor and comedian. He is popularly known for his comedy characters ''Peter Veneno'' (roughly based in Ivan Zamorano), and ''Yerko Puchento'', an outspoken showbusiness journalist and p ...

. That same year he failed to win his first professional honour because Universidad Católica gained the league title, overcoming his own team's seven-point advantage.

Club career

Estudiantes

Born in

, Wilchez began his career at the

Defensores de Cambaceres Club Defensores de Cambaceres is an Argentine football club from the city of Ensenada, Buenos Aires Province. The team currently plays in Primera C, the regionalised fourth division of the Argentine football league system. The club was founded in ...

youth ranks, but then returned to his hometown to attend the

of Estudiantes, progressing through the club's

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

until breaking into the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

. In June 2004, he was loaned to

Primera B Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (English "National B Division"), and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 38 team ...

side San Martín in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

. In his debut season, Wilchez played 30 games and scored 6 goals, being used by the coach as a

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

. Another two seasons out of

, now on loan at Tigre, in August 2007, he returned to Estudiantes and was registered in the team squad of the

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana (; ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club com ...

. On 3 August 2007, he made his official debut at

Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "La Plata Students"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata, is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, where it has spent most of its histo ...

in a 3–0 away win over Banfield at Florencio Sola as an 85th-minute substitute for Ezequiel Maggiolo. On 5 September, he made his international debut in a victory against

Lanús Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, metropolitan area. The List of cities in Argentina, city has a populati ...

during the

. During the season Wilchez was a frequent starter at

's team, but after the departure of Simeone and arrival of

Roberto Sensini Roberto Néstor Sensini (born 12 October 1966) is an Argentine football manager and former player, who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. As a player with the Argentina national team, he finished third place in the 1989 Copa Améri ...

, he played very few games in the next season.

Talleres de Córdoba

After his unsuccessful participation with Estudiantes at the 2008 Clausura Tournament, was not retained by Sensini and days later moved to

, signing a one-year contract for the club. He made his debut in a 1–1 away draw against

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' ...

and his first goal came exactly two months later in a 2–1 victory over Los Andes. He had a successful performance at

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

's squad despite Talleres' relegation to the

Primera B Metropolitana Primera B Metropolitana is one of two professional leagues that form the third level of the Argentine football league system. The division is made up of 17 clubs mainly from the city of Buenos Aires and its metropolitan area, Greater Buenos Aires ...

. The next season Wilchez traveled to Europe and joined

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

side

. One of the principal reasons of his move was that his compatriot, Roberto Gómez, became the Hellenic team's new coach and wanted him to play at Asteras.

Asteras Tripolis

Following their successful bid, Wilchez was presented with the number 31 shirt by

. He played alongside fellow Argentines Leonel Ríos, midfielders

Sebastián Carrera Sebastián Carrera (born 25 May 1978 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentine footballer. He currently plays as a midfielder for Douglas Haig of the Argentine Primera B Nacional. Career Carrera started his career in the lower leagues of Argen ...

and

Adrián Bastía Adrián Jesús Bastía (born 20 December 1978 in Gobernador Crespo, Santa Fe) is a retired Argentine football midfielder. Career Bastía started his playing career in 1997 with Racing Club. He was part of the squad that won the 2001 Apertura, ...

, as well as his former teammate at

Sebastián Bartolini Sebastián Bartolini (born February 1, 1982) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a centre back. Career In July 2009, Bartolini signed for Greek Superleague The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons ...

. He made his debut in a 0–0 draw with

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

on 23 August, playing the game's full ninety minutes. On 27 September, he played his best match under coach Roberto Gómez in a 2–1 victory over

Levadiakos Levadiakos Football Club (officially romanized: ''Levadeiakos'' ) is a Greek professional football club that plays in the Super League Greece. Based in Livadeia, Greece, the club was promoted to the Alpha Ethniki, forerunner of the Super League, ...

, in which he was the man of the match and assisted Bastía for the first goal. After of the departure of Gómez as coach and the arrival of

Vangelis Vlachos Vangelis Vlachos (; born 6 January 1962) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of AE Mykonos Club career Vlachos started his career from the academies of AEK Athens. In 1979 he was promoted to t ...

to the Asteras bench, he was used as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

by the new coach and played with great form, gaining three assists in two games during Vangelis' first games. The second game mentioned was an important 1–1 away draw with

giant

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

at Spiros Louis. On 23 January 2010, Wilchez scored twice in a 2–0 win over

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

for his first goals in Europe.

Colo-Colo

On 19 June 2010,

's magazine

Blanco y Negro Blanco y Negro Records (Spanish: "White and Black"), a subsidiary of WEA Records Ltd., was established in 1983 by Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records and Mike Alway of él Records. Michel Duval of Les Disques du Crépuscule was also involve ...

confirmed that Wilchez joined the club on loan from

in a one-year deal, reuniting well with

, his coach when he played for Tigre. He debuted in a friendly against Paraguayan club Olimpia at

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. Once claimed by Bolivia follo ...

, where he gave a good performance during the 2–2 draw. His first competitive goal came on 8 August against

Unión San Felipe Unión San Felipe is a Chilean football club, their hometown is San Felipe in the V Región of Valparaíso. They play in the second level of the Chilean football league, the Primera B. The club was founded on October 16, 1956 with the merger ...

at Estadio Monumental in a 5–2 home victory. He incremented his goal tally two weeks later against the

Santiago Wanderers Club de Deportes Santiago Wanderers is a football club based in Valparaíso, a founding member of the Chilean Football Federation. Their home ground, Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, is in the north-west of the city. Wanderers have played their ...

, scoring the game's only goal at Playa Ancha which kept the club in the tournament's first place, three points over Universidad Católica. The club was later eliminated in the Copa Sudamericana preliminary stages by Bolivia's

Universitario de Sucre Club Deportivo Universitario San Francisco Xavier is a professional association football, football team based in Sucre, Bolivia, that competes in the Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano, Bolivian Primera División. The club has two titles in ...

after a 3–3 aggregate tie (

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

), considered to be a historical failure by the Chilean press and club historians. Despite winning supporters' affections due to his performances, his charm was marred by Colo-Colo's title loss after Católica's notable comeback in which they surmounted a seven-point difference in the last five weeks. On 5 March 2011, he scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 home win over

Unión La Calera Unión La Calera is a Chilean football club based in La Calera, Chile. The club competes in the Primera División de Chile. It was founded as Club de Deportes La Calera on 26 January 1954, after the merger of three teams from the city: ''Condor' ...

. From Torneo Clausura onwards, Wilchez scored three goals (including a twice in a 6–2 Colo-Colo's win over

Deportes La Serena Club de Deportes La Serena S.A.D.P., is a Chilean football club based in the city of La Serena, Coquimbo Region. The club was founded 9 December 1955 and plays in the second division of the Chilean football league. Their home games are play ...

) and completed the year with five goals.

Real Zaragoza

On 4 July 2012,

Terra Chile Terra was a Spanish Internet multinational company owned by Telefónica. It was headquartered in Spain and had offices in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, the United States and Peru. Part of the Telefónica Group (the former Spanish public telep ...

confirmed that Wilchez will join

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

for play during the 2012–13 season at the Spanish club in a one–season deal.

Honours

Club

;Tigre *

(1): 2005–06 * Liguilla de Promoción (1):

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

References

External links

Lucas Wilchez at Football Lineups
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilchez, Lucas 1983 births Living people Footballers from La Plata Argentine men's footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Men's association football wingers San Martín de San Juan footballers Club Atlético Tigre footballers Estudiantes de La Plata footballers Talleres de Córdoba footballers Asteras Tripolis F.C. players Colo-Colo footballers Real Zaragoza players Arsenal de Sarandí footballers Club Atlético Temperley footballers Club Almagro players Unión San Felipe footballers Argentine Primera División players Primera Nacional players Primera B Metropolitana players Super League Greece players Chilean Primera División players La Liga players Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Greece Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Chile Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Expatriate men's footballers in Spain 21st-century Argentine sportsmen