Alianza F.C.

Alianza Fútbol Club, also known simply as Alianza, is a football club based in San Salvador, El Salvador. Founded in 1958, Alianza was almost immediately successful, winning its first championships in the 1966 and 1967 Salvadoran seasons. Even more significantly, Alianza was the first Central American and Salvadoran club to win the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1967, and is currently one of only three Salvadoran teams to have done so.

Alianza F.C.
Full nameAlianza Fútbol Club
Nickname(s)Paquidermos (Elefantes Blancos) The Peruvians
Founded1958 (1958) (as Atlético La Constancia)
GroundEstadio Cuscatlán,
San Salvador, El Salvador
Capacity53,400
ChairmanAdolfo Salume
ManagerWilson Gutiérrez
LeaguePrimera División

History

The beginning

Atlético La Constancia was formed in 1958 by a group of workers in San Salvador. Although small in terms of financial status, they were able to reach the Liga de Ascenso (second division) final in 1958. They lost 2–0 in a two legged series against Águila. The club, however, purchased a spot in the first division at the expense of Once Municipal. This enabled them to gain the sponsorship of the Intercontinental Hotel and its president, Peruvian Axel Hochkoeppler.

Because of Hochkoeppler's support, Alianza FC president Enrique Sol Meza decided to name the club Alianza FC in honor of Alianza Lima. Hernán Vivanco joined the club as the coach and began getting the players to play an exciting style of football. That style and a strong advertising campaign quickly won over the support of the population of San Salvador. Before long, Alianza was surpassing Juventud Olímpica as the nation's most popular club.

One of Alianza's greatest triumphs happened in 1966, when they defeated a Santos side that included the great Pelé. The win took place at the Estadio Nacional Flor Blanc, and featured the efforts of loaned Argentines Dante Juárez, Juan Verón and Santiago, all on loan at the time.

Orquesta Blanca

1966 was also the year that Alianza won its first tile. Due to the cohesion and speed with which Hernán Carrasco had the team playing, Alianza became known as La Orquesta Alba (the Dawn Orchestra). The team was made up of many great players, including Edgar "Pata Gorda" Morales, Roberto "La Burra" Rivas, Alberto "Pechuga" Villalta, Raúl "Araña" Magaña, Guido Alvarado, Salvador Mariona, Mario Monge, Luis "Cascarita" Tapia, Miguel "El Chueco" Hermosilla, Ricardo Sepúlveda and Jorge "El Conejo" Liévano.

The team won fifteen straight matches on their way to the league championship, where they defeated Águila 2–1. Goals were scored by Hermosilla and Mario Monge. In all, "La Orquesta Alba" outscored their opponents eighty-three to thirty-nine and won twenty of their thirty-six matches.

The club repeated as champions in 1967, defeating Sonsonate FC 5–1 in the finals. They then went on to become the first El Salvadoran club to win the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, defeating Jong Colombia over a three-leg series. Alianza lost the first leg, but won the second to force a replay. They prevailed 5–3, with Tapia and Flores scoring twice each.

Decline and title drought

After the 1967 title, members of the Orquestra began retiring. Players like Brazilian internationals Camargo, Taneses and Nilton Rodarte, Peruvian international Fernando Alva, Uruguayan international Julio César "El Pocho" Cortés, Chilean international Hugo Ottensen came through the ranks. So too did domestic players including Miguel "La Mica" González, Herbert Machón, "Míchel" Cornejo, Armando Cortez Sandoval, Jaime "Samba" Saravia, Roberto "El Cuchillo" Guerra, Jaime "La Chelona" Rodríguez and Carlos "El Cacho" Meléndez. However, the 1970s were less successful than the 1960s.

They reached the playoff finals four times (1971, 1973, 1975–76, and 1978–79) but finished runner-up each time. Then, after a string of disappointing seasons, the club came out of the wilderness to challenge for the title in 1985. However, they would be runners-up again, losing 5–2 to city rivals Atlético Marte. [1]

Title success

In 1986, the title drought finally ended. Ricardo Sepúlveda, a member of "The Orquesta Alba", returned to the club as a manager and led them to their third championship and first in twenty years. The championship match pitted Alianza against Águila, and it ended 0–0 after extra time. The game went to penalties, and Alianza won 3–1, with Carlos Reyes scoring the decisive goal. A corner had been turned.

The brilliance of Chilean Raúl Toro powered Alianza to a fourth title in 1989; he scored the winning goal in the final against Luis Ángel Firpo. 1993–94 saw a fifth crown, as the Uruguayan Gustavo Faral managed the club to a 2–1 championship win over FAS.[2]

1997 saw Alianza win its second international championship, when they defeated Deportivo Saprissa from Costa Rica to win the UNCAF Club Championship. The management of technician Juan Carlos Masnik and the heroic efforts of players such as Horacio Lugo, Marcelo Bauza, Uruguayan Alejandro Curbelo and Adrián de la Cruz powered the team to two more titles soon after.[3]

The Invincibles

Alianza went through the Apertura 2017 season undefeated, becoming the first Salvadoran side to achieve such a feat. Their 4–1 win over Santa Tecla in the final was the icing on the cake, and saw a double from Rodolfo Zelaya, plus strikes from league leading goalscorer Gustavo Guerreño, and midfielder Marvin Monterrosa.

Honours

Domestic honours

International honours

Runner-up (1): 1980

Friendly tournament

  • (1) *Copa Acción Cívica: 1
1966
  • (1) *Copa Santa Ana: 1
1977
  • Copa Roberto “Burra” Rivas: 1
  • (1) – : 2015

Records

  • Alianza FC was the first Salvadoran team to win CONCACAF Champions' Cup.
  • Alianza FC are the last Salvadoran team to win UNCAF Club Championship.
  • Alianza FC are the last Salvadoran team to win an international competition, this being the UNCAF Club Championship in 1997.
  • Alianza FC are the first and only team in Salvadoran League to win the domestic championship undefeated.

Sponsorship

Companies that Alianza currently has sponsorship deals with include:

  • Umbro – official kit suppliers
  • Tigo – official sponsors
  • Pepsi – official sponsors
  • Domino's Pizza – official sponsors
  • Los Rinconcitos – official sponsors
  • Farmactas virgen de Guadulope – official sponsors
  • Gatorade – official sponsors
  • Canal 4 – official sponsors

Stadium

Alianza Futbol Club has forged its entire history in the Estadio Nacional de la Flor Blanca (now Estadio Jorge "Mágico" González), in which they achieved three titles during the 1960s. However, it was damaged in the 2001 earthquakes and Alianza moved to the Estadio Cuscatlán, where they have kept playing to this day.

Players

Alianza is the first Salvadoran team to form an under-17 team for the new Under-17 League competition that was scheduled to begin in April 2014.

Current squad

As of: 2021
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  SLV Yimmy Cuellar
3 DF  SLV Israel Landaverde
4 DF  SLV Iván Mancía
5 DF  SLV Mario Jacobo
6 MF  SLV Narciso Orellana
8 MF  SLV Óscar Rodríguez
10 MF  MEX Felipe Ponce
11 MF  SLV Juan Carlos Portillo
12 DF  SLV Rubén Marroquín
14 MF  SLV Diego Ascencio
15 DF  SLV Jonathan Jiménez
16 DF  SLV Henry Romero
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF  SLV Wilfredo Cienfuegos
19 MF  SLV Cesar Flores
20 MF  SLV Bryan Tamacas
21 MF  SLV Marvin Monterrosa (captain)
22 FW  SLV Rodolfo Zelaya
23 FW  COL Michel Mercado
25 GK  SLV Mario Gonzalez
26 MF  SLV Ezequiel Rivas
27 MF  SLV Isaac Portillo
28 DF  SLV Rudy Clavel
30 FW  SLV Jose Enrique Contreras

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
FW  SLV Boris Morales (at Chalatenango for the 2020 Clausura)
DF  SLV Héctor Cruz (at Chalatenango for the 2020 Clausura)

In

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
FW  SLV TBD (From TBD)
FW  SLV TBD (From TBD)
FW  SLV TBD (From TBD)
FW  SLV TBD (From TBD)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW  SLV TBD (From TBD)
FW  SLV TBD (From TBD)

Out

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
FW  COL Oswaldo Blanco (To TBD)
FW  URU Maximiliano Freitas (To TBD)
MF  SLV Oscar Ceren (To TBD)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF  MEX Felipe Ponce (To TBD)
FW  SLV Jose Enrique Contreras (To Once Deportivo de Ahuachapan)

Players with dual citizenship

Youth League squad

Alianza "B". 's youth squad plays in the ten-team Primera División Reserves (El Salvador). Current members of the squad are:

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
32 MF  SLV Elías Rivas
33 DF  SLV Geovany López
34 DF  SLV Alexis Montes
35 MF  SLV Luis Rivera
36 DF  SLV Marvin Sandoval
37 DF  SLV Misael Valencia
38 MF  SLV Josué Pacheco
39 MF  SLV José Portillo
40 MF  SLV Jason Marroquín
41 MF  SLV Éver Guzmán
No. Pos. Nation Player
42 DF  SLV Emmanuel Flores
43 DF  SLV Julio César Huezo
44 FW  SLV Emerson Mauricio
45 FW  SLV Diego Sánchez
46 MF  SLV Wilian Flores
47 MF  SLV Julio César Campos
48 MF  SLV Herberth Díaz
50 MF  SLV Jahaziel Olivares
53 GK  SLV Cristian Rivera

Coaching staff

Position Staff
Manager Milton Melendez
Assistant Manager Adonai Martinez
Reserve Manager Edgar Henriquez
Under 17 Manager Juan Carlos Serrano
Ladies team Manager Luis Kalimba Sosa
Goalkeeper Coach Schafik Chávez
Team Physical Trainer
Fitness Coach Mario Vilatoro
Team Doctor
Knesliogiocal Felix Zambia
Utility Pablo Quironga
Director of Sports Edwin Abarca

Management

Position Staff
Owner Asociación de Empresa Pohl
President Adolfo Salume
Vice President Pedro David Hernandez
Director of public relations Eduardo Arias
Director of communications and marketing Sherman Calvo
Sports Director Milton Meléndez

Notable players

Notable players

Below are the notable former and current players who have represented Alianza in Primera Division and international competition since the club's foundation in 1958. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 100 official matches for the club, a list of every Alianza player who has been called up by their national team.

For a complete list of Alianza players, see Category:Alianza F.C. footballers.

Team captains

Years Name Nation
TBD Alberto Villalta  El Salvador
1970 Guido Alvarado  Costa Rica
1966 Salvador Mariona  El Salvador
1979-1981 Abilio Martinez  El Salvador
1986–1990 Julio Palacios Lozano  El Salvador
1995 Joaquín Canales  El Salvador
2001 Adonai Martínez  El Salvador
2004 Mario Elias Guevara  El Salvador
2007, 2009 Ramiro Carballo  El Salvador
2008 Victor Velasquez  El Salvador
2009 Ramón Sánchez  El Salvador
TBD TBD  El Salvador
2011-2013 Marcelo Messias  El Salvador
 Brazil
2014 Edwin Martínez  El Salvador
2015 Ramón Martínez de Paz  El Salvador
2017–2018 Rodolfo Zelaya  El Salvador
2018–Present Marvin Monterrosa  El Salvador
TBD TBD  El Salvador

Retired numbers

2 Roberto Rivas, defender (1960–70)

Presidential history

Alianza have had numerous presidents over the course of their history, some of which have been the owners of the club; others have been honorary presidents. Here is a complete list of them.

 
Name Years
Axel Hochkoeppler 1957–59
Enrique Sol Meza TBA
Mauricio Salaverría Cáceres TBA
Ricardo Sol Meza TBA
Ernesto Muyshondt Parker TBA
Vicente Sol Bang TBA
Juan Grané TBA
 
Name Years
Alejandro Hutt TBA
Ricardo Simán TBA
Luis Ohrlich TBA
Fernando Calvo TBA
Ronald Calvo TBA
Miguel Pinto TBA
Rafael Rengifo TBA
 
Name Years
Ricardo Balzaretti TBA
Oscar Antonio Rodriguez ????–01
Ricardo Padilla 2001–05
Salvador Mariona 2005–07
Lisandro Pohl[4][5][6] 2008–2018
Adolfo Salume 2018–present

Notable managers

The most successful all-time manager is Chilean Hernán Carrasco, who won four championships during his two tenures with Alianza FC (1966–67, 1989–92). The list of honours includes three Primera División titles (1965–66, 1966–67, 1989–90) and one CONCACAF Champions' Cup (1967).

Uruguayan Carlos Masnik was another notable manager with two titles won with Alianza, one Primera División championships (1996–97) and one UNCAF Club Championship (1997).

Chilean Ricardo Sepúlveda and Uruguayan Rubén Alonso both had outstanding careers as players for Alianza, and are the only two to win a title both as a player and coach. Sepulveda won the 1986–87, while Alonso won the Apertura 1998 and Apertura 2015, their most recent title victory.

Gustavo Faral won the 1993–94 championship, becoming the first Uruguayan and the first of three Uruguayans to win a title with Alianza.

Ramón Paredes become the first and so far only Salvadoran coach to win a title as coach of Alianza, which he did in the 2001 Apertura title.

Uruguayan Juan Martín Mujica led the team to the 2004 Clausura title.

Under the coaching of Roberto Gamarra, Alianza won the Clausura 2011.

Jorge Humberto Rodriguez helped Alianza win the 2017 Apertura title and also achieve the distinction of being the first team to go the entire season undefeated.

References

  1. "el cuento de la final navidena". El Grafico. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  2. "Los Nuevos Campeonatos". La Nacion. 25 June 2015. Archived from the original on 25 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  3. "Alianza es grande". La Nacion. 12 June 1997. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  4. "Lisandro Pohl: "Jorge Rodríguez seguirá, ganemos o perdamos la final" | El Gráfico". Elgrafico.com. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  5. "Presidente del Alianza habla de recortes en plantel si no mejoran las taquillas". elgrafico.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  6. "Así celebró el Alianza con su afición el récord de partidos sin perder". elgrafico.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
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