Club Alianza Lima

Alianza Lima
Full nameClub Alianza Lima
Nickname(s)Los Blanquiazules (The Blue and Whites)
El Equipo del Pueblo (The people’s team)
Founded15 February 1901; 123 years ago (1901-02-15) (as Sport Alianza)
GroundEstadio Alejandro Villanueva
Capacity33,938[1]
OwnerJosé Manuel Sabogal Carrillo
ManagerMariano Soso
LeagueLiga 1
2023Liga 1, 2nd of 19
WebsiteClub website

Club Alianza Lima, more commonly known as simply Alianza Lima, is a Peruvian professional sports club based in La Victoria District of Lima, Peru. The club was founded under the name of Sport Alianza on 15 February 1901 by working-class youth in the Chacaritas neighborhood of Lima. It is widely known for having one of the most historical and successful football teams in Peru; they have won a total of 25 official league titles of the Peruvian Primera División[2] and are currently the oldest team playing in that competition, since the club was founded in 1901. According to CONMEBOL, it is considered the most popular club in Peru, and the 6th most popular club in South America, with more than 12 million fans as of April 2016.[3]

Alianza's home stadium is the Estadio Alejandro Villanueva,[4] named after Alejandro Villanueva, one of the most important players in the club's history.[5][6] The stadium is also popularly known as Matute, the name of the neighbourhood in which it is located.[7][8] The stadium can hold 35,000 spectators.

Alianza enjoyed success throughout the first decades of their professional era. Their best international performance came in 1976 when they won the Copa Simón Bolívar.[9][10] In that same year, the team reached the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores, repeating the feat in 1978. In 1987, tragedy struck Alianza when the entire squad and coaching staff died in an airplane crash as the team returned from an away fixture.[11] Alianza Lima has won a total 25 Primera Division titles, and 1 Torneo del Inca and Copa de Campeones title.

Alianza Lima has had a huge, long-standing rivalry with Universitario de Deportes, another popular team in Lima, known as the Peruvian Clásico.[12] It is the largest rivalry in Peru and among the largest in South America. Other traditional rivals include Sporting Cristal, Deportivo Municipal, and Sport Boys.

The club has a women's volleyball team that participates in the Liga Nacional Superior de Voleibol. It also has a women's football team that participates in the Primera División Femenina and an Esports team that participates in the EFootball series.

  1. ^ "Estadio Alejandro Villanueva". Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Peru - List of Champions". Archived from the original on 1 April 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  3. ^ https://caracol.com.co/radio/2016/04/27/deportes/1461708496_404096.html [bare URL]
  4. ^ "Alianza Lima: Estadio Alejandro Villanueva cumple 47 años". Nacional (in Spanish). 27 December 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  5. ^ PERÚ, NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO (15 February 2020). "'Manguera' Villanueva: ¿por qué es considerado el padre del aliancismo? | Alianza Lima | SOMOS". El Comercio Perú (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Alejandro Villanueva: conoce la historia del ídolo de Alianza Lima". TVPerú (in Spanish). 4 June 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  7. ^ PERÚ, NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO (30 November 2021). "Alianza Lima | El libro de cuentos que retrata la vida en la unidad vecinal de Matute | Barrio Laberinto | Leonardo Ledesma | Liga 1 | final | sporting cristal | SOMOS". El Comercio Perú (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  8. ^ Medina, Diego. "Alianza Lima a lo Boca Juniors: Turismo en Matute para enriquecer la historia". libero.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Un día como hoy Alianza Lima ganó su único título internacional, la Copa Simón Bolívar" (in Spanish). La República. 5 December 2018. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  10. ^ Eliézer Sebastián Pérez Pérez (27 June 2007). "Copa Simón Bolívar 1976 (2nd tournament)". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  11. ^ "THE ALIANZA LIMA AIR DISASTER OF 1987". These Football Times. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Universitario vs. Alianza Lima: ¿Cómo nació la rivalidad?" (in Spanish). El Bocón. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2020.