No doubt that Hernán Barcos has won the hearts of the blanquiazul fans and several Peruvian soccer followers. His professionalism, dedication, quality, and charisma have made him an admired forward, especially with the championship won in 2021 with Alianza Lima after the club's sporting relegation in 2020.
However, the story could have been different, as the 'Pirate' almost ended up at none other than Universitario de Deportes, classic rival of the íntimos. This was revealed in an interview with Jesús Alzamora on his YouTube program called "La Banca" (The Bench).
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The Argentine revealed that, when he was in Brazil without a team, "first there was an inquiry from 'U', then came from Alianza". However, he commented that the coach Ángel Comizzo rejected him because "he had not played for a long time and because he was of advanced age". That decision by the then cream coach closed the possibility for him to wear the merengue jersey.
Hernán Barcos talks about his arrival at Alianza: "I had never played in the second division"
The attacker recalled that he analyzed the proposal from the íntimos, which involved playing in Liga 2 because the TAS ruling had not yet been released, as well as proposals from other clubs that contacted him. "I had the proposal from Alianza and some others. I had never played in the second division in my career. With Palmeiras we were relegated, but I didn't play," he commented.
Hernán Barcos is the top scorer for Alianza Lima. Photo: Alianza Lima
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"I talked to my wife. I told her: 'It's a challenge. Imagine a club like Alianza Lima, being able to bring them back to the first division is entering the history of Alianza,'" he narrated. Finally, Barcos and his partner decided to come to Peru.
"I talked to Carlos (Bustos), he told me that there wasn't much money, but I told him I wanted to play. I talked to José Bellina and we resolved everything in a week," he said.