South America Greatest All-Time 23 member team excluding Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay

Peru World Cup 1978

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia,
Chile, Paraguay, Ecuador
Bolivia, Venezuela.

I have done all-time teams for Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil.  This is the team for the rest of South America, excluding players from the three national teams.

The big three, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay has won a total of 9 World Cup titles, but the rest of CONMEBOL have not done as well. Some of them have made waves at the World Cup Finals. Chile reaching the semifinal in 1962 was the biggest achievement for the rest of the region.  Peru of the 1970's was probably one of the most entertaining national team at the time.  Paraguay was known for their defensive unit in the 1990's.  Colombia made headlines when they beat Argentina 5-0 in 1993, and made a wonderful run at the World Cup Finals in 2014.

If there were an All-Time World Cup, this would be the 23 players I would bring to the tournament.  

Paraguay's Copa America winner 1979

Team
GK:  Jose Luis Chilavert (Paraguay)
Known for his free kicks,  Jose Luis Chilavert was an icon of his generation.  He was South American Player of the Year in 1996. Against Argentina in a World Cup Qualifiers in 1997, he promised to score a goal before the match and he did score one.  He led Paraguay to the round of 16 at both World Cup Finals in 1998 and 2002.  He won 12 club titles, including the 1994 Copa Libertadores and the 1994 Intercontinental Cup, whilst playing for Vélez Sarsfield.  He played for them between 1991 and 2000.

Jose Luis Chilavert

GK: Oscar Cordoba (Colombia)
Oscar Cordoba played for Boca Juniors from 1997 to 2001, perhaps the greatest club side in a generation.  With them, he won the Copa Libertadores 2000 and 2001, and the Intercontinental Cup of 2000.  With 73 caps, he is Colombia's cap record holder for a goalkeeper.  He was the starting keeper that won the 2001 Copa America, Colombia's first ever title.  He named the goalkeeper of the tournament. He was a member of two World Cup team(1994 and 1998).

GK: Claudio Bravo (Chile)
As of 2018, Claudio Bravo is Chile's most capped player with 119 times.  He was the hero of Chile's two back-to-back Copa America titles in 2015 and 2016, winning penalty shootouts on both Finals.  He also went to two World Cup Finals. He started his professional career playing with Colo-Colo at home.  He also played with Real Sociedad, Barcelona and Manchester City.

RB: Luis Eyzaguirre (Chile)
Luis Eyzaguirre played right back in the Universidad de Chile football team known as the Ballet Azul, with which he won four national championships. He was capped 39 times. He played in 1962 World Cup Finals at home where Chile reached the semi-final.  He also played a single match at the 1966 World Cup Finals in England. He was considered the best rightback of his time.

CB/RB: Ivan Cordoba (Colombia)
Ivan Cordoba is one of Colombia's greatest defenders.  He earned over 70 caps for Colombia. He captained Colombia to win the 2001 Copa América competition, scoring the only goal in the final. Córdoba also played for his country in 1998 World Cup Finals in France 1998. He was one of the best defenders in Serie A during his time in Italy.  He spent 12 seasons with Inter Milan winning the Champions' League in 2010. 

SW:  Elias Figueroa (Chile) 
Elias Figueroa was one of the best defenders in South American history.  He was named the Brazilian Player of the year award whilst playing for Internacional in 1972 and 1976. He was also awarded the South American Footballer of the Year three times in a row. He played notably for Santiago Wanderers, Internacional and Uruguayan club Peñarol. He also represented Chile 47 times, appearing in three world cups, in 1966, 1974, and 1982.

Elias Figueroa

CB: Hector Chumpitaz (Peru)
Hector Chumpitaz was Peru's captain during their Golden Generation in the 1970's.  Peru with him as the captain won the  Copa America 1975 and qualified for the 1970 and 1978 World Cups, He was considered one of the best defenders in South America's history. In 1966, Chumpitaz began playing for Universitario de Deportes, where he was a part of the team that won 5 Peruvian league championship and a runner up in the Copa Libertadores 1972. He also played with Sporting Cristal.

CB:  Carlos Gamarra (Paraguay)
Carlos Gamarra was widely considered a top defender in South America during his peak years.  He played in Paraguay, Brazil, Greece, Italy and Portugal. He is the most capped player in Paraguayan football history. He was named as the Paraguayan Footballer of the Year in 1997 and 1998, and was also included in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament.  He also went to World Cup Finals in 2002 and 2006.  He won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

LB:  Nicolas Fuentes (Peru)
Despite only played 17 times for Peru between 1965 and 1970, Nicolas Fuentes was considered one of Peru's greatest defender.  He was a member of Peru's Golden Generation in the 1970's, but he was not on the 1975 Copa America winning team. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1970. He played mainly with Club Universitario de Deportes between 1964 and 1970.  He won four league titles. He also played for Defensor Lima and Sporting Cristal.

CM: Arturo Vidal (Chile)
At time of writing, Arturo Vidal is considered one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the world.  He went to the World Cup Finals in 2010 and 2014.  He played with Colo Colo and Bayer Leverkusen before transferring to Juventus in Italy.   In 2015, he moved to Bayern Munich.  He moved to Barcelona in 2018. At the time of writing, he has 100 caps.  He helped Chile to win back-to-back Copa America in 2015 and 2016.

Artruo Vidal

CB/DM: Victor Benitez (Peru)
Victor Benitez only played 11 games for Peru between 1957 and 1959.  He was a part of the team that beat England in 1959. He was largely known for his career playing club football in Italy.   He started with Alianza Lima.  He then played for Boca Juniors between 1960 and 192 before heading to play in Europe.  In Europe, he played for A.C. Milan, Messina, Roma, Venezia, and Inter Milan. In 1963, he won the European Cup with AC Milan. 

DM: Jose Velazquez (Peru)
Jose Velazquez was not a member of Peru's 1970 World Cup team, but he won the Copa America in 1975.  He participated at the WC Finals in 1974, 1978 and 1982. He is considered one of the greatest defensive midfieders in South America. At club level he played for Alianza Lima in Peru., where he was part of three league championship winning campaigns (1975, 1977 & 1978). He also played for Independiente Medellín of Colombia, Hércules CF of Spain and Deportes Iquique of Chile.

AM/CM: Carlos Valderrama (Colombia)
Nicknamed El Pibe, Carlos Valderrama was Colombia's greatest ever player.  He was one of the best passers ever from South America.  He was twice South America Player of the Year in 1987 and in 1993. Between 1985 and 1998 he represented Colombia in 111 full internationals and scored 11 times, making him the most capped player in the country's history. He was a star player at the 1990 World Cup Finals in Italy.   He also played in 1994, and 1998 World Cups, and 5 Copa América tournaments.

Carlos Valderrama

RWF/AM/FW:  Hugo Sotil (Peru)
Together with Teófilo Cubillas and Héctor Chumpitaz, he was one of Peru's most recognized football players of the 1970s. He also was a popular player in Peru, and a biopic on his life was released in that decade. He was a key member of Peru's Golden Generation in the 1970's.  He played with Johan Cruyff at Barcelona where he was a fan favorite.  He played there between 1973 and 1977.  He also spent time in Colombia.

FW/RW: Alexis Sanchez (Chile)
After his debut season of first-team football with Cobreloa, Sánchez was signed by Italy's Udinese in 2006. Following successful loans at Colo-Colo and River Plate, he began playing in Serie A. In 2011, he was signed by Barcelona for £25 million, becoming the most expensive transfer in Chilean football history. In 2014, he moved rot Arsenal.  At the time of writing, he earned 108 caps.  He has played in the WC Finals of 2010 and 2014. He helped Chile to win the 2015 Copa America.  A year later, he led Chile to win Copa América Centenario in the US.

LW:  Leonel Sanchez (Chile)
Leonel Sanchez was Chile's record cap holder until 2014.  He had 85 caps between 1955 and 1968. He was one of the greatest left wingers ever in South America.  He scored 4 goals in the 1962 World Cup Finals, where he finished as a joint-top scorer, as Chile finished 3rd.  He spent the majority of his career with Universidad de Chile, despite offers from big clubs in Europe. He was an icon at the club.  He finished his career playing for different Chilean clubs such as Colo-Colo, Palestino and Ferroviarios.

Leonel Sanchez

LW:  Juan Joya (Peru)
Juan Joya was one of the best left wing in South American history.  At the club level, he was an all-time great with Penarol. He won 11 titles with Penarol between 1961 and 1969, including two Copa Libertadores and a two Copa Intercontinental. He also played for Alianza Lima and River Plate(Argentina). At the international level, he played 9 times for Peru between 1956 and 1959 and once for Uruguay in 1965 while he was playing for Penarol. He played in two Copa Americas for Peru.

AM: Marco Etcheverry (Bolivia)
Marco Etcheverry was one of the best ever Bolivian player and one of the best players to have played in MLS. He was an important player as Bolivia beat Brazil in 1993 and qualified for their first WC Finals in 1994.  He was capped 71 times.  For his professionbal career, he played in Spain, Colombia and Chile before he moved to MLS in 1996 where he became a star.  He won 3 MLS Cups with DC United.

AM: Julio Cesar Romero (Paraguay)
Julio Cesar Romero was considered the best outfielder in Paraguay's history.  He also had careers in Paraguay, the USA, Spain, Mexico, Chile and Brazil.  His two most famous stints were with NY Cosmos and Fluminense.  He was a big idol with the Brazilian club. He led Paraguay to win the Copa America in 1979 and to qualify for the World Cup Finals in 1986.  He was selected as the South American Footballer of the Year in 1985. 

AM: Teofilo Cubillas (Peru)
Teofilo Cubillas is considered to be Peru's greatest ever player.  He was a part of three World Cup teams: 1970, 1978, 1982. He is one of only three players to score five or more goals in two different World Cup Finals.  At one point, Pele named him as his heir apparent to be the best player in the world. He finished Number 17 at the South American Player of the Century award in 2006.  At the club level, he is associated with Alianza Lima, butr also played in Portugal, Switzerland and the United States.

Teofilo Cubillas 

ST:  Alberto Spencer (Ecuador)

Alberto Spencer was known as "Cabeza Mágica" (Spanish for magic head).  He is still the all-time leading scorer in the Copa Libertadores' history.  He is considered one of South America's greatest strikers. He won three Libertadores Cups and two Intercontinental Cups with Uruguay's Penarol. He was elected the 20th best South American footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS in 2004.  He also played for Everest and Barcelona at home.

ST: Teodoro Fernández  (Peru)
Teodoro Fernández was part of the Peruvian squad that reached quarter-finals in the 1936 Olympic Games.  He was Peru;'s first ever star player. He won the 1939 Copa America, a tournament in which he emerged as the top scorer and best players.  He is the second top scorer in the history for his country. Fernández played his entire career with  Universitario de Deportes, winning six times the Peruvian league. He was a super idol over there.

ST: Arsenio Erico (Paraguay)
Arsenio Erico is considered the best Paraguayan footballer of all time and one of the greatest ever to play in the Argentinian league..  He started his club career with Club Nacional of Paraguay in 1930, but better known for his career in Argentina. He is the all-time highest goalscorer in the Argentine first division, with 295 goals, all of them scored with Independiente between 1933 and 1946. He also played for Huracán. He was Alfredo Di Stefano's idol.  he never played for Paraguay in an official game, but unknown number of unofficial games.

Arsenio Erico

Honorable Mention
René Higuita (Colombia), Sergio Livngstone (Chile), Faryd Mondragón (Colombia), Juan Valdivieso (Peru), Mario Yepes (Colombia), Julio Meléndez (Peru), Antonio Valencia (Ecuador), Juan Guillermo Cuadrado (Colombia), Francisco Arce (Paraguay), Cesar Cueto (Peru), Julio Cesar Uribe (Peru),  Leonel Álvarez (Colombia), Manuel Fleitas Solich (Paraguay), Juan Arango (Venezuela), Alex Aguinaga (Ecuador), Juan Seminario (Peru), Ivan Zamorano(Chile) , James Rodriguez (Colombia), Leonel Sanchez (Chile), Marcelo Salas (Chile), Willington Ortiz (Colombia), Leonel Sanchez (Chile), Juan Arango (Venezuala),  Claudio Pizarro (Paraguay).

Squad Explanation 
 -- This is one of my earlier blog teams. After I did all-time teams for Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, I thought it would be difficult to continue with the other nations.  So I just created a big combined team for the rest of South America. In time, I feel that more players should be honoured.  So I created blog indivdual teams for Peru,  Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Ecuador

Bolivia and even Venezuela.  But I decided to keep this team.
-- Honestly, I do not like this team.  I preferred more specific teams, which I could look into more depth and details.  The region is too big and full of great players.  When I reexamined this team in 2019, I feel that my original team was poorly done. My honorable mention list was incomplete.   In November, 2023, I completely redid the team again after I updated every CONMEBOL teams.

-- Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay have won the Copa America 39 times in total.  The rest of South America only prevailed on 9 occasions.  Four of them did it as the host nation. Two of the remaining 5 winners won through a two-legged home and away finals series.  Paraguay won the 1953 edition through a single final match hosted by a neutral country.  Argentina did not enter the tournament that year.  In 2015, Chile won it in the United States.   

-- Paraguay, Chile and Peru each won the Copa America twice.  Venezuela was the only nation that never won the cup nor it ever qualified for the World Cup Finals.

-- It only happened four times in history that the Copa America final match was not contested by either Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay (1963, 1975, 1979 and 2001).  In 2001, none of the top three finishes came from the three countries.  Colombia won the tournament as host, but the second and third runner-ups came outside of CONMEBOL. They were Mexico and Honduras, and both were guest countries. Argentina withdrew that year due to terrorist threats.  

-- Peru has the largest representatives on this team with 8 players.  Except Juan Joya, all of them came from their Golden Generation between 1970 and 1982.  They are followed by Chile with 6 players.  I had no player from Venezuela.

Peru (8): Hector Chumpitaz, Nicolas Fuentes, Victor Benitez, Jose Velazquez, Hugo Sotil, Juan Joya, Teofilo Cubillas, Teodoro Fernández.  

Chile (6): Alexis Sanchez, Claudio Bravo, Luis Eyzaguirre, Elias Figueroa, Arturo Vidal,  Leonel Sanchez. 

Paraguay (4): Jose Luis Chilavert, Carlos Gamarra, Julio Cesar Romero, Arsenio Erico.  

Colombia (3): Oscar Cordoba, Ivan Cordoba, CarlosValderrama.

Bolivia (1): Marco Etcheverry.

Ecuador (1): Alberto Spencer.

 

-- Chile reached the semifinal of 1962 World Cup Finals as the host.  It was the region's most successful run in the World Cup Finals. Only Luis Eyzaguirre and Leonel Sanchez made this team.  I took three of their players from their back-to-back Copa America victories in 2015 and 2016.

-- Juan Joya played with Alberto Spencer for Penarol in the 1960's. 

Goalkeepers

-- I do not know if Jose Luis Chilavert (Paraguay) was the greatest South American goalkeeper of all-time, but his flamboyant style created an image of being the greatest ever.  Certainly, he was the greatest ever from Paraguay.  His free kicks turned him into the greatest goal scoring goalkeeper of all-time.  

-- René Higuita was also known for his flamboyant style. The world got to know about him at the 1990 World Cup Finals. He was listed as the 8th greatest goalkeeper of the 20th Century by IFFHS. However, even for Colombia, I believed that Oscar Cordoba or Faryd Mondragón might be better goalkeepers. With Boca Juniors, Cordoba  was the hero of the 2000 Copa Libertadores Final, where he saved two penalties in the shootout.  He also had 5 clean sheet at the 2001 Copa America as Colombia won their first title.  He later played with Beşiktaş when Mondragon was with Galatasaray.  The two of them played against each other in the Istanbul derby between the two clubs.  I selected Cordoba while putting both Higuita and Mondragon on honorable mentions.

Oscar Cordoba

-- In 2014, I selected Sergio Livingstone as one of the three goalkeepers.  He was often considered to be the greatest keeper in Chile's history. He was voted as the 9th best Latin American goalkeeper of the 20th Century. However, by 2023, I no longer felt that he was even number one for Chile. Among Latin American goalkeepers, Claudio Bravo had the most successful club career in Europe, which was rare for a goalkeeper from Chile. He was also the hero of two Copa America titles. So I included him on this team.  

-- Peru was at one point known for its goalkeepers.  It started with Jorge Pardon's impressive performance at the 1930 World Cup Finals and lasted until Rafael Asca in the early 1960's.  But I selected more modern goalkeepers. Juan Valdivieso only played 10 times for Peru, but he won two championships: the Bolivarian Games in 1938 and the Copa América 1939.  He was a legend of Alianza Lima and an absolute idol in his position.  He was not just Peru's greatest goalkeeper.  He was also one of Peru's greatest footballers.  But I put him on honorable mention.

Defenders

-- Elias Figueroa won South American Player of the Year three times in a row.  He was also voted 8th best South American and 37th best player in the world of the 20th Century by the IFFHS in 1999.  Héctor Chumpitaz was included on the list of 100 best footballers in the history of World Cup by FIFA in 2018.  He is also a member of the Historic Ideal Team of Copa América by CONMEBOL.  The two of them were probably two of the greatest defenders in the history of Latin America.

Héctor Chumpitaz

-- Ivan Cordoba (Colombia) had a glorious and long career playing at the top level in Europe.  He played for a decade in Inter Milan. He outshined the other names I came upon.

-- The fourth central defender was more difficult. Ecuador's Giovanny Espinoza and Ivan Hurtado together hold the international record for the longest unbroken pairing in the position of centre half (centerback) – they have played the last 65 games together, dating back to 1999.  But they were less famous than the ones I had selected. Mario Yepes (Colombia) would have been a better candidate.  But I narrowed the final choice to Julio Meléndez or Carlos Gamarra.  

-- Julio Meléndez was one of Boca Juniors greatest ever players.  On the international level, he formed a famous duo with Hector Chumpitaz, but he was overshadowed by him. Gamarra's club career in Europe actually did not stand out, but he was considered one of the best in the world by South American fans.  In the end, I took him over Melendez because he was Paraguay's most important defenders while Melendez's impact was overshadowed by other defenders from Peru.  

-- In 2014, I took Luis Eyzaguirre and Francisco Arce as my rightbacks.  Eyzaguirre was a hero at the 1962 World Cup Finals held at his home country where Chile reached the semi-final.  He was considered the best rightback of his time.  In 2023, I began to reconsider Francisco Arce. People outside of South America did not know of his reputation.   

-- Antonio Valencia was not going to get into this team as a right wing, but he had decent chances as a rightback.  In 2014, he had just switched to the rightback position so I did not considered him back then.  Juan Curadrado had a long career playing in Italy.  In the end, I decided to use Ivan Cordoba as the emergency rightback. Valencia and Cuadrado alongside Francisco Arce went to the Honorable mentions. 

-- The leftback position was very weak.  Nicolas Fuentes was my only possible candidate, and he was not as famous as his counterparts on the right.  I did not have another candidate worthy of an inclusion.  Cordoba who played as a leftback on rare occasion must have to take up the emergency role on this side as well.

Midfielders/Wingers

-- The central/defensive midfield position was weak.  There was not many choices.  Jose Velazquez (Peru) was undisputed.

-- In August, 2019, I added Artruo Vidal to the team.  After two Copa America victories, he deserved a place on the team.  He also proved himself by being an important player in a few of the biggest clubs in the world.  Then, in 2023, I added Víctor Benítez (Peru) to the team.  He played for clubs such as Boca Juniors, Roma and AC Milan in the 1950's and 1960's.  He won the 1962 European Cup with AC Milan, where he started the midfield alongside Giovanni Trapattoni.  For Peru, he played in the famous victory over England in 1959.

-- Leonel Álvarez solidified Colombia's midfield that enabled Carlos Valderrama to flourish throughout the 1990's.  But his club career did not shrine as well as others.  Vidal and Benitez played and contributed at the best clubs during their prime.

-- Then, I quickly selected Carlos Valderrama, Teofilo Cubillas, Julio Cesar Romero and Marco Etcheverry.  They were the best ever players from their respective countries. While there should not be any doubt about their selection, I did select them because I wanted to include the best players from each of those countries.  

-- While with Fluminense, Julio César Romero was selected as the South American Footballer of the Year at a time when many top South American footballers still remained playing over there.  He was one of Paraguay's greatest players. 

Julio Cesar Romero

-- Marco Etcheverry was the biggest surprise of the team.  Basically, I wanted to include a player from Bolivia and I also happened to be a fan of him.  Diversity was one of the main reason for his selection.   I should have also pick Juan Arango (Venezuela) for the same reason, but his club career was usually spent at clubs around the middle of the league table in La Liga and Bundesliga.  Since players from Ecuador were under represented,  Alex Aguinaga was also considered.  Unfortunately, the peak of his club career was spent in Mexico. Marco Etcheverry's crowning moment was probably beating Brazil in 1993.  It was Brazil's first defeat in a World Cup qualifier.  It was a historical moment in South America. That victory separated him from Arango and Aguinaga.  He had something dramatic and honorable to talk about in his career.  

-- Carlos Valderrama was selected as Colombia's Player of the Century in 1999.  No need to explain.  Teofilo Cubillas was one of the best ever players ever from South America.  Pele once considered him to be his heir apparent. He was voted as the best young player at the 1970 World Cup after obtaining the Bronze Boot. In 1978, he was elected into the All-Star team of the tournament and won the Silver Boot.  

-- I was a big fan of Peru in the 1970's and 1980's.  After taking Teófilo Cubillas and Jose Velazquez, I did not have room for Cesar Cueto and Julio Cesar Uribe.  Again, diversity became an issue.  I wanted to spread the team around. I added Hugo Sotil to the team because he could operate as a right-side wing forward.

-- James Rodriguez led Colombia to the 2014 World Cup quarterfinal and won the Golden boot, but his career fell apart at the club level after the World Cup Finals. He had not done enough to earn a spot.  As of 2023, his career never lived up to expectation.  Jairo Arboleda was considered, along with Carlos Valderrama, as the best Colombian creative midfielder in all of history, but people do not know about him outside of Latin America.  Both only made honorable mentions.

-- I only selected two wing-forwards as my wide player on the right.  Alexis Sanchez was one of the best players in the Premiership during his prime.  For his country, he was their second-most capped player and all-time top goalscorer. He led Chile to their first victory in a major tournament by winning the 2015 Copa América.  He again captained them to win the Copa América Centenario a year later, winning the Golden Ball for Best Player. Hugo Sotil was not a right wing, but he could be used as right wing forward.  His career in Barcelona made him an undisputed selection for this team even through he only had one stunning season over there.

Alexis Sanchez

-- I studied Willington Oritz. He was the greatest Colombian player before the emerge of Carlos Valderrama. He was not rated as high as Alexis because he never played club football outside of South America and he never played in a World Cup Finals. He was mainly a wing forward on the right.  I did not have enough space to take him.

-- On the left, Leonel Sanchez and Juan Joya might be the best ever left wingers from South America. Leonel Sanchez had many great moments in Chile's football history. His 40-yard strike in 1959 that forever changed the rivalry between Universidad de Chile and Colo Colo. His free-kick goal against Soviet keeper Lev Yashin at the 1962 World Cup Finals was legendary in Chile.  He won the Golden Boot title in the 1962 World Cup Finals.   In Peñarol, Juan Joya established himself as one of the greatest left wingers from South America.  Over there, he formed a legendary partnership with Ecuadorian Alberto Spencer.   

-- I also gave LWF Juan Seminario a serious consideration. While playing in Spain, Juan Seminario won the 1962 Pichichi Trophy.  He also scored a hattrick against England in as a famous upset win in 1959.  

Forwards

-- Arsenio Erico and Alberto Spencer were probably the greatest forwards on the team.  While playing club football in Argentina, Erico was offered to play for Argentina, but he refused. Spencer was rumoured to be in consideration for England because of his Jamaican roots.  Both would have been ineligible if they took a different turn in life. Spencer later did represent Uruguay, but he was an Ecuadoran through and through.

-- Arsenio Erico never played for Paraguay in an official game, but no one would doubt about his inclusion. Paraguay did not select foreign-based players during his prime.  His international "caps" came from matches played under a Red Cross touring team.  Since he was an uncapped player born in Paraguay, he would be considered eligible.  He is the all-time highest goalscorer in the Argentine first division, with 295 goals.  

-- Alberto Spencer was considered to be the greatest footballer from Ecuador.  He won three Libertadores Cups and two Intercontinental Cups with Uruguay's Penarol.  He was perhaps the only Ecuadoran footballer recognisable among history buffs outside of South America.  

Alberto Spencer

-- Teodoro Fernández and Peru were often credited to have beaten Austria in the 1936 Olympics. This Austrian team was not the same powerful Wunderteam of the 1934 World Cup. None of the players were on the 1934 team.  But I would not count it against Peru for winning a match, regardless of the opponent. I just simply pointed out facts.  Nevertheless, Peru was robbed of their victory. Austria went onward to win the silver medal.  So Peru was a good team, and it was an important historical moment for South American football.  Besides Peru's achievements at the 1936 Olympics, he also played well in the 1939 South American Championship. 

-- Radamel Falcao, Marcelo Salas, Ivan Zamorano and Claudio Pizarro were the other prime candidates for this team.  Alexis Sanchez and Hugo Sotil were also forwards.  So this team was not under strength.

-- Claudio Pizarro is the all-time leading foreign scorer in the Bundesliga history.  He was the first Peruvian to win the Champions' League.  No Peruvian ever has a better career in Europe.

Copa America 2016

Starting lineup 
Formation I: 4-2-3-1
I tried to recreate Peru of the 1970 with this team.  Although Peru did not use this formation, I brought their players who also have the same playmaking abilities.  I started two of the three Peruvian midfielders from Peru of the 1970.   My team also included Valderrama who was perhaps one of the greatest passers ever from South America, but I tried him on the left. I opted to start Alberto Spencer who was more of a classic #9.

Formation II: 4-3-3