Pedro Camilo Franco Ulloa (; born 23 April 1991) is a Colombian professional

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 plays as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for Alianza F.C. (Colombia). He is frequently used as a playmaker from the defensive end and also as a defensive midfielder if needed. He is mostly known for his anticipation of the ball, ball technique and passing.

Club career

Millonarios

Franco is a youth product of Colombian team

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club, known simply as Millonarios, is a Colombian professional football club based in Bogotá, that competes in the Categoría Primera A, top flight of football in Colombia. It is one of the most successful and iconic clubs i ...

. After making his debut in 2009 with the senior squad, he became a key defender for the Colombian capital's team. He was part of the team that won the

2012 Categoría Primera A season The 2012 Categoría Primera A season (officially known at the 2012 Liga Postobón season for sponsorship reasons) was the 65th season of Colombia's top-flight football league. Format Both the Apertura and Finalización had an identical format. Ea ...

leading to the final on penalties, where he scored one of the penalties in victory. In April 2013, Franco reached a remarkable 100th club career appearance.

Beşiktaş

In June 2013, Franco signed a 5-year deal with Turkish giants

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

for a fee of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

2.4 million. However, he did not play in any games for the Turkish side for several months, leading many to believe that would leave in the 2014 January transfer window. With no appearances in the league, Franco requested more playing time in order for potential spot in

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

with Colombia. Beşiktaş coach,

Slaven Bilić Slaven Bilić (; born 11 September 1968) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. Bilić, who played as a defender, began his career in 1988 with his hometown club Hajduk Split, later having successful spells with Karls ...

, promised to help him also guaranteeing that Franco would be included in Colombia's final list for the World Cup. After months of struggling to earn his debut, Franco finally made his official first appearance for the club in 2014 after being subbed in against

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

in the 66th minute. The game ended 1-1. On February 11, 2014, he scored his first goal for

in a 3–0 away win against Kasımpaşa.

San Lorenzo

On 15 January 2016, Franco joined

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Villa San Lorenzo, town and municipality in Salta P ...

on a 6-month loan.

Return to Millonarios

After a mostly unsuccessful loan spell at

, on 5 July 2016 Franco returned to his hometown team

on a 1-year loan.

Boluspor

On 7 September 2017, signed with Turkish club

Boluspor Boluspor, known as Geosis Boluspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Bolu. The clubs plays in red and white kits, and have done so since their formation in 1965.América de Cali América de Cali S. A., best known as América de Cali or América, is a Colombian professional football club based in Cali. It competes in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight league of Colombian football. The team plays its home games at ...

Blooming

On 13 January 2021, Franco signed with Bolivian side

Blooming Bloom or blooming may refer to: Science and technology Biology * Bloom, one or more flowers on a flowering plant * Algal bloom, a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in an aquatic system * Jellyfish bloom, a collective n ...

, after being released by América de Cali in June 2020.

Fortaleza CEIF

On 14 August 2021,

Fortaleza C.E.I.F. Fortaleza C.E.I.F. is a professional Colombian Association football, football team based in Bogotá, currently playing in the Categoría Primera A, the top tier of Football in Colombia, Colombian football. The team has been promoted to the Categ ...

announced the signing of Franco, marking his return to Colombia after a short spell in Bolivia.

Alianza Petrolera

On 2 December 2022, Franco signed for Colombian side

Alianza Petrolera Alianza Petrolera Fútbol Club was a Colombian professional football team based in Barrancabermeja, Santander, that last played in the Categoría Primera A. The club was founded in 1991 and played in the Categoría Primera B until 2012. They play ...

International career

Franco played with the U-20 national team between 2009 and 2011. He won the 2011 edition of the Toulon Tournament where he was selected as the tournament's best defender, and played in the

2011 South American Youth Championship The 2011 South American Youth Championship (, ) was a football competition for U-20 national teams in the South America (CONMEBOL). The tournament was held in Peru from 16 January to 12 February. The top 4 teams qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-20 W ...

. He also represented Colombia during the

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 18th FIFA U-20 World Cup. Colombia hosted the tournament between 29 July and 20 August 2011, with matches being played in eight cities. The tournament was won by Brazil national under-20 football team, Brazil w ...

in which his home nation hosted. 3 years after last playing for Colombia's youth national team, he was called up to the senior squad for the friendlies against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. He debuted in a 3–0 win over El Salvador on 10 October, playing a full 90 minutes.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

;Millonarios F.C. *

Categoría Primera A The Categoría Primera A (), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor due to Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is a professional association football league in Colombia and the highest level of the Colombian ...

: 2012-II *

Copa Colombia The Copa Colombia (); officially known as Copa BetPlay Dimayor is an annual football tournament in Colombia. It is contested by the 36 professional clubs affiliated to the División Mayor del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano (DIMAYOR) and is the ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

;Beşiktaş J.K. *

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

: 2015–16 ;América de Cali *

: 2019-II *

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

International

;Colombia U20 *

Toulon Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a Association football, football tournament, which traditionally features invit ...

Individual

South American Youth Football Championship The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as South American U-20 Championship (; ), branded as CONMEBOL Sub 20, is a South American football tournament organized by the CONMEBOL for South American national teams of men under age o ...

Best Player:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Franco, Pedro 1991 births Living people Footballers from Bogotá Colombian men's footballers Millonarios F.C. players Beşiktaş J.K. footballers San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers Boluspor footballers América de Cali footballers Club Blooming players Fortaleza C.E.I.F. footballers 21st-century Colombian sportsmen Categoría Primera A players Categoría Primera B players Süper Lig players TFF 1. Lig players Argentine Primera División players Bolivian Primera División players Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Bolivia Expatriate men's footballers in Bolivia Colombian expatriate men's footballers Men's association football central defenders Colombia men's youth international footballers Colombia men's under-20 international footballers Colombia men's international footballers 2015 Copa América players Alianza F.C. (Colombia) players Alianza Petrolera F.C. players