“They understand that if they want to fight in the Cup, they must be organized in defense”: Bustos and Restrepo, two tacticians who put the ‘U’ and Alianza to compete in the Libertadores

The ‘U’ will visit Junior in Barranquilla, Colombia, in search of making history. The meringues have won at least once in eight of the nine South American countries they visited for the Cup, only the coffee-growing nation is missing. For their part, those close to them want to relive, this Wednesday against Cerro Porteño, the feat achieved last year in Paraguay: they beat Libertad 2-1 with goals from Pablo Sabbag and Aldair Rodríguez.

The paths are separate. One in Colombia, the other in Paraguay. But the objective is the same: to achieve a good result – read victory or draw – on a visit to the Cup, something extremely difficult for Peruvian teams.

“We did not think about going to Barranquilla for a draw”declared Edison Flores, merengue attacker. “It is important to go to Paraguay and express our idea, compete as the team is getting used to”said Alejandro Restrepo, Alliance coach. The illusion is intact, but are there reasons to get excited? The answer – however optimistic it may be – is yes. And it is argued from the substitute bench: the coaches, both Fabián Bustos and Restrepo, have shown that they are up to the task of the Cup in their debut, now they will look for more.

analyzes Adrián Cabrejos, from the remembered page “Embajadores Criollos”, specialized in following up on Peruvians abroad until recently.

In the slate duel, so important in today’s football, the compadres have somewhere to lean on to dream of fighting in the Cup. Both with the 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 as their main idea, they will seek to return to Peru with the satisfaction of a good result after hard work.

Bustos: without ‘9’ in the area and with a ‘biting’ midfield

If there is a word that defines Fabián Bustos as a coach it is: pragmatic. Like his brother Carlos – champion with Alianza Lima in 2021 -, the Argentine usually points out that he “accommodates” to what he finds in a team. That aspect is what he liked in the Universitario leadership when hiring him. The Argentine arrived and did not touch the 3-5-2 left by Fossati, the 2023 champion coach. He respected the process and was only in charge of fine-tuning some things to translate his idea with which he became champion of Ecuador twice and reached the semifinals of the Libertadores with Barcelona from Guayaquil.

From the base of the champion ‘U’ the line of three central defenders continues (Corzo, Riveros and Di Benedetto), Andy Polo, Ureña, Pérez Guedes and Flores. Only the goalkeeper entered Britos, Portocarrero, Christofer Gonzales (today injured) and Jose Rivera. ‘Tunche’ has such a good presence after scoring a double against LDU in the Cup debut that it is almost impossible – for now – for him to leave the starting eleven.

The novelty against the Ecuadorians was that Bustos decided to play without a ‘9’ in the area. He left Diego Dorregaray on the bench and used Rivera as a companion for Edison Flores. The two have played as a winger or second forward and gave greater mobility to the cream attack, meaning that the center backs do not have a reference to score. The diagonals of ‘Tunche’ and the retreat of ‘Orejas’ were fundamental to generate the attacks.

This Tuesday, in Barranquilla, Bustos will only make one change. Jorge Murrugarra will enter in place of the injured Gonzales. ‘Murru’, a defensive midfielder, would act as an interior on the left, while Pérez Guedes will act on the right. The coach is looking for a fighting, physical midfielder, with a lot of defensive cutting to counteract the attacks of the Colombians. Up top, the Flores-Rivera duo will continue although two nines like Valera and Dorregaray will be on the bench, while in defense everything remains the same with Britos in goal; Corzo, Riveros and Saravia in the line of three. Polo and Portocarrero, two wingers with a lot of back and forth, would complete the starting eleven.

Restrepo found the base team

“Restrepo arrived with the background of a Deportivo Pereira team that prioritized order before anything else”explains Cabrejos. The Colombian, considered a promise of the new breed of dedicated Colombian technicians, initially had a hard time finding his base eleven, but he seems to have found it. With Zambrano as the absolute leader of the back three, Rodríguez as the first pass in the midfielder and Serna as an unbalancing piece in attack as a second forward (he started as a wingback on the right); Alianza accumulates three consecutive games without losing with two victories (3-0 against Chankas and 4-0 against Mannucci, and a goalless draw against Fluminense).

Restrepo is not only holding the team’s hand, but he has found a new way to reach the goal: set pieces. , The coach pointed out after the last victory against the Trujillo team in which the first and second goals came that way.

Rodríguez is a ’10’ who acts as the first pass for Alianza and is also in charge of all free kicks or corners. His good footing helps the coach to work on the centers with tall players like Ramos (1.89 meters), Freytes (1.87), Zambrano (1.85), Garcés (1.82) and Waterman (1.80). Today, Alianza has the ability to do damage with play, with the rise of the wingers or Serna’s imbalance, and with set-piece strategies.