Stop being coleros and an economic aid: How to leave the traumas of the Cup and survive at the international level | ANALYSIS

Since 2010, Alianza and Universitario have not played a Libertadores group stage simultaneously and, coincidentally, that year was the last time that both qualified for the round of 16 of the continental competition.

The cream challenge, Peruvian soccer champion, is to once again be the protagonist in this contest. His last major international presence was in 2011, when he reached the quarterfinals of the Sudamericana. Then, at the Libertadores level, in the last ten editions they have only played the group stage twice (2014 and 2021) and in both of them they were bottom of the key.

When it seemed like a good draw, with LDU and Junior, from pot 4 came Botafogo, the only Brazilian in that bracket. Despite this, the group seems not so tough for the national champion, although they will have to play at the altitude of Quito to face the Sudamericana champion and play in Brazilian territory, in addition to the heat of Barranquilla.

For Alianza, the participation has been more continuous, but just as traumatic. Fortunately, last year they managed to end the bad streak of 30 games without winning (they beat Libertad 2-1 in Asunción), but in their last five appearances in the group stage, they have all been the bottom. This time he will return to Brazil to face the current champion (Fluminense) and Paraguay (Cerro) and will visit his brothers from Colo Colo.

Advancing to the second round is something that has not happened for a Peruvian since Real Garcilaso (today Cusco FC) in 2013, and it is the great challenge for any Peruvian in the Libertadores. However, following the path of the Sudamericana is also good and to do so they must be third in their group, something that Melgar (2019) and Cristal (2019, 2021, 2023) have achieved in recent years.

And the economic issue is the other big factor that forces clubs to think about victory in the group stage. In addition to the three million dollar prize they receive for participating in this instance, there is an extra prize of 330 thousand dollars for each victory. Needless to say, qualifying for the round of 16, with more than a million prize money.

The Guerrero factor for Vallejo and the height for Garcilaso.

“The other half of the glory”, Conmebol calls it and although in the sporting field it does not reach the ceiling of a Libertadores, the Sudamericana is respectful because there are some renowned clubs, in this edition such as Boca Juniors, Racing and Corinthians, and for the money it grants, not bad for the second and third order teams in each country.

After the keys between Peruvians, Universidad César Vallejo (beat Huancayo) and Deportivo Garcilaso (eliminated ADT) are the national representatives and their ceiling is undoubtedly the semifinals that Melgar reached in 2022.

For Vallejo, the obligation is maximum, not only because of the investment it has made in its squad, since the arrival of Paolo Guerrero and players like Cristian Benavente, José Carvallo and Josepmir Ballón, but also because it has had three years of consecutive international participation without success. In the Libertadores 2021 and 2022, they were eliminated in Phase 1, and last year, in the Sudamericana, they reached the group stage (they left out Binacional), but were last in a group that had Deportivo Magallanes, a Chilean club that was only playing its second international tournament in its history.

Vallejo has already secured the 900 thousand dollars prize for playing the group stage and has the chance to add 110 thousand dollars for each victory he achieves and not to mention if he manages to advance, with half a million more if he goes to the playoff (second in the group) or 600 a thousand dollars to be the leader and go directly to the round of 16.

Meanwhile, this is the first international participation for Garcilaso, who must take advantage of his local status in Cusco against rivals who are from the plain. Of course, this year he has played five games in the navel of the world with only one victory, two draws and two losses. In addition to losing at the height of Cajamarca.

Meanwhile, in other groups Boca de Advíncula will face Fortaleza, Potosí and Trinidense. Bryan Reyna’s Belgrano against Inter, Delfín and Tomayapo. And the U. Católica of Ecuador, with Kevin Quevedo, against Cruzeiro, La Calera and Alianza FC.

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