A big responsibility. The presentation of the Alianza Lima squad at the Blue and White Afternoon left some surprises. Alongside Carlos Zambrano’s official announcement, there was another episode that caught attention Jairo Concha bears the number “10”. The young midfielder famously kept the number after Jefferson Farfán retired from professional football. He was even encouraged to give details of what he had discussed with the “Foquita”.
“He left it to me (…). Last year we talked about it, he already knew a little bit about his retirement and if it happened he would leave it to me. I thanked him because it was a nice gesture was, especially for the quality of the player he is. It’s an honor to wear the ’10’ and I’ll do it responsibly,” he told Radio Ovación.
On the other hand, the 23-year-old took the result calmly in terms of his team-mates’ performance in the 2-1 win over Junior de Barranquilla, believing that the main goal is the Copa Libertadores.
“I save the functioning of the team, especially in the first half. We show what we want this year. We were compact in all our lines. Junior was a good rival to measure us against. We want to play a good role at Libertadores and I hope we can achieve that,” he said.
Next game of Alianza Lima
After their first presentation in Matute, the Intimates will play their second international match in Colombia: They meet Atlético Nacional de Medellín on Saturday, January 14th, from 6:00 p.m. (Peruvian time) in the so-called Verdolaga Night.
Alianza Lima 2023 squad
- archers: Angelo Campos, Franco Saravia, Italo Espinoza, Sebastián Amasifuen.
- defense: Yordi Vílchez, Pablo Míguez, Edinson Chávez, Santiago García, Joao Montoya, Ricardo Lagos, Gino Peruzzi, Carlos Zambrano.
- midfield player: Oswald Valenzuela, Jesus Castle, Paul Lavandeira, Jairo Concha, Jorge del Castile, Maurice Arrasco, Andres Andrade, Josepmir Ballon.
- striker: Christian Benavente, Bryan Reyna, Aldair Rodriguez, Franco Zanelatto, Oscar Pinto, Gabriel Costa, Juan Pablo Goicochea, Pablo Sabbag, Hernan Barcos.