Of the unease that left the “data technician”, Cesar Farías, Junior He went on to the euphoria of the title at the hands of Alfredo Arias, recommended by artificial intelligence, as said Fuad Char on the day of his official presentation as the new red and white helmsman.
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Farías did not leave a good memory in the red and white institution that decided to terminate the contract that he had signed until December of this year after a campaign to be forgotten in the semi-final home runs, in which he barely added one point out of a possible 18. It equaled Junior’s worst campaign in home runs in short tournaments, which until now had been that of the second half of 2022.
The Venezuelan was on the tightrope after the elimination of the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana when falling due to shots from the penalty spot, in Barranquilla, before Cali America.
However, Farías managed to win the next five games that led him to be in the lead for several dates and, in the end, he classified Junior in the home runs as third in the round-robin with 37 points, two less than the first (América) and one less than the second (Millonarios).
In the home runs, they tied the first game at home against Tolima (1-1) and then lost the next five against América (2-1 and 1-0), Medellín (twice 1-0) and Tolima (2-0).
For this instance he lost due to injury to Carlos Bacca, Teófilo Gutiérrez and Déiber Caicedo, to Santiago Mele, transferred to Monterrey of Mexico.
On Friday, June 20, Farías’ departure from the Junior technical direction was made official and four days later Fuad Char officially presented his replacement: the Uruguayan Alfredo Arias, who in the first semester did not reach the classification with the Deportivo Cali.
Char recognized that the fans had ended up upset by the way Junior finished the home run and that is why he said that the commitment in the second semester was great.
With Arias the players arrived Guillermo Celis, Jesús Rivas and Jhon Fredy Salazar, from Águilas Doradas; the Uruguayans Mauro Silveira and Lucas Monzón and Yeison Suárez, del Pereira.
Arias won its first three games of the tournament: Cali (2–0), Águilas Doradas (3–2) and Unión Magdalena (4–1) and remained in first place for several dates.
However, the team began to stumble after the defeat (3-0) against Millonarios, in Bogotá, and in the coastal classic against Unión Magdalena, in Santa Marta (3-1).
The series that he spent scratching in the Colombia Cup against two B teams: Huila and Atlético and the subsequent elimination in the quarterfinals of this tournament against América and then two consecutive defeats in the League against the same America and Santa Fe, that put their classification at risk due to the home runs, which they finally achieved by drawing with Fortaleza, in Bogotá (1-1) and defeating Nacional (2-1).
In the home runs it was his turn ‘death group’ con Medellin, National and America, in which they were given little chance of reaching the final, but, against all odds, they finished first in the group with 11 points.
His rival, in the final, was Sports Tolima, which comfortably won its group with 14 points, but was widely surpassed by the shark team, which won both matches: 3-0 in Barranquilla and 1-0 in Ibagué to win its eleventh star.
Arias achieved a title that had been elusive in Colombia with Deportivo Cali, Santa Fe and Medellín, But, more importantly, he earned the recognition of a fan base that ended up accepting his football proposal, which was reflected with their massive attendance at the last three games played at home.
In 2026, Arias’ challenge with Junior is to compete in great detail in the Copa Libertadores, which will enter directly into the group stage. To do this, with the leadership, they are already forming the roster in which, so far, the only confirmed incorporation is that of the midfielder. Jannenson Sarmiento, coming from Magdalena Union, and the only guaranteed continuity of the players who were ending their contract is that of the Paraguayan attacker Guillermo Paiva, acquired at Olympiad and renewed until 2028.
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