Vlora FC is excited to announce Christian Pérez as the new head coach of our UPSL Premier men’s team for the 2025 season.
In his first media session with Vlora, Pérez voiced his commitment to giving the club, staff, and fans a season to remember with good play, strong goals, and an embracing of the club’s culture and identity.
“Those that follow Vlora and those that work with the club should expect us to do a job with this team this season,” Pérez said. “We’re going to be prepared technically and tactically. We’re going to take advantage of the multi-cultural environment at the club. We want to play good football. … We’re going to go to win each game and we know that the most important thing is not how we start, but how we finish.”
Pérez is a FPF FIFA-CONMEBOL A coaching license holder from Lima, Peru. His professional playing career saw him play for multiple second division clubs in Peru, including Guardia Republicana, Alcides Vigo, and Deportivo Zúñiga. All three clubs experienced success in the second division through the 1990’s and both Alcides Viga and Deportivo Zúñiga have remained active in recent years.
Pérez worked professionally as a coach in Peru prior to coming to the United States, coaching Club Deportivo Comerciantes Unidos and Sports Boys SA in Peru.
Vlora’s history of competitive performances in the UPSL helped get the club on Pérez’s radar. He was intrigued by the club’s history of diversity on and off the pitch.
“I heard about Vlora through its history in the UPSL. It’s a club that has a long history here. I liked the diversity at Vlora and that the club mixed players from many different backgrounds. That is a perfect combination for football.”
The dynamics of Vlora’s roster, featuring many players looking to develop at the semi-professional level, provides an exciting mission for Pérez, who has a history of working with players moving between levels of the beautiful game.
“I always liked the challenge of going from youth to semi-professional to professional. I wanted to challenge myself and also help players learn how to reach that next level,” he said. “I want to help a club at this level reach that next level and help the players understand that next level tactically, culturally.”
Pérez will be a new face to the UPSL, but he has already begun working on familiarizing himself with the league’s other members and top competitors.
“There are a lot of teams in this league that have history and that are respectable like St. Croix, TwinStars, 18×26 just to name a few,” Pérez explained. “We know the division has changed a little bit this season and we’re working with Adi to strengthen the team so we can compete for this division and also make a run at the national level.”
Keep an eye out this season as head coach Christian Pérez and the Vlora UPSL Premier men’s team look to add more success to Vlora’s history this spring and summer.
