Jairo Vélez

Jairo Vélez
Personal information
Full name Jairo David Vélez Cedeño
Date of birth (1995-04-21) 21 April 1995
Place of birth El Carmen, Ecuador
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position Attacking midfielder[1]
Team information
Current team
Alianza Lima
Number 20
Youth career
2008–2010 Universidad Católica
2010–2013 River Plate Ecuador
2013–2014 Vélez Sársfield
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013 River Plate Ecuador 12 (2)
2013–2014Vélez Sársfield (loan) 1 (1)
2014–2018 Vélez Sársfield 2 (0)
2015–2016Universidad Católica (loan) 4 (0)
2017Universidad San Martín (loan) 41 (7)
2018–2019 Atlante 37 (5)
2019 Cafetaleros 12 (2)
2020–2024 César Vallejo 137 (32)
2025 Universitario de Deportes 29 (3)
2026– Alianza Lima 0 (0)
International career
2014 Ecuador U20 4 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12:04, 30 January 2026 (UTC)

Jairo David Vélez Cedeño (born 21 April 1995) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Peruvian Liga 1 club Alianza Lima. He is former Ecuador youth international and committed to play for the Peru national team.

Club career

Vélez climbed through the youth ranks of Universidad Católica, later moving to River Plate Ecuador in 2010, where he debuted in the first team in 2013, scoring twice in the Ecuadorian Serie B. He was then scouted by Vélez Sarsfield along his teammate Danny Cabezas while playing friendly matches for River Plate Ecuador in Argentina.

The striker was first loaned and placed on the club's "5th Division" youth team, scoring 10 goals which helped the youth team win the 5th Division league in 2013. Vélez was then moved to the reserves in the same year[2] and was brought up to the senior team for 2014 under manager Turu Flores, while still on loan. The Ecuadorian made his professional debut for Vélez Sársfield on 27 April, also scoring his first goal for the club in a 4–1 win against Rosario Central.[3] On 15 July 2014, Vélez signed a new three-year contract.[4] Halfway through 2015, he moved to Universidad Católica on loan, where he achieved qualification to the 2016 Copa Sudamericana.

International career

In 2015, Vélez was selected to play for the Ecuador national under-20 football team in the South American Youth Championship.

On 29 January 2026, Vélez's request to switch international allegiance to Peru was approved by FIFA.[5]

Career statistics

As of 16 August 2024[6]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
River Plate Ecuador 2012 Ecuadorian Serie B 2 0 2 0
2013 Ecuadorian Serie B 5 2 5 2
Total 7 2 0 0 0 0 7 2
Vélez Sársfield (loan) 2013–14 Primera División 1 1 0 0 1 1
Vélez Sársfield 2014 Primera División 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2016 Primera División 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 1
Universidad Católica (loan) 2015 Ecuadorian Serie A 4 0 0 0 4 0
Universidad San Martín (loan) 2017 Torneo Descentralizado 41 7 41 7
Atlante 2017–18 Ascenso MX 7 0 7 0
2018–19 Ascenso MX 30 5 2 0 32 5
Total 37 5 2 0 0 0 39 5
Cafetaleros 2019–20 Ascenso MX 12 2 4 1 16 3
César Vallejo 2020 Liga 1 23 5 23 5
2021 Liga 1 20 5 0 0 1[b] 0 21 5
2022 Liga 1 30 9 1[b] 0 31 9
2023 Liga 1 33 3 6[c] 2 39 5
2024 Liga 1 22 9 6[c] 3 28 12
Total 128 31 0 0 14 5 142 36
Career total 231 48 6 1 14 5 251 54
  1. ^ Includes Copa MX
  2. ^ a b Appearance in Copa Libertadores
  3. ^ a b Appearance in Copa Sudamericana

Honours

Vélez Sarsfield
Universitario de Deportes

References

  1. ^ Jairo Vélez at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ Bucheli, Xavier (4 November 2013). "Jóvenes ecuatorianos destacan en la Reserva de Vélez" [Ecuadorian youths stand out in Vélez's reserves]. Futbolizados (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Match report". Argentine Soccer. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Manabita David Vélez Cedeño firmó por 3 temporadas con Vélez Sarsfield". El Universo (in Spanish). 16 July 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  5. ^ "FIFA Change of Association Platform". knowledge.fifa.com. 29 January 2026. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  6. ^ "Trayectoria de Jairo Vélez Cedeño".