Victor Zegarra

Alejandro Víctor "Pitín" Zegarra Salé (Chincha, Peru, March 18, 1940), is a Peruvian former soccer player. He is 83 years old. Midfielder for Alianza Lima, he played for said club between the years 1958-1974 and 1977-1978. He participated in 369 games and scored 128 goals, becoming one of the great symbols of the intimate club. He also played for a few seasons at Unión Tumán and at FBC Melgar (28 games and 6 goals), as well as at Deportivo Bata in Bolivia.

Throughout his professional career he obtained 5 titles (1962,1963,1965,1977,1978). He is among the players with the most official matches and the most goals in the history of this club. He was also a member of the Peruvian youth and senior national team for several seasons in the 1960s, eventually captaining the team during the 1966 World Cup qualifiers. At the end of the 60s, he shared the playing field with Julio Baylón, Pedro Pablo León, Teófilo Cubillas and "Babalú" Martinez. It was he who scored the goal with which Alianza Lima defeated Boca Juniors in La Bombonera during the 1966 Copa Libertadores. He was removed from the Peruvian team that played the qualifiers and attended México 70, and although in the 1972 and 1973 seasons of the local championship he was, along with Sotil, the best player in both tournaments, he was not selected again for the national team. In the 1980s, after retiring from the fields, he was coach of the first Alliance team. He played 19 seasons in Alianza Lima, a record number. Despite that, no tribute was paid to his retirement. In the centenary year, he was Paulo Autuori's technical assistant during the Apertura Tournament.

Career

Beginnings

Emerged from the Alliance youth team, in March 1958 he was called up to the youth team, without having made his debut in the main team. This on the occasion of the 1958 South American of the category. Coach György Orth had chosen to call players who were not yet professionals to see who performed, since he was also coach of the senior team at that time. It was a very pleasant appearance. He scored 3 goals in that South American team, which escaped on the last date after a 1-1 draw against Venezuela. That same year he debuted in Alianza Lima when he was just 18 years old, while the coach was the Uruguayan Roberto Scarone. They made him the starter on June 29, 1958, in what was nothing more and nothing less than the 101st classic in history, valid for the third date of the first phase of the championship that year. He lined up in the attack along with Félix Castillo, Juan Baza, Juan Joya and Willy Barbadillo, several of these great figures of the club and the championship. That day Alianza Lima was defeated 3-1. In addition to that game, he would play only another one that year. For the following year, Pitín would not only have more space in the first team, but he would score his first goal in the same game in which he scored the second, against the strong Flamengo of Brazil. This match was It occurred in the 1959 international season, played at the Stadium Nacional. Despite the result, his performance was so brilliant that he earned him an ovation from all the spectators who came to the stadium that day. However, he scored his first official goal in the 1959 championship, on July 25 of that year, when the team beat Ciclista Lima 8-3. The Chinchano footballer scored the team's fourth goal at 26 minutes. He finished that year with just two goals and few appearances, something that would get worse the following year, when he scored just one goal in the 1960 championship.

Takeoff and consolidation

It was not until 1961 that it began to have continuity. And not during the international season that year, when he was coach of Tábano Gómez Sánchez, but for the professional championship, when the technical direction was entrusted to Jaime de Almeyda. He also began to have a greater role in front of goal, since he finished that year with 8 goals. At the local level, the successive years under the command of the coach were particularly good, both for him and for the team; since in the consecutive period of 6 seasons (1961-1966) that de Almeyda had in charge, the club won 3 championships (1962, 1963 and 1965), 2 runners-up (1961 and 1964) and 1 time third place (1966). He gave away several years of colorful football as part of the so-called third black roller. This forward, made up entirely of legends from Alianza Lima, also had a replacement, although not exactly 'black': a young César Cueto appeared like new jewel of the quarry. However, "Pítin" He was the starter for all the years that this generation lasted. This entire group of players did not also stand out in the national team for various reasons, despite all of them having already been called up on several occasions. By 1965 "Pitín" He was already part of the senior team, becoming captain; But after a journalistic scandal he was unjustly separated from that team that was competing in the qualifiers for England 66. He was not called up until 1969, when the team was in the qualifying process for Mexico 70.

The Alliance debt was, however, in the international arena. However, this debt did not fall entirely on him, since he was the one who had the best performance in the Copa Libertadores de América in the first years of play. To begin with, it was he who scored the club's first goal in that competition. In fact, he was also the architect of the first victory, since it was in the same match. After drawing 0-0 in the first game in its history, Alianza Lima defeated Millonarios FC 0-1 on their own field with a goal from them. Remarkable was their performance in the club's last game in that group stage, in the who was eliminated in second place in the table. The following year he returned to participate in the then American Champions Cup, with outstanding performances along with & # 34; Perico & # 34; Leon. The club came in third place in the group that ended up winning by Independiente de Avellaneda, later champion of the Cup. Curiously, the only match of the tournament that the Avellaneda club did not win was against Alianza Lima, which played the match on the eternal rival's field. of red due to the tragedy in Lima. For the last season of that consecutive period, the goal he scored against Boca Juniors in their stadium was particularly notable and legendary, for Alianza Lima's 1-0 victory in what It was the first victory for the La Victoria team against an Argentine team at home. Alianza Lima did very poorly in this edition of the tournament, so this victory resonated greatly both in Peru and in Argentina. In addition to this goal, he also scored twice in the defeat against the other Argentine giant in the 3-2 defeat against River Plate.

Round trip, return and withdrawal

By 1972, after finishing second in the previous year, he was already established as the undisputed starter and captain of the blue and white team. He was the highlight of the Alliance along with Teófilo Cubillas on his return to the Libertadores de América. He played in a group in which he ended up eliminated in the last game with a surprising 3-4 home defeat against the University of Chile, a game in which he scored. At 32 years old, he was a figure in the convoluted local tournament in 1972 and 1973, but he was not called up to the national team either at that time or in the following years. With a team that was beginning to dismantle with the departures of César Cueto, Teófilo Cubillas, "Perico" León, Julio Baylón, "Babalú Martínez", among other figures, Pitín stayed along with the new emerging talents from the quarries, among which José Velásquez stood out. However, in 1975, being already an established star in the club, he did not reach an agreement with the leadership of that time, so he left the club. He was also a figure in Unión Tumán, but the strange bases of the local tournament of those years led the club to relegation as it was the & # 34; worst & # 34; of the two representatives of the department of Lambayeque. After his time at the Lambayecan club, he joined the ranks of FBC Melgar in Arequipa. As expected, his time at the club was brilliant. In the same season in which he debuted as coach in an interim tandem with another club player (Luis Ponce Arroé), he played 28 games and scored 6 goals. After his time at the Arequipa club, he returned to Alianza Lima. He was part of the good campaign and won the two-time championship, although he was relegated to the bench for the club's best season in the Copa Libertadores de América. The following year, he left the club to retire in Bolivia, more precisely at Deportivo Bata.

From the bench

As a coach, Víctor Zegarra took charge of the team at the start of the team's tournament for three consecutive seasons, something that no other Peruvian coach has achieved in Alianza Lima. After coaching in the 80s and early 90s, he took charge of the team on an interim basis in 2000.

Technical Director

• FBC Melgar (1976)
• Alliance Lima (1980-1983)
• La Palma (1984)
• Deportivo Junín (1985)
• Youth La Joya (1986-1987)
• Deportivo Pucallpa (1987)
• Science (1988)
• Pacific Sports (1990)
• Alianza Lima (2000)

Statistics with Alianza Lima

Palmarés

National Championships

Zonal Tournaments

Title		Equipment	Country	Year
Interzonal Tournament - "A" Group		Alliance Lima	Peru Peru	1977