Alejandro Cichero

Alejandro Cíchero
Personal information
Full name	Alejandro Enrique Cíchero Konarek
Date of birth	April 20, 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth	Caracas, Venezuela
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1988–1995	Trujillanos
Senior career*
Years	Team
1996–1998	Trujillanos
1998–2001	Benfica
1998–1999	→ Cagliari (loan)
1999–2000	→ Oliveira do Bairro (loan)
2000–2001	Benfica B
2001–2002	Deportivo Italchacao
2002	Central Español
2003	Atlético Cerro
2004	Nacional Montevideo
2004–2008	Litex Lovech
2008–2009	Shandong Luneng
2009–2010	Caracas
2010–2011	Millonarios
2013–2014	Deportivo Anzoátegui
Total
International career
2002–2007	Venezuela
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alejandro Enrique Cíchero Konarek (Latin American Spanish: [aleˈxandɾo ˈsitʃeɾo]; born April 20, 1977) is a former Venezuelan footballer who played as a defender.

Career

Born in Caracas, Cichero joined the youth system of Trujillanos Fútbol Club in 1988, being promoted to the first team in 1996 and helping them reach the Copa CONMEBOL Playoff in his second season.

In 1998, he moved to Europe, joining Benfica, who immediately loaned him to Cagliari Calcio in the Serie A, playing thirteen matches over the course of the 1998–99 season. He then spent two seasons in the Portuguese Second Division — the third tier of Portuguese football. First in 1999–2000 at Oliveira do Bairro S.C. and then at Benfica's reserve team, where he made one bench appearance on the first team in a 2–1 win against Porto.^[1]^[2]

In 2002, he returned home, playing the 2001–02 season at Deportivo Italchacao, before spending an 18-month span in the Uruguayan Primera División, in three clubs. In 2004, he returned to Europe, joining PFC Litex Lovech in the Bulgarian league, where he would stay until 2008, helping the team finish third in 2005–06, as well progressing to the Round of 32 in the UEFA Cup.

The 31-year-old then joined Chinese team, Shandong Luneng Taishan F.C., immediately conquering his first title, the 2008 Chinese Super League. After two seasons, he returned to his native hometown, to play for Caracas FC. In July 2010, the Venezuelan international, moved to Colombia, reuniting with former national team manager, Richard Páez at Millonarios.^[3]

In 2013, the 36-year-old, came out of retirement to play one more season, joining Deportivo Anzoátegui.^[4]

International career

He played in the 2004 and 2007 editions of Copa America.^[5] He has made over 40 appearances for the Venezuela national team since 2002.^[6]

International goals


No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1.	June 1, 2007	José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo,Venezuela	Canada	1–1	2–2	Friendly
2.	June 30, 2007	Pueblo Nuevo, San Cristóbal, Venezuela	Peru	1–0	2–0	2007 Copa América

Personal life

He is the son of Mauro Cichero who was a professional football player and represented Venezuela in the 1980 Olympics. His brothers, Gabriel and Mauro, are also professional football players.^[7] Born in Venezuela, Cichero is of Italian and Polish descent.^[8]