Lima Alliance He has been successful with most of his signings since 2021 after the disastrous previous year. This was reflected in obtaining two domestic titles and a very good result in both Liga 1 and Copa Libertadores 2023. Apart from the reinforcements from abroad, Alianza have signed several players from the Universidad San Martín, a club with which they have already partnered. Regular loaning of players has become common in recent seasons.
San Martín hasn’t had the budget of its heyday for a while and as a result has opted to field players from its smaller divisions, young foreigners just beginning to emerge and generally have a sparse roster . Nonetheless, the Saints have made their contribution with some young and prolific footballers despite not running a notable campaign for many years. Meet those signed by Alianza Lima back then.
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Frank Zanelato
For Alianza Lima fans today, Franco Zanelatto is probably the one who stands out the most from the entire list. The 23-year-old Paraguayan winger was San Martín’s revelation of the 2020 season and was instrumental in helping the team achieve their most saving season on time. Alianza hired him in 2022 and loaned him out to Alianza Atlético, where he always played and had a huge impact on the team’s goals.
Zanelatto did not return to Alianza as an undisputed starter, but his performance, with goals against Atlético Grau and Cienciano and good individual performances, raised high expectations among fans. He missed a couple of games through injury but added minutes again in the 3-0 win over Mannucci.
Franco Zanelatto is not the undisputed starter of the Alianza Lima, but he has shown outstanding performances so far this season. Photo: GLR archives
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Jairo Concha
Jairo Concha is also 23 years old but belongs to the 1999 category and has more than 150 games in the first division. Since making his pro debut in 2017, Concha showed more continuity in 2018 and quickly became uncontroversial for the team. He took part in the 2019 South America U20 national team and was among the best in San Martín in 2020 along with Jordan Guivin and Yamir Oliva, who went on to play with him in Alianza.
Alianza Lima bought Concha de San Martín in early 2020 but loaned him out this season. The young Peruvian midfielder returned in 2021 with a runner-up mentality, eventually becoming a regular and national champion. He also repeated the court in 2022, but for this year he has lost some of his prominence with the arrival of Andrés Andrade: although he has almost always played in League 1, Concha has no minutes in Libertadores.
Jairo Concha is in his third season at Alianza Lima. Photo: GLR archives
Oscar Pinto
Trained in the smaller divisions at San Martín, the young winger progressed through the reserves and made his first-team debut on June 30, 2019, aged just 17. Curiously, he scored his first and only goal as a professional on the same day, coming on for Jordan Guivin in the 80th minute and equalizing Los Caimanes 2-2 in the 93rd minute. However, Óscar Pinto added very few minutes in two years with the San Martín professional team.
As with Concha, Alianza bought it in 2020 and loaned it out to the Saints for the entire season. Pinto returned for 2021 and since then he has only had some regularity as a second-half substitute in the 2022 Clausura. Given the stiff competition that reigns in the current blue-and-white squad, the 21-year-old striker has only made 30 appearances played ‘ so far of the year.
Óscar Pinto didn’t have many opportunities to play for Alianza Lima. Photo: GLR archives