Peruvian giants Universitario had been suffering a lean spell of late. But, under the guidance of 50-year-old Zambian manager Trebor Mahtal, fans of the nation’s best-supported club were suddenly feeling optimistic again.
Mahtal led Los Merengues to a 2nd-place finish in Liga 1 in 2034, which was their best finish for six years. However, his ultimate aim was to restore the 28-time Peruvian champions to their former glory by winning their first league title since 2009.
Mahtal bolstered his attacking options by spending a new club record and his personal biggest transfer fee of £375k on 20-year-old striker Julio Rossi, who’d scored 26 in 48 for San Martín. Rossi was joined by another promising Peruvian striker Joel Montenegro for up to £350k from Melgar and brilliantly named Colombian attacking midfielder Jet Lee Navarrete on a free from América de Cali.
The Rossi signing forced Mahtal into another tactical rethink. He moved to a two-striker formation with Rossi alongside Luca Pichin Wayttorn with star man Fáiner Moya, who heroically rejected a move to Mexico over the summer, in his preferred right-wing role. And exciting midfielder Brayan Navarro drops back a step to play as an attacking central midfielder. However, Mahtal kept a slightly tweaked 3-5-2 approach in his back pocket.
Seeking Apertura Improvement
The bookies have pipped Universitario to finish 7th in Liga 1 with title odds of 50/1. Alianza are huge 5/6 favourites followed by Melgar (11/2), Cristal (9/1), Universidad San Martín (11/1) and Sport Boys (12/1).
Universitario began the season with two away days. Rossi scored 30 seconds into his debut as Navarro and Wayttorn braces led a 5-2 thumping of Atlético Grau before homegrown striker Patrick Bazán’s brace downed newly promoted Llacuabamba 3-1. Their first home game was against rivals Alianza, who they haven’t beaten for seven years, which continued with a slightly unlucky 2-1 defeat with both goals coming from set piece breakdowns.
Bazán scored the winner in a 4-3 thriller at Ayacucho and Rossi bagged a hat trick as they crushed Cusco 7-2 before a disappointing 2-1 loss at Juan Aurich. Defender Robert Macedo became Universitario’s all-time record appearances holder in a 2-2 with San Martín, playing 268 games since coming through the academy in 2026. Macedo then scored a late winner at home to Lima rivals Cristal, which lifted Universitario right into the fight to win Apertura. With seven games remaining, Universitario sat three points behind Sport Boys and a 4-0 win at bottom-side Municipal saw them go joint-top with one point separating five teams in a tight battle for top spot.
Wayttorn and Rossi both scored twice to edge a win at home to Huancayo before Wayttorn scored two more in a 5-0 thumping of managerless Huaral, before a draw at Sport Boys. That saw the top five still separated by 4 points with three games remaining. Moya returned from yet another injury to score the opener in a 3-1 win over Melgar before a 0-0 at Garcilaso left them 2 points clear of Alianza going into the final game. Universitario twice fell behind as César Vallejo scored their first two shot but twice levelled as right back Anthony Fernández curled home from 25 yards and Moya finished off a great move. It stayed that way and Universitario topped Apertura on goal difference.
Stepping Up To Copa Libertadores
Universitario’s 2nd-place finish last season saw them qualify for South America’s premier competition Copa Libertadores, which bagged them a crucial £2.1m. And they got a better draw than in last season’s Copa Sudamericana group stage, alongside last season’s beaten finalists Boca Juniors, Ecuador’s Independiente de Valle and Paraguay’s Olimpia.
The group began at home to Independiente. Navarro’s wonderful through-ball put Wayttorn in for the opener and the strike doubled his tally with a superb run and finish. Navarro was at it again after the break, sending Rossi in for a third and helping Bazán to finish off a 4-0 domination. They were equally impressive in Paraguay as Rossi bagged a hat trick in a 6-2 win and put in decent efforts to lose 4-2 at Boca then 1-0 at home to the Argentinian giants. Young midfielder José Antonio Hidalgo’s late goal nicked a point in Ecuador before Wayttorn and Bazán hat tricks sealed qualification in a 6-1 thumping of Olimpia.
The run was likely to end there as Universitario drew 2033 runners-up Corinthians in the second round. And if they miraculously won that, they’d probably play River then Palmeiras. But there was no danger of that as they did well to only lose 2-1 at home then a rotated side lost 4-1 in Brazil.
Seeking Peruvian Glory In Clausura
Universitario lost star striker Wayttorn to Mexican side Querétaro for £400k, which Mahtal couldn’t really turn down given he had six months on his contract. He strengthened defensively by bringing in right back/midfielder Daniel Hausler from Uruguay’s Liverpool FC and promoted 17-year-old Jorge Fernández to replace Wayttorn.
Clausura began with Navarro scoring the only goal at home to Grau and the winner in a 3-2 at César Vallejo. And it got even better as they finally snapped the winless streak against Alianza with Navarro and Rossi strikes edging a 2-1 away victory. However, they suffered a 2-1 defeat and drew 1-1 at Comerciantes before an early Bazán double led a comfortable 3-0 win at home to Juan Aurich.
Fernández scored his first senior goal in a 3-1 win at Huancayo inspired by the excellent Navarro’s brace, which took his side 4 points clear of Alianza with four games remaining. Rossi broke Wayttorn’s goalscoring record with the only goal at Huaral while Alianza lost 1-0 at home to Cristal. Midfielder Kelvin Abad’s late strike nicked a 2-2 at home to Sport Boys and Alianza drew 3-3 at Auyacucho, which left them 6 points back and moved Melgar into 2nd, trailing by 4 points.
That teed up a potential title decider as an injury-hit Universitario travelled to Melgar on the penultimate day. The two sides played out a dire 0-0 in which the only real highlight was Rossi having a goal narrowly ruled out for offside 10 minutes from time. That at least guaranteed qualification for the Champions Playoff – whatever that meant – heading into the final day at home to Garcilaso. Ongoing injury issued forced Mahtal to switch things up, moving to more of a 4-3-3. They started brightly and took advantage as Bazán headed the opener on 27 minutes. Alianza also led 1-0 and Melgar raced into a 3-1 lead at Grau. Tensions increased as goalkeeper Braian Obando was forced off with a broken arm 20 minutes from time. But they held on for a 1-0 win that saw them also top Clausura.
Despite the lack of a trophy celebration, that 1-0 win was enough to ensure Universitario were the deserving Champions of Peru!
Universitario won Clausura by 1 point from Melgar but won the overall league by 4 points from the same opponents, with Alianza 2 points back in 3rd. They finished with 75 points after 22 wins, 9 draws and just 3 defeats, scoring 85 and conceding 38, and only conceded 12 in Clausura. Rossi was the third-top scorer with 21 in 25, Obando got the most clean sheets (10) and Abad got the joint-most assists (14).
Mahtal Celebrates His First Domestic League Title
Mahtal was delighted at winning his first-ever national title, leading Universitario to the top of Peruvian football for the first time in 22 years. Rossi was an inspired signing, scoring 25 with 9 assists in 31 games. Youngsters pushed him close with Bazán scoring 19 with 7 assists and the promising Navarro scored 16 with 14 assists, while Abad led the way with 16 assists.
Mahtal had really enjoyed his time in Peru, but he knew that he had to depart the club after lifting the league title. He departs Universitario after just over two years in charge, playing 88 games, of which he won 51, drew 17 and lost 20, a win ratio of 37%, scoring 222 and conceding 131.
This success sees Mahtal tick off U alongside S, L and P on his global adventure. But where would Mahtal end up on the fifth leg of his Alphabet Challenge? Join us on Friday to find out!
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