Néstor Lorenzo said goodbye to FBC Melgar through the front door. He will lead the Colombian team. He leaves the team as champion of the Apertura tournament, with qualification for the 2023 Copa Libertadores and a chance to advance further to the Copa Sudamericana quarter-finals.
It’s the first time Lorenzo has managed a professional club. The red and black diver was donned in the 2021 campaign and was part of 2022. It was you 61 gamesscored 38 wins, 13 draws and 10 losses.
Since taking over the technical direction of FBC Melgar in January 2021, Néstor Lorenzo has been supporting the youth. In several press conferences, in addition to praise for his players, he also called for the reactivation of the reserve championship and support for smaller tournaments. His voice has only been heard this year and the talents of national football are now in competition.
YOU CAN SEE: Luis Iberico, the striker who won the Peru youth team and is shining in Melgar today
“Working with minors is not an expense, it is an investment,” he said. He led by example, promoting and consolidating players like Alec Deneumostier, Matías Lazo, Kenjy Cabrera, Paolo Reyna, Walter Tandazo, Jefferson Cáceres, Diego Rodríguez, Bruno Portugal in the Copa Sudamericana and in Liga 1. “For me, he was like a father whom I thank for his teachings and the opportunity,” Lazo told La República.
Lorenzo, a former Argentina international in the 1990s, assisted José Pekerman in the Colombia national team. With the coffee farmers, he qualified for the world championships in Brazil and Russia. The Melgarian board hired him to lead the team for two years. He had to complete his first experience as head of the technical command at the end of 2022, but accepted Colombia’s proposal to lead this team with a view to the 2026 World Cup.
The debut with the Melgarian diver took place on March 13, 2021 at the Alberto Gallardo Stadium. It was a 1-1 draw against Universitario de Deportes. This year, due to the pandemic, the championship was only held in Lima. Then followed an erratic campaign of resounding triumphs and unexpected falls. There were also draws that tasted of defeat. In Stage 2 of the tournament, they beat Alianza Sullana 3-0, separating them 3-3 in the final minutes. A clear 6-0 win against San Martín in the same tournament is also remembered.
Despite the fact that Néstor Lorenzo claimed to have a good squad to also play in the Copa Sudamericana, the series of games and the alternative line-up for League 1 challenged him Hit the gas pedal to qualify for the 2022 Copa Sudamericana.The defeat to Universitario on the last matchday prevented him from participating in the Copa Libertadores.
Lorenzo knew how to find an eleven base where Bordacahar, Orzán and Cuesta stood out. In addition, Reyna, Lazo, and Deneumostier began to stand out. They finished second in their group at the South American Cup. Important victories will be remembered in Lima against Metropolitanos of Venezuela and against Aucas of Ecuador and Paranaense of Brazil. Ironically, the team from Rio de Janeiro became champions of this tournament at the end of the year. At the Bicentennial Cup, they retired half a year after falling against Carlos Mannucci de Trujillo.
By 2022, decentralized championship returned. Nestor Lorenzo expressed his delight at playing in Arequipa. It was suggested that no truce be granted to the rivals. The board kept ninety percent of the squad and strengthened it with the Argentinians Martín Pérez Guedes and Leonel Galeano.
YOU CAN SEE: Barra de FBC Melgar raised the name of Arequipa in Colombia
With fans pouring from the stands of the Monumental Arequipa stadium, FBC Melgar had an impeccable campaign and were crowned with the Apertura championship with a draw against Alianza Sullana. The Rojinegros won this tournament with 41 points, undefeated in Arequipa and with a chance of reaching the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana.
They beat Carlos Mannucci, Alianza Lima, Carlos, Stein, UCVallejo, Cienciano, ADT de Tarma, Universitario and Atlético Grau in Arequipa. As if that wasn’t enough, goalkeepers Jorge Cabezudo and Carlos Cáceda kept their goal to zero. Melgar also won important away matches against Academia Cantolao, Deportivo Municipal, Deportivo Binacional, Ayacucho FC, Sport Boys and Alianza Sullana. Sporting Cristal drew in Lima.
Possibly Lorenzo’s most critical moment came when he lost as a guest to Sport Huancayo, to UTC in Cajamarca and to San Martín in Lima. This latest fall came just after the loss to Brazil’s Cuiabá in the Copa Sudamericana. Fans began asking for his head, unaware that an impressive cascade of triumphs would follow.
After the defeat in Brazil, the red-blacks rose incredibly in the cup. They beat Uruguay’s River Plate in Arequipa and Montevideo and broke Racing de Argentina’s thirteen-game unbeaten record with a 3-1 win at UNSA. They lost 1-0 in Avellaneda and won the second leg against Cuiabá 3-1.
The miracle happened. River Plate defeated Racing in Argentina to allow FBC Melgar to qualify first in Group B for the Copa Sudamericana Round of 16. They drew level with the Albicelestes on 12 points, but pulled off the feat by two goals. Today it is the best Peruvian club, the only one that continues in international competition.
Lorenzo was very reluctant to arrive in Colombia. When asked about this new phase, he embarrassed said that “he wouldn’t talk about it”. However, before restarting the Peruvian Championship for the playoffs, he was officially presented and posed with the coffee shirt. The club calmed down and announced that they would stay in Arequipa until the game against Deportivo Cali on July 6.
Lorenzo leaves unexpectedly but through the big door, leaving Melgar in the 2023 Copa Libertadores and with a chance to continue making history in the Copa Sudamericana.
League 1 Tournament 2021 (Phase 1)
| date 1 | university 1 | FBC Melgar 1 |
|---|---|---|
| date 2 | FBC Melgar 0 | Ayacucho FC 0 |
| date 3 | FBC Melgar 3 | Cantolao Academy 0 |
| date 4 | UTC 3 | FBC Melgar 1 |
| date 5 | FBC Melgar 2 | USA San Martin 0 |
| date 6 | Sport binational 1 | FBC Melgar 1 |
| date 7 | FBC Melgar 1 | sports association 3 |
| date 8 | Carlo Manucci2 | FBC Melgar 1 |
| date 9 | FBC Melgar 3 | Science #0 |
League 1 Tournament 2021 (Phase 2)
| date 1 | FBC Melgar 3 | Sports Huancayo 0 |
|---|---|---|
| date 2 | U. Cesar Vallejo 1 | FBC Melgar 1 |
| date 3 | Sport binational 1 | FBC Melgar 5 |
| date 4 | FBC Melgar 2 | FC Cuzco 2 |
| date 5 | FBC Melgar 3 | Alliance University 0 |
| date 6 | sports association 3 | FBC Melgar 3 |
| date 7 | FBC Melgar 0 | UTC1 |
| date 8 | Carlo Manucci1 | FBC Melgar 2 |
| date 9 | FBC Melgar 0 | Sporty crystal 1 |
| date 10 | Science #0 | FBC Melgar 1 |
| date 11 | FBC Melgar 1 | Ayacucho FC 1 |
| date 12 | Alliance Lima 1 | FBC Melgar 0 |
| date 13 | FBC Melgar 1 | sports boys 0 |
| date 14 | Cantolao Academy 0 | FBC Melgar 2 |
| date 15 | FBC Melgar 6 | U. San Martin 0 |
| date 16 | Community sport 1 | FBC Melgar 3 |
| date 17 | FBC Melgar 1 | university 2 |
Bicentenary Cup
| FBC Melgar 1 | Carlos Mannucci2T |
|---|
South American Cup 2021
| Carlo Manucci1 | FBC Melgar 2 |
|---|---|
| FBC Melgar 3 | Carlo Manucci2 |
| Metropolitans (Coming) 2 | FBC Melgar 3 |
| Metropolitans (Coming) 2 | FBC Melgar 3 |
| FBC Melgar 2 | Aucas (ECU) 0 |
| FBC Melgar 1 | A.Paranaense (Bra) 0 |
| Aucas (ECU) 2 | FBC Melgar 1 |
| A.Paranaense (Bra) 1 | FBC Melgar 0 |
| FBC Melgar 0 | metropolis 0 |
opening tournament
| date 1 | FBC Melgar 1 | Carlo Manucci0 |
|---|---|---|
| date 2 | Sporty crystal 2 | FBC Melgar 2 |
| date 3 | Sports Huancayo 3 | FBC Melgar 0 |
| date 4 | Rest | |
| date 5 | UTC 3 | FBC Melgar 1 |
| date 6 | FBC Melgar 1 | Alliance Lima 0 |
| date 7 | 0 | FBC Melgar 1 |
| date 8 | FBC Melgar 3 | Karl Stein 0 |
| date 9 | Saint Martin 2 | FBC Melgar 0 |
| date 10 | FBC Melgar 1 | UC Vallejo 0 |
| date 11 | Municipal Department 1 | FBC Melgar 3 |
| date 12 | FBC Melgar 1 | Science #0 |
| date 13 | Sport binational 0 | FBC Melgar 1 |
| date 14 | FBC Melgar 3 | Tarma ADT 0 |
| date 15 | Ayacucho FC 0 | FBC Melgar 1 |
| date 16 | FBC Melgar 2 | university 0 |
| date 17 | sports boys 0 | FBC Melgar 1 |
| date 18 | FBC Melgar 1 | Atlético Gray 0 |
| date 19 | Sullana Alliance 0 | FBC Melgar 0 |
South American Cup
| Science #1 | FBC Melgar 1 |
|---|---|
| FBC Melgar 1 | Science #0 |
| Cuiaba (BH) 2 | FBC Melgar 0 |
| FBC Melgar 2 | River Plate (Uru) 0 |
| FBC Melgar 3 | Race (Arg) 1 |
| River Plate (Uru) 1 | FBC Melgar 2 |
| Race (Arg) 1 | FBC Melgar 0 |
| FBC Melgar 3 | Cuiaba (BH) 1 |
| FBC Melgar 0 | Deportivo Cali (Col) 0 |