Although he only needs to sign his signature – he will arrive in our country this Thursday –, Alejandro Restrepo will be the new coach Lima Alliance for the upcoming season, after the recent departure of Mauricio Larriera. In La Victoria they hope to turn the page on what happened a couple of weeks ago in the final against Universitario de Deportes and are excited to fight again for the title. League 1 Betsson next year, in addition to competing internationally in the 2024 Copa Libertadores.
The Colombian technical director will not have an easy job, as he will have to rebuild a beaten team after losing the possibility of a three-time championship against its classic rival and which the fans will demand to win at all costs next year. These ingredients are key to understanding the challenge that he will have with the Victorians, where he will have to implement his idea of the game and adapt to the players he will have, in addition to the signings that he will surely propose through the sports area.
A long journey
Born in Medellín on January 30, 1982, Alejandro Restrepo He began playing in Student, to finally dedicate himself fully to his professional career as a graduate in physical education. His desire to continue learning took him to Argentina, where he pursued a specialization in the Argentine Football Association (AFA) to be a technical director, his lifelong dream.
Estudiantentil gave him the opportunity to start his career as a coach and he repaid him by winning the Antioquia League, which allowed him to make the jump to the Antioquia National Team. His experience was gained in the children’s and youth categories, where he also became champion in several tournaments. Thus, the Colombian Football Federation (FCF) hired him as a technical assistant for the Colombian Under-17 National Team, where he acquired more experience and allowed him to make the leap to the minor divisions of Atlético Nacional.
His time at ‘Verdolaga’ was a bit bumpy, since although he had several successes in the youth categories, when it was his turn to make the jump to the first team he did so on an interim basis, which gave him a very unstable position in the face of the marked demands of a large team from your country. Despite this complicated context, Alejandro Restrepo had the luxury of winning the Colombia Cup in 2021.
His dismissal from Atlético Nacional in February 2022 led to his arrival at Deportivo Pereira in May, with the aim of saving it from relegation. After achieving it, he renewed for the Clausura Tournament of that year and was in charge of leading the ‘Furia Metacaña’ to the first title in its history, beating Deportivo Independiente de Medellín in the final by 4-3 in the penalty shootout, after the 1-1 on aggregate.
Already in 2023, Pereira’s great Copa Libertadores catapulted him as one of the best coaches in Colombia, placing him among the eight best in the competition. In the group stage he finished second in Group A, behind Boca Juniors, while in the round of 16 he struck a blow by leaving Independiente del Valle on the road with a 2-1 aggregate score. Despite not beating Palmeiras in the quarterfinals (4-0 in the first leg and 0-0 in the second leg), this campaign remained a historic event for the club.
A flexible game idea
Alejandro Restrepo He began to build his idea of the game from his days at Atlético Nacional until consolidating it at Deportivo Pereira, thanks to the patience of the leadership and the adaptability of his players. Although the scheme he initially uses is 3-5-2, this is usually very flexible depending on the process of the match, the opponent in front of him and the characteristics of his players. He can quickly go from 3-5-2 to a 4-3-1-2 to defend short, or to a 5-3-2 if he needs to defend against a more dominant team.
“I feel that there are moments in the games where you have to be well located and positioned to defend as well and be clear about the moments and trajectories with which you want to press, but I also really like to dominate the game through possession and good positioning. of the footballers. In itself, possession and positional play is a means to reach the rival goal with a greater advantage and so that your players have more scoring opportunities than the rival team.“, he explained recently in dialogue with Ace Colombiareflecting on his idea and the position game.
So that the game idea Alejandro Restrepo imprints on his team, he needs his players to be physically prepared for the intensity he proposes when pressing at the start or after losing the ball. Being well positioned is essential, but if they do not have the physical fitness for so much wear and tear, it is most likely that this disorganized pressure will cause an imbalance and be an advantage for the rival. For this, the work of your physical trainer will be key, Walter Rivera with the help of your technical assistant, Giuliano Tiberti.
The ‘coffee’ strategist will find in Lima Alliance to a team that is under construction, but that has individual virtues in several players. His job will be to enhance his characteristics, as well as an adaptation from both sides so that his idea is shaped game by game. “You have to have a clear game plan and idea. The idea of the game is shaped from the beginning of the season, it is given the nuances and touches through the training tasks and all those concepts and pillars remain in the brains of the footballers and they translate them on the field. The game plan changes according to the rival”, he noted about his ease of adapting.
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