Preteen makes pro debut

• by Soccer America , Jul 21, 2009

[SOUTH AMERICA] Mauricio Baldivieso, a few days shy of his 13th birthday, played the last nine minutes for Aurora in a 1-0 loss to La Paz in the Bolivian first division, making him the youngest player to make a pro debut in South America.

Peruvian Fernando Garcia, who was nearly 14 when he debuted in 2001, is believed to have been the youngest previously.

Baldivieso is the son of Aurora coach Julio Cesar Baldivieso, a midfielder on Bolivia's 1994 World Cup midfielder

"I'm very proud, he's got a lot of talent," said Coach Baldivieso, who was incensed that the referee didn't caution defender Henry Alaca, whose fouls on Mauricio Baldivieso left the boy in tears.