The Intimate Band, the first official bar in women’s football and the support of an Alliance that continues to make history

They met in Matute. But not in the popular south where they went countless times. Nor in a first team game. The first time they met was on the auxiliary field of the Blue and White stadium and in a women’s team match. Out of curiosity to go see women’s football and out of love and identity for clubfive “tribuneros” -said to be the fan who has his temple in the stadium that he always attends- got together without knowing that on August 16, 2019 they would form “La Banda Íntima”, the first official supporter of a women’s team in Peru , and that they would be on a Saturday afternoon, from the South, together with hundreds of other fans, cheering and shouting each one of the eleven goals he scored Alianza Lima (11-1) to Atlético Trujillo for the Women’s League.

Those directed by Samir Mendoza, and current champions, played for the first time in their stadium. Another historical episode for them. And it was before more than three thousand people who decided that going to encourage them was the best Saturday plan. If the “tribuneros” were in the south stand, in the west Rosa Castro’s father celebrated the first of the two goals scored by the side with tears in his eyes while he shouted proudly. She also cried on the field because she had never scored a goal with alliance.

Alianza Lima thrashed and each goal had a different celebration, as if the players had prepared a whole repertoire so that the fans would not be overwhelmed with so many celebrations. Of the little train after the first goal of Neydi Romero -the Venezuelan, one of the best in the tournament, scored a double- that reminded the celebration of the title of 97 to the euphoria of Sandy Gilder -also scored twice- hanging on the mesh that separates the court from the popular south, the place where “La Banda Íntima” was.

“After that first match in which we went, we made an appointment for the next date. We had to put more encouragement because we noticed that the girls played more enthusiastically and put more effort into it with the bar on the side, so we decided to invite more people. The next game was in Chorrillos, at the New Camp La Academia. That day we brought a couple of instruments (a lefty and a snare drum) and we started to cheer. We were six and we didn’t stop singing the 90 minutes. We won and the girls came to thank us, we took pictures. That’s where the bond with the players began”one of the founders tells us before explaining that the name was born in a restaurant that they went to after the game and named it .

“We have always sought to promote women’s football”, add another. If on Saturday, after the goals, and with the help of the voice of the stadium, the more than three thousand fans who attended Matute shouted the last name of the authors of the goals, it is also because of them. For them, who decided to give due importance to the women’s team, and for their relatives who never stopped supporting them. For those who have always been there and for those who join, at Alianza Lima’s house it was demonstrated, once again, that soccer players have ceased to be invisible and ignored; today they are recognized and idols of a hobby that did not hesitate, for example, to make a long queue and wait many minutes for a selfie with Miryan Tristán, the blue and white attacker who is recovering from an injury and was in one of the boxes.

“Do you remember the 2019 classic at Campo Mar?”asks one of the members to another. “Wow, what a day!”answer back. “What happens is that the public was not allowed there. At first they said yes, but then no. So when we arrived we talked with the fans of the ‘U’ to avoid confrontations, we told them that we only saw to accompany the team. So we didn’t encourage, we were just present. They, of course, knew they were not alone. ”, they tell us after we ask what happened. They were also part of the fight.

A historic journey and everything that came after

More than 3 thousand kilometers from Lima, in the Paraguayan capital of Asunción, Women’s Lima Alliance made history in November of last year by reaching the quarterfinals in the Copa Libertadores. But they were not alone. Members of “La Banda Intima” arrived there on a 75-hour journey by bus that was told in a unmissable chronicle of DT El Comercio.

“One of the things I remember most about that trip was the four-hour walk on the Paraguay border while we waited for a trailer or car to pull us through”, recalls one of the travelers. narrates another.

The more than 3 thousand kilometers were never an impediment. Neither is the lack of financial resources. They held raffles, sold things, and even spent their savings. A backpack, some necessary clothes and nothing else. “We practically ate on the bus. Cookie and soda was our breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack. Only in Paraguay did we eat well, but that never mattered, really”we had been told before.

The journey began in Lima with a bus trip to Desaguadero, a city on the border with Bolivia. After a brief rest, they left for La Paz, the Bolivian capital, then to Santa Cruz. Until that moment, the friends united by the colors blue and white, had counted 52 hours of travel.

Villamontes, a city in southeastern Bolivia, was the next stop before reaching the border between the highland country and Paraguay. Mariscal was the first Guarani town in which the Peruvians were. The last seven hours by bus, the sixth they took, before arriving in Asunción, the final destination, flew by. In total it was about 75 hours (3 days and 3 hours) of travel. It is not known if they managed to break any records, but they must be part of the blue and white history.

Later came other deeds that must be remembered, like the trip to Trujillo for the women’s team. It was the first trip to the province for the champions and when they arrived in the north of the country they found a banner and a reception never seen before. “We always coordinate with the groups in each area or neighborhood. We try to make the party for everyone and that families also come to the stadium”.

“La Banda Íntima” went from having five members to being more than 40. Dedicated one hundred percent to women’s soccer, to encouraging the players in each game -whether it is played in San Marcos or Matute- and contributing to the fight in search of professionalization. If Alianza Lima today is one of the institutions that gives the most value to its soccer players, it is also because five “tribuneros” decided to always accompany them.