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The two-time champions
In the list of Alianza Lima players who were part of the 2021 and 2022 campaigns, there are ten players: Ángelo Campos, Franco Saravia, Yordi Vílchez, Pablo Míguez, Ricardo Lagos, Josepmir Ballón, Jairo Concha, Oswaldo Valenzuela, Aldair Rodríguez and Hernán Barcos.
Of these ten players, seven are expected to start in the match this Saturday for the first leg against Universitario at the Monumental stadium: Campos, Vílchez, Lagos, Ballón, Concha, Rodríguez, and Barcos. In case Vílchez does not start as a central defender alongside Carlos Zambrano, Míguez would do it, therefore the number remains the same.
That is to say, seven out of eleven players who take to the field with the intimate team are players who have been playing for three consecutive seasons, they handle the locker room, and they already know what it is like to play in the final stages. All of them are also essential for coach Mauricio Larriera in all areas of the intimate team, so the sports project of keeping certain players has been successful, despite some signings that turned out to be low-performing or failed to secure a place in the starting eleven.
The clearest example of how influential this longevity is is Hernán Barcos, who has been the top scorer and star of Alianza Lima for three consecutive years. In the current season, the 39-year-old 'Pirate' has scored 17 goals and provided six assists, despite not starting the year as the starting '9' of the team; however, in the face of Pablo Sabbag's injuries, he responded remarkably well to the task of scoring.
Another particular case is Jairo Concha, a player who started the year as the third option to be the creative midfielder of the team behind the signing of Andrés Andrade and later Christian Cueva. However, the current '10' of the intimate team secured the position in the starting eleven due to the injury of the 'Rifle' and a 'Sorcerer' who did not show his best version. As in the previous two years, although further from the goal, Concha is a key player in Larriera's team.
In the case of Yordi Vílchez, the defender was not part of the entire 2021 season due to a injury. But he quickly adapted to the team and by 2022 he was an undisputed central defender. However, this year Carlos Zambrano was signed and a foreign player spot was used by Santiago García, who became the starting defender during part of this campaign until he suffered an injury that has left Vílchez as a companion to the 'Kaiser' in the defense. On the other hand, Pablo Míguez, when he has had to enter the starting lineup urgently, has also responded decisively to the point that, for this Saturday, one of the doubts revolves around that position on the field.
In the goal, Ángelo Campos was chosen as the best goalkeeper in 2021 and 2022. This season, he has once again been able to protect the goal of the blanquiazul team to the point that Alianza Lima has conceded the fewest goals so far this season and, in the Clausura Tournament, he has only conceded six goals. The 'Mono' is also one of the leaders inside the intimate locker room, just like Josepmir Ballón, who in addition to being the captain for three consecutive seasons, is also an undisputed starter who usually plays the full 90 minutes.
As for Ricardo Lagos, the left-back did not have a natural replacement this season that was signed and he secured the position as he did three seasons ago. On the other hand, for Aldair Rodríguez, his alternation has also been due to the number of options in the right winger position, as he competes with Franco Zanelatto, Gabriel Costa, or even Jairo Concha when he has been placed in that sector of the field.
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