Lima Alliance His optimism about this good start to the season was dashed by the 2-1 defeat by Libertad in the Copa Libertadores. Despite this, Guillermo Salas’ team is nowhere near able to crown themselves as champions of the Apertura tournament. Although not everyone was expecting the big break in the first division, there have been several reinforcements and players who have stayed with the club since the pre-season, whose names raised great expectations of being the undisputed starters. This gained even more weight with the two tournaments that the club would be hosting at the same time.
However, some of them didn’t have the prominence that Alianza fans expected before the start of the season. Even after injuries like Andrés Andrade “Chicho” Salas’ recent one, they haven’t given them many opportunities to add minutes. While not a ‘blur’ like Nilson Loyola and Johan Madrid at Sporting Cristal, their lack of appearances in the Copa Libertadores is an example of this relegation.
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Who are the Alianza Lima players who lost ownership in 2023?
The two Alianza footballers who have lost possession so far in 2023 are attacking players: Jairo Concha and Gabriel Costa. The former player from San Martín is a two-time champion with the club and had already established himself as undisputed since the 2021 Clausura tournament. Given his usual position, it was to be expected that he would face more competition against the signings of Andrés Andrade and Christian Cueva.
Gabriel Costa’s case is ‘newer’ in the sense that he has just played two games as a substitute and has not added any League 1 minutes in the last two Alianza games (win over Municipal and loss to Melgar). In a direct comparison, Costa started more games in the domestic tournament, but played almost the same number of minutes.
Gabriel Costa and Jairo Concha have played regularly in Liga 1 but not in the Copa Libertadores. Photo: GLR
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Looking at the stats of both, both Concha and Costa are in the starting XI in most League 1 games. However, the acid test is the Copa Libertadores as it is the most complicated and priority between the two tournaments. Andrade, Cueva (once) and Marco Aldair Rodríguez were better than both at international level: Concha didn’t add a single minute and Costa remained on the bench in two games.
The Alianza Lima players who continued to be relegated
In addition to the two mentioned, there are other Alianza Lima players who were expected to add more minutes or simply weren’t accounted for by Guillermo Salas. Some instances, such as the substitution of Hernán Barcos, came after Pablo Sabbag had signed. Nevertheless, the “pirate” has responded with four goals as a substitute. Pablo Lavandeira, undisputed in 2022, has also been relegated.
Christian Cueva, who was one of the most significant reinforcements in League 1, is significantly further behind. “Aladdin” wasn’t in the best of physical shape, he was sent off once and didn’t show any outstanding performances. Without counting the younger players with little experience, Edinson Chávez and Oswaldo Valenzuela have played little. Both started in Arequipa but Chávez hasn’t played much despite Peruzzi’s injury and Valenzuela have few chances against the hegemony of Josepmir Ballón and Jesús Castillo in the middle.
For many, Edinson Chávez was Alianza Lima’s most unexpected signing of 2023. Photo: GLR archives