Melgar de Arequipa was proclaimed champion of the Apertura tournament by drawing against Alianza Atlético in Sullana. A provincial team climbed to the top again Peruvian soccer. This led to a lot of comments in favor of the regional teams doing better every day. In fact, neither Alianza Lima, Universitario nor Sporting Cristal lived up to that definition with a chance of becoming champions, but the other contender for the title was Sport Huancayo.
For this reason we bring a census of the provincial cadres that have been declared champions in recent years.
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Atlético Gray – 2019 Bicentennial Cup and 2020 Super Cup
Atlético Grau was the big surprise of 2019 when they were named champion of the Bicentennial Cup in the second division. The teams led by Wilmar Valencia went straight into action, eliminating Sporting Cristal on penalties in the quarter-finals and repeating the formula in the final against favorites Sport Huancayo.
With personalities such as Jonathan Acasiete, goalkeeper Máximo Rabines or goalscorer Ronald Huaccha, the Whites made the people of Piura happy and months later they achieved an even greater feat by beating Binacional, the previous year’s League 1 champions, with a win 3-0, this time under the command of Pablo Zegarra and personalities such as Colombians Jefferson Collazos and Cristian Lasso.
Atlético Grau was the big surprise of 2019 when they were named champion of the Bicentennial Cup. Photo: League 1
Deportivo Binational – League 1 2019
2019 was a year in which the Provincials took power in Peruvian football as Deportivo Binacional were crowned League 1 champions for the first time in their history after beating Alianza Lima 4-3 on aggregate and 4-1 in Puno had beaten and lost 2-0 in Matute. The mighty of the south turned the 3,824-meter Juliaca into an impregnable fortress, although they also knew how to get visit points.
Javier Arce was the architect of the Apertura title but he left due to management issues and Roberto Mosquera capped the feat by taking the Clausura and defeating the Intimates in the Grand Finals. The Puno side featured personalities such as Andy Polar, top scorer Aldair Rodríguez, Colombian Donald Millán and Juan Pablo Vergara, who died in a car accident days before the final.
Deportivo Binacional were crowned League 1 champions for the first time in their history. Photo: League 1
Melgar – League 1 2015 and Summer Tournament 2017
Melgar is by far the best team in the province in recent years. His most recent Apertura title is no coincidence, as in 2015 he was crowned national champion by Juan Máximo Reynoso for the second time in his history. The championship definition against Sporting Cristal was stunning and ended with a great header from Bernardo Cuesta at the last minute. In addition to the Argentine, this team had figures such as Johnnier Montaño, Alexis ‘Chaca’ Arias, Omar Fernández and Ysrael ‘Cachete’ Zuñiga.
El Domino continued his successes and was crowned with the same squad base in the 2017 summer tournament after beating UTC on penalties.
Melgar is by far the best team in the province in recent years. Photo: Andes
Césa Vallejo – Inca Tournament 2015
César Vallejo won his only first division title in history in 2015. Franco Navarro’s leaders defeated Alianza Lima in a stunning final, the most exciting point of which was the goal from Víctor Cedrón, who screamed the second goal in anger for leaving the blue and white team months ago after being attacked by the fans . This poetic team included personalities such as Dónald Millán, Luis Cardoza, Rinaldo Cruzado and Ronald Quinteros.
César Vallejo won his only first division title in history in 2015. Photo: Andes
Juan Aurich – Premier League 2011
Juan Aurich broke the 22-year drought since the last provincial team became champions of Peru’s First Division. During these years, Edwin Oviedo transformed Ciclón del Norte into a “Dream Team” that touched the sky under the technical direction of Diego Umaña and high-profile players such as Ricardo Ciciliano, Luis “El Pana” Tejada, Diego Penny, Reimond Manco and Luis. Cuto’ Guadalupe.
The Chiclayo team played a stunning three-legged final against Alianza Lima, overcoming a 2-1 home loss with a 1-0 win in Matute. Also, it forced an extra game at the Nacional in which it won on penalties. At the end of that game, “Cuto” made one of the most famous statements in the history of Peruvian football as he awarded the title to “la fe”.
Juan Aurich broke the 22-year drought since the last provincial team became champions of Peru’s First Division. Photo: Andes