D.C. United announced today the signing of Peruvian goalkeeper José Carvallo and Argentine defender Gonzalo Peralta. Carvallo, 21, joins United from Peruvian First Division side Universitario de Deportes, while Peralta, 27, comes to the Black-and-Red from Club Almirante Brown in Argentina's second division. Carvallo, who holds a green card and thus will not count as an international palyer, will be officially added to the roster upon receipt of his ITC, while Peralta awaits receipt of both his ITC and P-1 work visa. Both players joined their new teammates today at RFK Stadium for the first training session of pre-season.
"José is a talented young goalkeeper who has a bright future ahead of him. He has a tremendous amount of first division and international tournament experience and we look forward to his contributions to our club," said United General Manager Dave Kasper.</p>
Carvallo has spent his entire career with Universitario, joining the club's youth teams at the age of 12. In 2003, at just 17 years of age, he made his professional debut with the first team in a league match against Atletico Universidad. During Carvallo's time with Universitario, the "Cremas" were runner-up in the 2007 Clausura and 2005 Apertura tournaments. He also backstopped the net for the Cremas in international club competition matches, making four appearances in the 2006 Copa Libertadores and two appearances in the 2007 Copa Sudamericana. Overall for his career, Carvallo has made 94 appearances in the first division for Universitario.
The 5'11" goalkeeper also has international experience representing his country, registering his first full cap with Peru's senior national team in September 2007, coming on as a substitute in the second half of a 3-0 victory over Bolivia in a friendly exhibition match played in Lima. Carvallo also represented Peru's national teams at the U-15, U-17 and U-20 levels.
Meanwhile, Peralta has been a fixture in Almirante Brown's back line since he joined the club during its 2004-05 campaign. In May 2007, the 6' 2", 190-pound central defender was a catalyst in helping Almirante Brown capture the Primera B Clausura championship. He most recently was captain of the club, and in four years with Almirante Brown appeared in 90 matches and tallied seven goals. Prior to joining Almirante Brown, Peralta spent two seasons with Comunicaciones in Argentina's lower division, totaling four goals in 37 appearances.
"Gonzalo will add both stability and experience to our defense," added Kasper. "He is a big and strong central defender, and a player who will be an important organizer in our back line."
United's first competition of the year comes in mid-March when D.C. faces Jamaica's Harbour View FC in the quarterfinal round of the prestigious CONCACAF Champions' Cup. The two-game series begins when United travels to Jamaica for the first leg March 11-13 and concludes with the second leg at home March 18-20. The winner of the series will advance to face either Pachuca (Mexico) or Motagua (Honduras) in the semifinal round. United and Harbour View have met once before in Champions' Cup play, when in March of 2005 the two teams met in the quarterfinal round. United captured a 2-1 victory on March 9 in the first leg and advanced 4-2 on aggregate following a 2-1 win in Jamaica on March 16.
