Alberto Gamero Emerges as Top Candidate for Junior After Alfredo Arias's Exit

Alberto Gamero's phone has been ringing differently this week. Junior is without a coach after the departure of Alfredo Arias, and among the names starting to circulate in Barranquilla, the one from Santa Marta stands out above the rest. That's no accident: few coaches in Colombia arrive with a resume as strong as his.

Arias's exit came as no surprise to anyone following the Tiburón's season closely. Without a win in the FPC and eliminated from the Copa by Barranquilla FC, the Uruguayan coach, a two-time champion with the club, had run out of runway. On top of that, his relationship with the local press had grown increasingly tense, something laid bare after the 1-1 draw with Santa Fe at Estadio Romelio Martínez. In total, Arias managed 74 matches, with 32 wins, 20 draws and 22 losses. The club publicly thanked him "for defending our colors, for every training session, every match, every challenge, and for being part of Junior FC's recent history."

Club director Antonio Char addressed the decision with reporters, though he stopped short of naming names. "It's never easy to part ways with a coach, but in soccer competing is essential. The team has to compete and be near the top. Given what Junior represents, the situation was impossible to sustain," he explained. He added: "Several names are under consideration, but the prudent thing is to make the announcement once there's certainty. If we can get greater experience and track record, that always helps, it adds value."

A Resume That Commands Respect

Why Gamero and not someone else? For starters, the numbers. He's a champion in Colombia with three different clubs: the 2008 Apertura with Boyacá Chicó, the 2014 Copa Colombia and the 2018-I league title with Deportes Tolima, and at Millonarios he added the 2022 Copa Colombia, the 2023-I league title and the 2024 Superliga. Six titles in total, a tally few active coaches in the country can match.

His five-year run at Millonarios produced a record of 277 matches: 129 wins, 77 draws and 71 losses. Beyond the three titles, the team reached five finals and played in the Copa Libertadores three times and the Sudamericana twice. A sustained project, not a stroke of luck.

There's another detail that sets him apart: player development. Millonarios confirmed that more than 20 young players from its academy made their first-team debuts during his tenure. In 2021, five of them (Andres Llinas, Omar Bertel, Andres Felipe Roman, Stiven Vega and Emerson Rodriguez) became regular starters. Oscar Cortes and Carlos Andres Gomez came up later and eventually moved abroad. For a Junior side that needs to refresh its roster without losing competitiveness, that track record carries weight.

Gamero also already knows the Junior bench: he had a brief spell there in 2017, though it didn't carry the impact of his later stints at Tolima and Millonarios. Still, that prior experience could smooth his adjustment to the Barranquilla environment.

Other names are floating around too. Veteran coach Julio Comesana ruled himself out: "You can cross me off the list," he told the newspaper El Heraldo. Jorge Luis Pinto also addressed the speculation: "I haven't had any contact with Junior at all." Club legend Sebastian Viera, the franchise's all-time leader with 683 appearances, is seen as a sentimental option, though his coaching experience is limited to nine months at Real Cartagena. Jorge Bava rounds out the shortlist, though prying him loose would cost more and pull him away from another club.

While the front office deliberates, the calendar isn't waiting: Junior sits 17th with five points and will host Jaguares on September 5. Whoever the new coach turns out to be, he'll arrive under pressure to turn that table around right away.