Melgar: The Lion of the South destroyed Cristal and is about to close the most glorious year in its history | CHRONICLE

Nothing scares this Melgar. Nothing can make this ‘Lion of the South’ go back. Not even a National Stadium painted almost entirely light blue. much less a Sporting Cristal emboldened by the encouragement of its people. Because behind him he is protected by the claws of Carlos Cáceda and the security of Alec Deneumostier, and up front are Bernardo Cuesta and Luis Iberico, his scorers with a feline nose who don’t hesitate for a single second in front of the goal.

The Argentine and the Peruvian. The center forward and the end with a goal. The two were authors of the goals with which the ‘Domino’ defeated Cristal 2-0 to classify the final of League 1 2022 in which they will face Alianza Lima. Even year? That also did not intimidate the Arequipa team that a few months ago just knocked down powerful men from the Continent such as Avellaneda Racing Club and Inter Porto Alegreboth on international terrain, on soil where Peruvian teams have grown accustomed to defeat.

And if the team is like that, its fans too. In the middle of a gallery full of rimenses t-shirts, a man with his Melgar polo shirt celebrates without fear of reprisals a goal by the team he loves. He came from Arequipa to see his Melgar and there he is being happy in the midst of sad and upset faces, I am in the midst of insults and rudeness. Because football, beyond the result, is also respect. And that is applauded.

led by Pablo Lavallen, the Argentine who beat depression and became an evangelical Christian; The people of Arequipa seem to have recovered their memory after wandering in the last two months in League 1 between defeats (5), draws (3) and some joys (4). They took advantage of the height -beyond the locality- in the first leg and sentenced the Lima soil to return to a national final after six years, claiming a sort of revenge against the same rival that won them the title in 2016.

The base of the finisher starts it Carlos Caceda in the bow One of the heroes of all of Peru in Quito, back in 2017 that we won for the first time in that city for the Qualifiers. His, and his great saves to keep zero in the two games against Rimenses, is also this pass to the final.

And in front of Carlos is Alec Deneumostier, the central defender who could have signed for Cristal in 2018 but decided to move to Arequipa. The same one who missed the first leg semifinal due to suspension, but who in the second leg showed why he is the undisputed starter.

in the middle is Horacio Orzan, the Argentine who decided to give his life to Christ and reads the Bible at home, but in the field puts his own commandments. With 34 years behind him and his career in soccer in his country, Uruguay and Ecuador; the steering wheel marks, plays and orders. He combs some gray hair from the experience and that takes him to the grass.

Melgar It is sustained by three beasts and erupts at the top thanks to its scorers: Iberian Y Cost. Luis, a ‘9’ converted to a winger with a goal -something that is sought, but few have-, was the most decisive of the key. , the Argentine who arrived in Arequipa in 2012 ready to conquer it.

The ‘Domino’ is in the final and also in the group stage of the next Libertadores Cup. That is to say, the club that this year showed the downtrodden Peruvian soccer that it is possible to compete abroad, secured three million dollars.

“Black beast”?

Worn out by 180 minutes -and added to- of maximum intensity? Yes.

But today, with Monday’s newspaper, the page of the semifinals turns. The horizon shows Alianza Lima del ‘Chicho’ Salas as his next and last rival, his “black beast”.

The coach faced them twice -in 2020 and this year, both in Lima and as an interim- and emerged victorious. First 4-0 and then 2-0. Of course, a final is a completely different story and Melgar will seek to write his own.

With the security of Carlos Caceda in the arch, the temple of the central defense composed of Deneumostier Y Galeanothe hierarchy of the Argentine Horacio Orzan in the middle and the scoring nose of Cost and Iberian; the ‘Lion of the South’ wants to roar louder than ever until the Misti explodes and crowned champion for the third time in its history.

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