Alianza Lima announced with great enthusiasm the signing of Mauricio Larriera as their new coach, with whom they will fight with all their might to achieve the long-awaited three consecutive championships this season either directly or by disputing a national final.
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The Uruguayan coach arrives at the victorian team with a good reputation after a great career at Peñarol, where he was until the end of 2022 and won the league in 2020. However, some blanquiazules supporters have not highlighted this, but rather a moment where they were harmed by their new coach in a Copa Libertadores.
For this reason, some users on social media have gone back to the 2010 edition of the most important tournament in South American football, specifically in the second leg of the round of 16 against the University of Chile. Larriera was assistant coach to Gerardo Pelusso in the Chilean team and was involved in a controversial play that led to the elimination of Alianza Lima from the tournament.
It turns out that in the last play, Felipe Seymour took a long-distance shot that ended in a goal, but the linesman disallowed it due to interference from two players blocking the vision of the victorian goalkeeper. That's where Pelusso and Larriera vehemently protested to Ecuadorian referee Carlos Vera. The pressure was crucial for the goal to be allowed and for the victorian team to be eliminated.
Larriera will have his chance to redeem himself with the fans
13 years have passed since that episode, and the 'charrúa' will have the opportunity to make the Alianza Lima fans forget about this moment. The only way to achieve this will be by winning the national title for the club.
Larriera did not suffer the same fate as Pelusso
Gerardo Pelusso was heavily criticized by Alianza Lima fans after what happened in 2010, to the point that then-president Guillermo Alarcón declared him persona non grata in the institution. "We are outraged by what he did. This is unforgivable. From now on, Alianza Lima has nothing to do with this gentleman (Gerardo Pelusso). He is no longer welcome; he is a persona non grata," he said in an interview with Líbero. Luckily for him, Mauricio Larriera did not suffer the same fate as his compatriot.