Argentinian manager Miguel Rondelli left Cusco FC together with practically the entire technical staff and made a controversial move to FBC Melgar, the Southern Peruvian rivals of Cusco FC. FBC Melgar had to pay a certain amount to Cusco FC, because the Argentinian had a contract until the end of 2028. On the other hand, because of the Peruvian regulations on this matter, Rondelli cannot be officially the manager of FBC Melgar during Apertura, so he will have to wait until mid-year and the beginning of Clausura to be fully appointed, so until then somebody else will have to assume the "title" of manager, while Rondelli will act mainly from behind the scenes. FBC Melgar, currently 7th in the table, had just sacked manager Juan Reynoso after unconvincing results in the first 8 rounds of Apertura and were looking for a replacement, finally deciding on Miguel Rondelli, taking advantage of the league break caused by the matches of the national teams.
The move was made oddly right after Cusco FC managed to win their first match away, 2-1 at Deportivo Moquegua, and there was a feeling that the team was on the right path before the start of the 2026 Copa Libertadores. However, Rondelli preferred to leave, possibly as a result of an excellent offer from FBC Melgar, and also perhaps because his status within Cusco FC began to deteriorate a little after a less convincing start of the season. After clinching to second place in 2025, tying their best result ever in the league, Cusco FC are now in the middle of the table (10th out of 18), quite far from the top places. The team looked worse than last year, despite keeping most of the players, and this is worrying having in mind that the first match in the Libertadores will be against the title holders CR Flamengo. However, one must remark that Rondelli was manager of Cusco FC for more than 2 years, since January 2024, and had a huge contribution to the rise of Cusco FC in the past 2 years. His tenure is the second longest in the history of Cusco FC / Real Garcilaso, only behind Freddy "Petróleo" García, who stayed for almost 4 years between January 2011 and September 2014. Taking into consideration Cusco FC under this name only (since December 2019), Rondelli was the longest-acting manager of the team, and his results should be pointed out. It was obvious that, after such results, sooner or later he will leave for a better or more famous team. It is sad that he will not have the opportunity to manage Cusco FC in the Libertadores.
Another strange aspect is that the first match of Rondelli as manager of FBC Melgar will be against his former team, Cusco FC. The two teams will face each other on Saturday, 4 April, in Arequipa, in the 9th round of Apertura. What a match will that be!
In the meantime, Cusco FC had to move quickly to find a new manager for the team. Although not yet announced officially by the club, the Peruvian media has already announced that the new manager will be Uruguayan Alejandro Orfila, former manager of Argentinian teams like Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, Barracas Central, and Belgrano.
Alejandro Orfila, the new manager of Cusco FC. Photo source: depor.com
Alejandro Orfila will arrive in Cusco shortly, and will be accompanied by the rest of his staff, including Jonathan Botinelli and Guillermo Almada - assistant managers, Diego Arias - physical trainer, Juan Raña - goalkeepers' coach, and Vicente Barrios - video analyst.
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