The fanatic who gave himself a personal museum on the legacy of Teófilo Cubillas for Christmas

Collector, Sagittarius but above all, fan of Lima Alliance, Miguel Ángel Melgar is one of those silent characters that exist in social networks under a cloak of mysticism: he seems to have been in all the legendary chapters of his team, when he was just a child or even beyond, before his parents fell in love . But he is real. He is the gift of ubiquity. In his Facebook profile photo, he appears wearing a Brazilian Penalty T-shirt, which is just a nod to the anthology that he keeps in his public account on the same social network, called without euphemisms, Alianza Lima Miguel Melgar Collection.

On his WhatsApp he is even more aliancista: Miguel Ángel Melgar has an original Los Potrillos t-shirt, those stamps that are invoked in Matute every December.

But before this hobby/job/obsession, Melgar was a child: at the age of 11, old coins and bills caught his attention. numismatics. In those years, the 80s, the intis only served as a toy for Monopoly. Later, when he had a tip, he started the collection of cds and vinyl. “You are born a collector”, he says, like someone who has been chosen by God. With that faith.

—How did your love of t-shirts start? Is it a hobby? Hobbie? Job?

—In 2010 I made the decision to undertake this adventure. And it was the good performance of Alianza in the Copa Libertadores that year that ended up deciding me. Before that, he was like another fan who bought his shirt from a store every year. I’d say at this point it’s all three. It was born from my love of Alianza Lima, its history, its historical players, its colors. At the beginning it was a hobby that I enjoyed in my spare time but I quickly felt the need to dedicate more time to get each shirt, to preserve it, to investigate about it, its origin, who it belonged to, what party it was from, what material it was done

“An obsession?”

“I think so, heh. When impressive t-shirts that are true jewels begin to arrive, a madness begins that has accompanied me for the last 12 years. And in fact it became a parallel job because of the time I dedicate to it and also because in that eagerness to look for jerseys out there that are always repeated or from other teams that I can easily negotiate and obtain a return on, either to finance other jerseys of Alliance or for example to go out to lunch with my family at a good restaurant.

***

In his house in San Juan de Miraflores, he has conditioned, like someone who is going to receive some designer pieces, enough shelves to place the 450 Alliance shirts that complete his private collection. It is a bit of an inheritance from his studies at the disciplined FAP Manuel Polo Jiménez school, as well as from the rigors of his current job, Seaboard Overseas Perú SA

—What are your five most beloved pieces?

—Look, for now I leave it in only four pieces. I always leave open the possibility of getting some very special shirts that with patience will surely arrive.

—How did you get them?

—I would say that the first place goes to a Player from 1969-1972, a linen shirt with a white number, which belonged to Luis Ivaldi, a Paraguayan who played in Alianza Lima in those years. I got the shirt in 2016 thanks to an Olimpia collector friend. I remember that morning I was at work. From time to time I checked Facebook to see what was up. That morning I found a message accompanied by some photos of the shirt. They had gotten it from this player along with jerseys from other teams where he had also played. Obviously after that I could no longer work in peace, I dropped everything and quickly began to investigate on my own about the player and the shirt. I had never clearly seen such a shirt, only in blurry photos in old magazines or on the Internet. They were days of negotiations where anything could happen, but in the end we reached an agreement and made it concrete.

Second place goes to the 1987 long-sleeved Puma (actually Andean-made). I got that through another collector friend in Brazil earlier this year. I also had to repatriate it. She had belonged to Arturo Guadalupe, one of the 7 survivors of the Fokker tragedy. One of the 7 who for various reasons did not travel and were saved. It was a dream and a personal satisfaction to get that Puma shirt for everything that represents my generation. A generation marked by the tragedy of Los Potrillos.

Third place goes to the Alternate Marathon of Copa Libertadores 2010. The famous crusade. Because it was the first with which it all started. The first of the collection. It is a long sleeve number 10 that was prepared to be used in the first match of the Cup against Bolívar. It was never used because they went out to play with short sleeves. It belonged to Alexander Wally Sánchez and getting it was my first challenge. I worked in San Isidro, for the Camino Real Shopping Center. A few months earlier they had opened an exclusive sports store a block from my work. Every day I passed by to go to the office. That morning, however, something was out of the ordinary. Inside the store there was a t-shirt on display, forcing me to stop and stare at it. From that moment I decided to have it. In the afternoon at lunch time I ran to the store. And there was the shirt on a mannequin. It was not for sale. There was no way they could sell it because it had been loaned to the store for display by someone close to the Club. The next day I went back again to try to buy it but nothing. But the third time was the charm. That day I arrived at the store taking advantage of lunch time and there was only one salesperson. That’s where my first negotiation began. The seller explained to me —once again— that it was impossible for them to sell it, so I told him in any case how much such a shirt could cost. He gave me a figure and in one I put the ticket on the table. He looked at me in amazement, he was looking at the bills, he didn’t know what to do, but I had already planted doubt in him. At that time he called the Store Manager Antonio Bernal (who later became my friend) to consult him about the possibility of the sale, but Nextel did not respond to pineapples. Then I went back to the attack, I gave the seller the money in his hands and ready I took the shirt. I did not return or approach the store for several days. Later I found out that the owner had shouted to heaven when he found out that the shirt had been sold, hahaha.

, when the sea of ​​Ventanilla was still taking out the bodies of several players. It was a double that was played in Matute to raise funds for the relatives of those who died in the accident. Looking at that shirt reminds us of that long minute of silence before the game but also hope, the rebirth of the team in those circumstances. and it belonged to the player Jorge Cordero who came from Unión Huaral to reinforce the team. It was thanks to my friend Peter Egacila, a renowned collector, who gave me the shirt a few years ago.

Miguel Ángel Melgar refers to the clothing that Theophilus Cubillas got to bring for Lima Alliance, to the days of the Fokker tragedy. Similar models were used for his official farewell to football, on April 16, 1986 (1).

Collectors are the modern curators of history. In this case, soccer.

(1) The international stars who, under the name Rest of America, played against Alianza Lima in that friendly match were Roberto Cóndor Rojas (Chile), P. Murray (USA), Elías Figueroa (Chile), Atilio Ancheta (Uruguay), Carlos Loco Enrique (Argentina), Marco Antonio (Brazil), Paulo César (Brazil), Juan Ramón Carrasco (Uruguay), Gil (Brazil), Carlos Caszely (Chile), Jorge Villazán (Uruguay), Substitutes: Pedro Antonio Zape (Colombia ), Víctor Hurtado Ladrón de Guevara (Peru), Rino Giordano (Argentina), Juan Carlos Cabanillas (Peru). The technician was Waldir Pereyra, Didí.

***

Four years earlier, explains the Arkiv Peru site, “Nike shoes were officially launched on the market, when they began to be sold in the Sears, Far West, Roller West and Oechsle chains and stores.” Nike, name of the goddess of victory in Greek mythology, chose the most successful soccer player born in these lands and the neighborhood that best summarized its meaning, to make its massive premiere, nationwide.

Three pieces from Miguel Ángel Melgar’s personal selection can be seen on the shelves where his collection rests today: the red goalkeeper shirt with light trim, the white concentration jumper and the blue and white game jacket, which they wore that night against Independiente , among others, José Caíco Gonzáles Ganoza, Jaime Duarte, José Casanova, Franco Navarro, Luis Escobar and none other than the Captain of America, Héctor Chumpitaz. The shirt, with the Nike brand on the right of the chest, the AeroPerú logo on the arms, and the inscription Nene with the date in English —April 16, 1986— is one of those strange objects that explains the religiosity of the people. Like UFO sightings, they have to be seen to believe that life outside of Earth is also possible.

—How can we see your new museum?

—The museum is a project that was given to the extent of the need to care for and preserve the t-shirts. And also when the issue of space became a problem. Due to the number of shirts I have, about 450, I had them in drawers or suitcases, therefore they were not well stored and a suitable place was required. Fortunately, this year I was able to fulfill my dream by implementing this space where the t-shirts can finally be preserved, appreciated and shared. The museum is located in my house, in San Juan de Miraflores, and you can visit it whenever you like. It’s a matter of coordinating the day, the time and that’s it.

A Christmas gift for Alliance members.