Alfredo Arias Out at Junior After Draw With Santa Fe Seals Five Winless Games

Some exits hurt more for the contradiction surrounding them than for the exit itself. That's what's happening to Alfredo Arias, the Uruguayan coach who just months ago was lifting the back to back title with Junior de Barranquilla and who, five games later, no longer has a team.

The trigger was the 1-1 draw with Santa Fe at Romelio Martinez stadium, a result that left the club with just two points from five matchdays in the tournament and that ultimately convinced the board it was time to change direction. A day after his departure was announced, Arias appeared on WIN Sports to put into words what he was feeling, and he held nothing back.

"I'm hurting. We were champions and a lot of people found reasons to say 'but it wasn't the best team.' Now we were back to back champions and five games later I'm gone. And the worst part is that those players, who are the real protagonists, who work so hard and gave everything for two championships, today are also on the verge of nobody wanting them," the coach said.

You can tell the word "back to back champion" carries different weight for him now. Because it's no small achievement in Colombian soccer, where repeating as champion is already a feat, and Arias knows it. That's why, beyond the personal blow, he insisted on the scale of what was accomplished and on how soccer has that cruel habit of always demanding one more step.

"I've built myself more through losing than winning, failure is what has later brought me success. I let them know that there are few back to back champions anywhere, and in this league it's not easy to be one. Success is what fails the most. Being three time champion was our goal," added the Uruguayan, making clear that the target they had set internally was to go for a third consecutive title, something no one in Colombia has achieved easily.

A Farewell With Gratitude Toward the Owners

Despite the awkward moment, Arias didn't want to close this chapter without acknowledging the treatment he received from the club's owners. "The family that runs the club is very respectful, very polite. It's hard to find people that respectful," he said of the Char family, Junior's owners.

Now the shark club faces the task of finding a replacement, and the list of candidates circulating includes familiar names in Colombian soccer: Sebastian Viera, Jorge Luis Pinto and Alberto Gamero appear as the options the board is reportedly weighing to take charge of a squad that, according to Arias himself, remains a contender despite the recent poor results. The decision won't be simple: it's about sustaining the level of a team that not long ago was celebrating a back to back title and that today is searching to find its way again.