Alianza Lima landed in Buenos Aires: Gorosito's complaints about the referee and Zambrano's spicy statements about Cavani

Alianza Lima is preparing to play one of the most important matches in recent times: they will face Boca Juniors as visitors in the second leg of the second phase of the 2025 Copa Libertadores to try to eliminate the six-time winner of this tournament. Argentine coach Néstor Gorosito and the players are aware of the importance of the match, and for this reason, since their 1-0 victory in the first leg, they have been on the defensive with statements about the refereeing and the xeneize public.

The match that will determine which team advances to phase 3 of the Copa Libertadores is getting closer. However, instead of being cautious, Alianza Lima opted to raise the temperature.

After the controversial statements about La Bombonera , Pipo Gorosito doubled the bet and exploded again, now against the appointment of referee Piero Maza for the rematch against Boca at the Alberto J. Armando stadium: "I don't think it's normal that he should direct us again."

"We had the virtue of winning that match, but it doesn't usually happen this often, that a referee officiates two matches in a row," Pipo said at a press conference after the victory against Juan Pablo II in the Peruvian league.

The coach's statements are related to the Chilean referee who was in charge of the return match against Nacional de Paraguay in Phase 1, when his team won 3-1 and advanced to the current stage. Now, with the same referee in a new crucial duel, Gorosito fears that he may be biased.

Since it was announced that they would meet, the Argentine coach was in charge of warming up the matches against the Xeneize. "All things being equal, for me Boca is not the favorite," Pipo began by saying beforehand. "Nobody died at La Bombonera. People don't enter the field, they're outside," he added later about the passion of the Boca fans.

But true to his style, the Alianza Lima coach did not back down and made the first warnings about the refereeing: "I was very surprised by the referee's situation, it is the biggest fear I have on Boca's pitch."

Another player who joined the controversy was Carlos Zambrano , a player with a Boca Juniors past, who downplayed the return of Edinson Cavani to the starting eleven of Boca Juniors. "It's nothing, I already know him," said the Peruvian at the airport on the way to Argentina.

A few days ago, Carlos Zambrano had made it clear in an interview that he would prefer to see Cavani as a starter: "I prefer him to play. There is always a star player and that makes those behind demand more from themselves to earn their place."

Zambrano, who played three seasons at Boca Juniors between 2020 and 2022, did not share a team with the Uruguayan, who joined the team led by Fernando Gago in mid-2023.

On the other hand, captain Hernán Barcos spoke about the return match against Xeneize at La Bombonera. “We have 90 minutes, it is a final for Alianza Lima, not just for me, and we are going to play it as such. We respect all rivals, whoever we are drawn against, but we are going to play our game.”

The 40-year-old striker also demanded that the refereeing team do a good job and call the appropriate plays. “We hope everything goes well, that things are fair, we are going to do our part,” he concluded.

The irregular present that the team led by Fernando Gago is going through, added to the lack of patience of the fans shown in the match with Aldosivi last Saturday, represents an unencouraging scenario for Boca, which must reverse the result. However, the controversial statements of Alianza Lima could be the incentive that the Xeneize needs to face this crucial challenge.