José Soriano

José Soriano was born on 17 April 1917 in Chiclayo, Peru. He began his playing career in 1940 with Alfonso Ugarte de Chiclín of Trujillo nicknamed "los diablos rojos" (the red devils). His good displays attracted the attention of several of the biggest teams in Peru such as Universitario and Alianza Lima and he played one game for the Peru national team without ever having played in the Peruvian top flight.

After his retirement as a player he continued his involvement with football, he was an important early figure in the Futbolistas Argentinos Agremiados (Argentine players union) and had a role in the organisation of the 1948 strike which resulted in the departure of a number of players to play in Colombia during the era of "dorado colombiano" (Colombian gold). Soriano rejected offers to come out of retirement from several Colombian clubs such as Millonarios, América de Cali and Cúcuta Deportivo deciding instead to set himself up as a businessman. Despite having never played in the Peruvian top flight Soriano is considered one of the greatest Peruvian goalkeepers of all time and is also fondly remembered as one of the great River Plate goalkeepers. He died in a Buenos Aires clinic on 22 March 2011 at the age of 93 after several days of treatment after breaking his hip in a fall.