Orlando City SC has acquired Peruvian national team goalkeeper Pedro Gallese on a permanent transfer ahead of the 2020 Major League Soccer campaign. Gallese will be added to the Lions roster using Targeted Allocation Money.
“We are very excited to welcome Pedro to our roster. He is a proven goalkeeper at both the club and international levels with World Cup experience on his resume,” Orlando City EVP of Soccer Operations Luiz Muzzi said. “His track record speaks for itself and we are thrilled to add his presence to our roster ahead of this season.”
Gallese, 29, has totaled 62 appearances for the Peruvian National Team, beginning with his senior debut on August 6, 2014 in a friendly against Panama. Since joining the national team, he has played in two Copa América tournaments, serving as an instrumental part of Peru reaching the nation’s first Copa América final in 44 years this past summer.
In 2018, Gallese made his FIFA World Cup debut in Los Incas’ match against Denmark, Peru’s first World Cup match in 36 years, and would go on to play the entirety of each of Peru’s three matches throughout the tournament.
The goalkeeper joins the Lions following a 2019 loan stint with Alianza Lima of Peru. In his lone season with the club, Gallese totaled 25 appearances with two clean sheets. Prior to going on loan, he spent three seasons with former Liga MX side Veracruz beginning in 2016, where he appeared in 52 matches and tallied 10 shutouts.
The Lima native began his professional career in 2008 for Universidad San Martín after joining the club’s academy the previous year. He would go on to register 56 caps and 13 clean sheets for San Martín before departing the club following the 2014 season. While with the Peruvian side, he went on loan to Atlético Minero for the 2009 season, where he appeared in 16 matches.
Following his time with San Martín, Gallese joined fellow Peruvian side Juan Aurich in 2015. In nearly two seasons with the club, he recorded 58 appearances and 17 shutouts while making his Copa Libertadores debut in his first year.