Alianza Lima was crowned winner of the Clausura Tournament and qualified for the final to fight for the title of the Liga 1. However, not everything is joy in La Victoria. During the match against ADT, winger Arley Rodríguez received his third yellow card and was suspended for the first final, which will be played on November 9th.
Given this situation, coach Guillermo Salas will have to look for a substitute for the Colombian footballer, who had been an undisputed starter in 'Memo's' scheme. While there are experienced names on paper to replace this absence, in practice they are a little far from being able to play a match at this level.
Arley Rodríguez is in his second season as a white and blue player. Photo: Alianza Lima/Facebook
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Who would replace Arley Rodríguez?
Two of the names that are mentioned are Cristian Benavente and Jefferson Farfán, who have already played in this position. However, the 'Chaval' is still injured and apparently would not make it to this match. While the 'Foquita' has not played many minutes throughout the season, so playing more than 45 minutes would be almost impossible.
Therefore, the candidate to take his place would be Aldair Rodríguez, who has already worked in this position in Carlos Bustos' era. However, this would depend on whether forward Hernán Barcos recovers from his injury, as if he does not, the former Binacional player would occupy the '9' position.
Another possibility is Óscar Pinto, who has been a substitute in 'Memo' Salas' scheme. The 20-year-old has played 10 matches this season and provided three assists.
Óscar Pinto joined Alianza Lima in 2020. Photo: LR composition/diffusion/Alianza Lima
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Similarly, Ecuadorian Darlin Leiton could be another novelty to replace Arley Rodríguez. The former Independiente del Valle player has only participated in 10 matches in 2022 and provided one assist.
Guillermo Salas still has two weeks to decide the name that will replace Arley Rodríguez on the right side.