Alianza Lima and former Eintracht Frankfurt pro Carlos Zambrano end their historic negative record in the Copa Libertadores.
Asunción – There are many spectacular records in football for which clubs or players from all over the world are amazed – such as the seven Ballon d’Or awards for Lionel Messi or the five World Cup titles of Brazil. But then there are the kinds of records that many people find more amusing than astonishing. The Peruvian top club Alianza Lima set such a negative record. For a whopping eleven years, the South Americans failed to win a game in the Copa Libertadores, the continent’s most important and historic club competition. During the night, the team ended this unprecedented negative run, also thanks to ex-Eintracht Frankfurt player Carlos Zambrano.
| Carlos Zambrano | |
| Born: | 10. July 1989 in Callao, Peru |
| Current club: | Alianza Lima (Peru) |
| Peru national team: | 66 games (4 goals) |
Former Eintracht Frankfurt pro Carlos Zambrano ends negative record with Alianza Lima
During the night, Alianza Lima, featuring former Eintracht Frankfurt player Carlos Zambrano, defeated Libertad 2-1 in the Paraguayan capital of Asunción. Since 2020, that thankless record has been held, and for years the most popular club in Peru has been ridiculed across South America. No wonder, because during the 30 games without a win they added 24 defeats and only six draws. In addition, during this period, the team managed to score only 12 goals and conceded 59 – almost two per game.
But the end of that streak has been carefully prepared with bold transfers since January, which marks the South American summer transfer window. Carlos Zambrano also only returned to his Peruvian homeland at the beginning of the year. Before that he played for top Argentinian club Boca Juniors, so he also gave up a lot of money for his youth club. After the win, the now 33-year-old central defender addressed his fans emotionally on Twitter: “I just want to thank God and my family, who are there in the good times and even more so in the bad. Enjoy Blanquiazules. Alianza Lima for life.”
The team of former Eintracht Frankfurt player Carlos Zambrano Alianza Lima wins happily
However, the victory against Libertad, in which Carlos Zambrano picked up the yellow card in added time almost as usual, was more than happy. The Paraguayans had 64 percent possession, made 439 passes, almost twice as many as Alianza (256) and shot on goal 20-7, almost three times as often. However, Lima took the three points home with him.
The success even put the Peruvians at the top of their group. However, the joy at the lost record was much greater, as was clearly evident from the cheering scenes after the final whistle. (jsk)
