 He competed for the Peru national football team at the 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cup, and obtained a total number of 31 caps for his native country, scoring three goals, in the years 1978 to 1983.Leguía began playing football in his native Peru with Club Universitario de Deportes and moved to Europe in 1983.He joined Segunda División side Elche CF, helping the club gain promotion to La Liga in his first season, but the club were relegated at the end of the 1984–85 season.