How do you explain Sporting Cristal’s leadership and where does the strength of the main Apertura candidate lie? | REPORT

Five consecutive wins, 11 wins in 14 games this year and taking first place in the Apertura Tournament with 31 points has a solid explanation. To delve deeper into the anatomy of its current success, we spoke with two figures closely linked to Rime sentiment. Julio César Uribe and Amilton Prado, authorized voices to analyze the performance of Enderson Moreira’s team so far this season, help us better understand the fundamental principles of this leadership that, due to performance and fixture, seems headed for the title.

The beginning of a new beginning

Let’s go to the beginning of everything. On November 11 of last year, three days after Universitario de Deportes achieved its 27th star after beating Alianza Lima 2-0 in Matute, Sporting Cristal announced on social networks – and with some regret – the departure of Tiago Nunes, coach who had built a feeling especially with the fans. The Brazilian managed to connect with the light blues emotionally and football-wise, because there was confidence in his career and his way of working. But at the time of the final evaluation and beyond the impression that the team left internationally (it competed in the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana), the cold numbers worked against it: Cristal added its third consecutive year without winning the national title. The coach left and it was up to the sports area to make urgent decisions.

The Brazilian school in Rímac

After the departure of Tiago Nunes and before the arrival of Enderson Moreira, Sporting Cristal was convinced to maintain the Brazilian school in the technical direction. Nunes’ recent move left positive things and they looked for a coach with a similar profile. Likewise, they kept players who were pillars of the team and from there the construction of the new team began. “They have made specific adjustments on a basis that they have respected and they have a coach who, like every Brazilian, feels football like we Peruvians feel it: play well to win. (Moreira) is playing well and is winning, that’s what he counts.”explains Julio César Uribe, former soccer player and idol of the celestial team.

The success was in sustaining the idea beyond the interpreters.

The ‘Diamante’ considers that Moreira is doing a good job and his Cristal has all the arguments to sustain what he has advanced to date. “The team is showing that it is the best at the moment and has everything to finish first (in the Apertura). They depend on them. In two weeks there will be the final with the ‘U’ to find out who is the champion. I see capabilities and they are at the level of what the institution means”says the World Cup winner and four-time national champion with Sporting Cristal.

For his part, Amilton Prado, former soccer player and national champion with Cristal in 2005, considers that above Moreira’s nationality is the coach’s ability to give a plus to a squad that was already known. “In history we have had José Luis Carbone, who came in 96; Paulo Autuori, who became champion with Cristal; Last year Tiago Nunes arrived and this year there is Enderson Moreira. So, I think that beyond nationality is what they can contribute. “Everyone who came is doing pretty well.”assures the former right back.

Sporting Cristal and the art of signing

It is not a football match that defines a championship, but each team risks part of the success of its season in the transfer market prior to the start of League 1 I Bet You. Hiring well has become an art that many attempt and few manage to master. Following that line, Sporting Cristal has been betting on the latter in the last two years. In 2023, the sports area was right with the hiring of Ignácio Da Silva, because he was the only foreigner who renewed and stayed (Nicolás Pasquini has a current contract). And this 2024 he doubled the success with the signings of Martín Cauteruccio and Santiago González.

• The foreigners of Moreira

In his first nine games with Sporting Cristal, Cauteruccio scored 17 goals and has already surpassed the mark of the last ‘9’ that the Rimese team had. Brazilian Brenner Marlos scored 15 goals in 42 appearances, a record that cost him blood, sweat and tears last season. But the Uruguayan made it look quite easy: in addition to his scoring quota, he has four hat-tricks and two doubles with the light blues. At 37 years old, ‘Caute’ is living a second youth, he has found his place in the world and it is a matter of time before he wins the title again. “He has brought in a totally different scorer who not only waits to be served, but also scores the pass. In front of the goal it is a guaranteed goal. It’s the best I’ve seen so far.”maintains Uribe.

The same impression is caused by the performance of González, who has become a key player in Cristal de Moreira. The Argentine was present in 100% of the light blue team’s possible matches this season. And not only that, he also scored four goals and four assists in that period. On the right, he is a gravitational player. “This boy González is a very good player. Along with Cauteruccio and Ignácio, they are national team players. Cristal has incorporated, after his good foundation, what he was missing. And there are the results”says the ‘Diamond’.

But getting the signings right also has to do with the coach’s ability to get the best out of his team. The figures of Cauteruccio, González and Ignácio stand out for the good performance of the team, which combines the experience of Yoshimar Yotún and the mischief of Joao Grimaldo on the court. “(Yoshimar) is a national team player, a World Cup player and maintains an excellent level of consistency. He transmits everything that a player identified with the institution that helped you consolidate should transmit. I see a Crystal very compact, very balanced when he attacks, also when he is attacked. “Everyone is doing their thing, they play well”points out Uribe.

Likewise, Prado highlights the solidity that the team has managed to build in all its lines: “In the middle we have a mature Yotún, with experience and a good long pass. Behind us we have a quite experienced defense with Ignácio. Upstairs, Cauteruccio was injured and González does the route. And Grimaldo is the different one who scores goals. So, you see a compact team and that strengthens you on any court.” The former soccer player assures that achieving this is a consequence of the planning of the technical command and the professionalism of the soccer player to bring out all his conditions.

The Copa Libertadores factor

While Sporting Cristal is the leader of the Apertura Tournament with 31 points and has the first option to win this competition with five dates remaining, perhaps the pain from the early elimination from the Copa Libertadores is still latent. It is rare for fans to watch Universitario and Alianza Lima matches in international competition, because they are used to their team being the protagonist of unforgettable nights. But things happened like this: the light blue team could not overcome Phase 2 against Always Ready and focused all their concentration on taking over the Apertura.

Indirectly, this situation can favor them. With Universitario and Alianza Lima trying to maintain their qualification chances in the Libertadores and, at the same time, fighting in the Apertura, Sporting Cristal is focused on a single tournament, without distractions from the series of matches or worries about the physical wear and tear of its team. squad. That advantage is important in the final stage of the local competition and Moreira’s team knows it, but it does not decide the winner. “It is a situation that no one is looking for. Each one with their reality tries to achieve distinction. In the world of competition, you go game after game, so that when you score the score, the sum favors you.”says Julius Caesar.

In this instance, the determining factor to achieve success will be the size of each team’s roster and the management capacity of the technical command. It is evident that Cristal does not have the concern that Universitario does; but the creams have been able to show consistency in both tournaments. “They have quite a few games in a row. He is giving priority to the two championships with a squad that is enough to play both tournaments […] Cristal is doing what he has to do: focused on the championship and facing each game like a final”explains Prado.

• What remains for Cristal, Universitario and Alianza Lima in the Apertura

According to the calendar, Sporting Cristal depends on itself to win the Apertura; Universitario bets everything on the direct match against the celestials on date 15 at the Monumental; and Alianza Lima needs a miracle to dream of the title. Melgar also appears in fourth place in the standings (23 points), although with fewer options. And although the difference between rimenses and creams is only one point, the La Florida team has a more favorable outlook: it will only rise to the level of Cajamarca on the last date; while his main guard will have to visit Tarma and Cusco, in addition to the games against Junior and Botafogo in mid-May. All of this plays a key role in defining the tournament.

“I see a more united group, a group that runs, that contributes and is supportive. And that is good, because it allows them to be in the first places, knowing that they have the ‘U’ behind them. We have to play with them, so the championship will be fought until the last date”Prado points out, about what will be that final stretch of the Apertura. Thus, Cristal has known how to overcome the difficulties along the way and rely on planning to get here. The light blue team is the favorite to win the first tournament of the season and only then will it take another step towards the goal of recovering the throne of Peruvian soccer.