Marked for Daniel Prieto
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Jul 2027
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 21 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Market5 Jul 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Alianza Atletico have done the hard part with Alianza Lima, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Match3 Jul 2027
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Alianza Atletico are no longer polite ones.
Match3 Jul 2027
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Anthony Gordillo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
No place for José Luján on the big day
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Alianza Atletico pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
4 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match2 Jun 2027
A 2‑1 win over Alianza Lima, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Market7 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match5 Jun 2027
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 93th minute. Deportivo Municipal will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Match2 Jun 2027
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Alianza Atletico scored in the 92th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.86, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market7 Jun 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and UTC waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Alianza Atletico is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Alianza Atletico may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Germán Díaz and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match29 May 2027
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match29 May 2027
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Alianza Atletico can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad31 May 2027
Carlos Cáceda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad31 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthony Gordillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings31 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout31 May 2027
The team sheet said everything about Jesús Mendieta
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Jesús Mendieta.
The dugout31 May 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout31 May 2027
Something was said to Stefano Fernández and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout31 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Daniel Prieto
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match15 May 2027
No end in sight to Alianza Atletico's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Alianza Atletico has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match15 May 2027
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad17 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthony Gordillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Alianza Atletico this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Marked 7.43 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Alianza Atletico had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout17 May 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Market17 May 2027
Daniel Prieto is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Alianza Atletico has been clear about where Daniel Prieto stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout17 May 2027
Eder Hermoza gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Apr 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anthony Gordillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Juan Quiñónez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Williams Guzmán, and the manager let it.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Kevin Aquino after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
A promise honoured for Ariel Muñoz
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Alianza Atletico told Ariel Muñoz something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Squad26 Apr 2027
One booking too many, and Germán Díaz sits out. Alianza Atletico lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
Juan Quiñónez has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Alianza Atletico will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Jan 2027
Anthony Gordillo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Juan Quiñónez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Daniel Prieto wants to know why he earns less
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Alianza Atletico have no good answer.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
José Luján and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market14 Dec 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Gianluca Mora has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market14 Dec 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Christian Cueva has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Román Suárez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market14 Dec 2026
Alianza Atletico have let the market know Cristian Penilla can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Eder Hermoza has seen what the next man earns
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Alianza Atletico that is a harder question to answer.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Nov 2026
Only the photograph left for Hernán Lupu
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hernán Lupu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Alianza Atletico the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Carlos Cáceda was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
José Luján gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Anthony Gordillo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Jesús Mendieta asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Sep 2026
Hernán Lupu has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Alianza Atletico they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Carlos Cáceda was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Román Suárez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Jesús Mendieta knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Alianza Atletico, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Market21 Sep 2026
3 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Alianza Atletico money.