Alianza Lima and the right to be happy: revenge with the Copa Libertadores and on the verge of being a finalist again

Only ten months have passed from the most disastrous afternoon for Alianza Lima in recent years. The days are different and the house looks much prettier now with the smiles of half the country. The intimate team enjoys a ‘re-founding’ after hitting bottom in 2020 with the relegation and sees how his name will be in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores and in an eventual final of League 1 against Sporting Cristal.

As Hernán Barcos made clear. “We did not return, we never left”. Alianza Lima has not stopped winning ‘matches’ this year. Since that confrontation with the FPF that reached the TAS so that Carlos Stein was sanctioned as it should be until the last victory against UTC that leaves it one point away from achieving Phase 2, with which he would dispute the final for the national title of League 1 against Cristal, as he already disputed the title in 2017 (without a final he won), 2018 and 2019. He may have a new rematch.

as a prize for competing in the contest, in addition to what can be generated by the box office depending on the pandemic -although this part is delicate due to the fertilizers that remained in the air in 2020 before the pandemic-.

But the international presence means that brands will once again see Alianza Lima as the giant that it is. If with the conditions that started the year, there were sponsors who bet on the intimate painting, now with the name in full swing, the negotiations can go in favor of the Victorian painting.

Alianza has changed from the humility of its men. It is a squad, it is a team, where the performance of the ‘Zorrito’ makes him not feel like a substitute and responds with goals when he has to be a starter -such as the first of the afternoon against UTC-, and the contribution of the sub-20s is a lot more to learn from the greats.

Alianza celebrates from the intelligence of Carlos Bustos and his squad to discover how to face the tournament that has already started, with a few days of preseason and without large signings, with the vast majority arriving before the TAS ruling that dictated the sanction Carlos Stein and condemned him to relegation.

of which two arrived only in July. That is, Alianza Lima began its 2021 project with nine reinforcements and eight players from the squad that suffered the relegation last year. Those nine players agreed to wear blue and white even though the plan at that time was to play League 2.

It is a new Alliance from the physical as well. Few seriously injured. Except for Miguel Cornejo who had to undergo surgery, there are no absences for physical reasons. Therefore, it is not strange that he scores in the final minutes. They run the whole game, still with ten men, and they sentence on the end.

And this has allowed Alianza not to carry out many rotations beyond those that it has had to resort to due to the Bag of Minutes. There are posts that are known by heart:

The line of 4 at the bottom disappeared to give more freedom of attack to the wingers like Lagos and Mora. He was empowered with Benítez in midfield, a player who does a bit of everything and does it well. With the line of three, under the command of Míguez, Alianza has gained security in its defense, so much so that it has only conceded 7 goals in fourteen games

Alianza Lima changed institutionally as well. Little is known almost nothing about the Blue and White Fund. They have stopped being media to leave things to those who really belong. Sports director José Bellina and coach Carlos Bustos are now the visible faces, with total discretion on the part of the former and great caution in the latter.

And this has been reflected in the identification that he has recovered with the fans. Although the fans never stop supporting the team, last year they were not satisfied with the actions of the club. Now, all the actions are well received, from marketing -selling merchandising, T-shirts- to monitoring the women’s team and the volleyball team.

It is a 180 degree turn for Alianza and they deserve it because joy belongs to them and they have the right to be happy, as their history dictates.