Christian Cueva: a rushed debut or a title that can be very expensive? | OPINION

Christian Cueva’s face speaks not only of the bad luck that a clash took him out of the first game as a starter in Alianza Lima, it also raises the first question: was it necessary for him to take a place in the initial team?

Cueva appeared in the starting team of Alianza Lima this Sunday against Atlético Grau at the Municipal Stadium of Bernal, in Piura. The midfielder took over from Andrés Andrade to stand behind Pablo Sabbag in the intimate attack.

His first play was a long through ball that Franco Zanelatto was never going to get to. And the second was barely in the 4th minute of play with a strong clash with Jeremy Rostaing that cost the Alliance player a yellow card. And not only that, his knee was felt by it.

Three minutes later, a foul on him sent him to the floor. And there he felt more the discomfort that the first shock left him. He tried stepping, running. but he only held out until minute 20. Lavandeira entered his place.

The magnitude of Cueva’s injury is not yet known, but his first steps with Alianza Lima have been bad. He entered against Sport Huancayo and did not gravitate in the defeat last Sunday. Now he started against Grau, but the blow took him off the field.

On Tuesday, March 7, Christian Cueva did his first training session with Alianza Lima. On Saturday the 11th he was presented to the public in Matute prior to the game against Cusco FC. On that date, Guillermo Salas said something that today returns to the minds of the alliance members.

“Christian Cueva was the last to arrive on the squad and we are doing physical conditioning so that he will be fit in a couple of weeks,” said the coach after the victory over the cusqueños.

The concrete thing is that Alianza did not wait two weeks for Cueva. On Sunday, March 19, he played 20 minutes in the height of Huancayo and on the 26th he started the game as a starter in the heat of Piura. That is to say, according to Salas’s plans, this Sunday he had to be fit.

We are not saying that Christian Cueva has not been prepared to start, Guillermo Salas knows that better than anyone. In fact, according to his plan, it was for this weekend that he should already be fit.

However, as is known, Alianza Lima has a large squad to take Christian Cueva little by little, who had not had professional activity since December 30, with Al Fateh from Saudi Arabia. Although the midfielder had been working individually during the first months of the year, working with soccer is different.

Andrés Andrade, Pablo Lavandeira and Jairo Concha himself are the options to occupy the position where Cueva moves, behind the striker thrown to the left. But Chicho Salas decided that Christian go from the start with just three weeks of training with the signing.

“His knee hurts”, was the message that the Alianza doctor gave to the Liga 1 Max pitch reporter during the broadcast of the match. He with difficulty he walked to the locker room.

cave vs. Grau

• 21 minutes
• 7 touches
• 4 successful passes of five
• 2 of three duels won
• 1 lost possession

Alianza has suffered from injuries in recent days. Gino Peruzzi and Bryan Reyna have been absent, despite the fact that Reyna appears on the bench in Piura. In the match in Bernal, Cueva was joined by Yordy Vílchez, who had a fall that complicated his knee.

The first week of April begins the Copa Libertadores and it is expected that the blow suffered by Christian Cueva will not be significant so that he can be from the start of the continental tournament. In a week and a half, the intimates must go out onto the field to erase the losing streak of 29 games without winning.

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