“I am from a place in Brazil called Rio Grande do Sul, a place that is closer to Argentina and Uruguay than to Brazil itself. An area that has a lot of competitive influence, a conquering spirit, that goes for everything. I think my teams have to be like that”declared Nunes two years ago in dialogue with the YouTube channel La Pizarra del DT. And that is being reflected, in recent weeks, in the Rimense team.
good figures
The numbers speak for themselves. When Cristal had to play the qualifying phase in the Libertadores, she could never overcome it. He failed in 2007, 2009, 2014 and 2020. But in this 2023 he was able to break that losing streak. They beat Nacional from Paraguay 5-3 on aggregate, winning the second leg 5-1. And then he eliminated Huracán from Argentina after defeating him 1-0 in the match in Lima, at the last minute. Today the light blues are already in the group stage of this continental tournament.
In the local championship they are also doing well. They are third in the Apertura standings with 12 points, behind one of the leaders Deportivo Garcilaso and César Vallejo, who have 13 points each. In their last match, the ‘brewers’ took home victory and already have 3 wins and 3 draws. In fact, they only recorded one loss this season: against Nacional de Paraguay in Asunción, but for the Libertadores.
the experts speak
Nunes’ philosophy and style, then, are working. He is managing to capture that idea of competitiveness in his pupils, as well as that of intensity in the game, in addition to the physical work that his coaches do. “Sporting Cristal, by tradition, has good acceptance and a good feeling with the Brazilian coaches. I think the Brazilians are the ones who best adapt to Peruvian football. And I think (Nunes) is doing quite well.”tells us Ramón Mifflin, one of the historical references of the sky-blues, who won the club four times.
Mifflin also highlights the generational change that Nunes is implementing. “He has promoted players. That has been great. There is a litter of players with a great future”, delimits. He is referring to the four young men from Rima who have made their debut this year under the command of the Brazilian: Flavio Alcedo (20 years old), Gilmar Paredes (20), Alejandro Pósito (17) and Diego Otoya (18), who had their first experience wearing the light blue shirt against Garcilaso.
But the historic midfielder of the Peruvian team, who played in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, also refers to Leonardo Díaz (19), Adrián Ascues (20), Rafael Lutiger (21), Jostin Alarcón (20), Jesús Castillo (21) and Jhilmar Lora (22), who have been playing a greater role in the Nunes era, especially the last three mentioned, who are the ones who stand out the most (the DT has given them more confidence and is enhancing the mental aspect in them).
“Brazilian soccer connects very well with Peruvian soccer and you can see that (Nunes) is a very serious, responsible coach, who has found a bunch of players with a great future. And he is taking the necessary advantage of it ”says Mifflin, to later add that the Brazilian’s greatest merit to date is “The stability in the results and the game that he has taught, which has given a style to what Sporting Cristal is”.
For his part, national coach Teddy Cardama, who has directed clubs such as Sport Boys, Alianza Atlético and Juan Aurich, points out that football is of moments and that today Cristal is fine “Because the team has found that momentum which, of course, has to do with what the coach is doing; and that is valuable”. “When everything goes in harmony, there is no punctuation that can lead us to think that things are wrong. Now each of the players, each of the members of the technical command and the coach himself are important. (…) Today his (Nunes’) presence is important as long as the team continues to win. It is evident that the team has had a good momentum, an important boost of spirit in its last games ”prolongs the quarterback.
And immediately afterwards, he adds: “(Nunes) is doing the job that every coach should do. Cristal has very good players. It holds up well in its structure. The results are appearing. The team has been motivated”. Of course, Cardama emphasizes that “The importance of the technician is given to the extent that the results are obtained. And today you have to give importance to the (Brazilian) coach because the team is having those results “.
An experienced DT and his next match
It is not just any coach Tiago Nunes. He has won various titles in Brazil, especially with Athletico Paranaense, the club with which he won the Paranaense Championship in 2018, the Brazil Cup in 2019 and, possibly the most important trophy of his career, the Copa Sudamericana in 2018. With all that experience has reached the bajopontine painting. And, for now, he is getting good results.
Now, Cristal’s next match will be against the Cantolao Academy, which is at the bottom of the table. The match, which was pending and which corresponds to the first date of the tournament, will be played this Saturday, March 25 at the Alberto Gallardo (4:00 pm / Liga 1 Max). There those led by Nunes go for a new victory.
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