Big Three (Peru)
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LocationLima
StadiumsAlejandro Villanueva (Alianza Lima)
Alberto Gallardo (Sporting Cristal)
Alberto Gallardo (Sporting Cristal)
| Location | Lima |
|---|---|
| Teams | Universitario Sporting Cristal Alianza Lima |
| Stadiums | Alejandro Villanueva (Alianza Lima) Alberto Gallardo (Sporting Cristal) |
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Sporting Cristal, Alberto Gallardo
Alianza Lima, Alejandro Villanueva
The Big Three (Spanish: Los Tres Grandes) is the nickname of the three most successful sports clubs in Peru. The football teams of Alianza Lima, Sporting Cristal, and Universitario have historical rivalries and usually are the main contenders for the title.
Several other clubs outside the big three have won the Peruvian league, with Sport Boys having the fourth most national titles behind the Big Three in Peru with 6 in total. In recent years, the chief competitors of the three are Melgar, Cienciano and Cusco.[1][2][3]
| Club | Total | Liga de Lima (1912–21) |
Amateur era Lima & Callao (1926–50) |
Professional era (1951–) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lima & Callao (1951–65) | Descentralizado (1966–2018) | Liga 1 (2019–) | |||||
| Universitario[C] | 29 | — | 7 | 3 | 16 | 3 | |
| Alianza Lima[D] | 25 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 2 | |
| Sporting Cristal[E] | 20 | — | — | 2 | 17 | 1 | |
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years | Runners-up years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universitario | 29 | 15 | 1929, 1934, 1939, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009, 2013, 2023, 2024, 2025 | 1928, 1932, 1933, 1940, 1955, 1965, 1970, 1972, 1978, 1984, 1988, 1995, 2002, 2008, 2020 |
| Alianza Lima | 25 | 25 | 1918, 1919, 1927, 1928, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1948, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2017, 2021, 2022 | 1914, 1917, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1943, 1953, 1956, 1961, 1964, 1971, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2009, 2011, 2018, 2019, 2023 |
| Sporting Cristal | 20 | 15 | 1956, 1961, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 | 1962, 1963, 1967, 1973, 1977, 1989, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2015, 2021, 2024 |
Title definitions
List of finals
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Universitario | 1–0 | Alianza Lima | Estadio Nacional | ||
| 1988 | Sporting Cristal | 2–1 | Universitario | Estadio Nacional | ||
| Year | Winner | Agg. | Runner-up | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 3rd leg |
| 1998 | Universitario | 3–3 (penalty shootout 4–2) | Sporting Cristal | 1–2 | 2–1 | – |
| 1999 | Universitario | 3–1 | Alianza Lima | 3–0 | 0–1 | – |
| 2003 | Alianza Lima | 2–1† | Sporting Cristal | Single match | ||
| 2004 | Alianza Lima | 0–0 (penalty shootout 5–4) | Sporting Cristal | Single match | ||
| 2009 | Universitario | 2–0 | Alianza Lima | 1–0 | 1–0 | – |
| 2018 | Sporting Cristal | 7–1 | Alianza Lima | 4–1 | 3–0 | – |
| 2020 | Sporting Cristal | 3–2 | Universitario | 2–1 | 1–1 | – |
| 2021 | Alianza Lima | 1–0 | Sporting Cristal | 1–0 | 0–0 | – |
| 2023 | Universitario | 3–1 | Alianza Lima | 1–1 | 2–0 | – |
Other definitions
These matches were played when teams were tied for first in the general league or in a specific tournament.
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Venue | In contention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | Alianza Lima | 1–1 | Federación Universitaria | Stadium Nacional | 1928 Campeonato de Selección y Competencia |
| Replay | Alianza Lima | 2–0 | Federación Universitaria | Stadium Nacional | |
| 1935 | Universitario | 2–1 | Alianza Lima | Stadium Nacional | 1934 Torneo de Primeros Equipos |
| 1955 | Alianza Lima | 2–1 | Universitario | Estadio Nacional | 1955 Campeonato Profesional de Lima |
| 1961 | Sporting Cristal | 2–0 | Alianza Lima | Estadio Nacional | 1961 Campeonato Profesional de Lima |
| 1990 | Universitario | 1–0 | Alianza Lima | Estadio Nacional | 1990 Torneo Regional II |
| 1991 | Sporting Cristal | 1–1 (penalty shootout 7–6) | Universitario | Estadio Nacional | 1991 Torneo Regional II |
| 1998 | Sporting Cristal | 1–0 | Alianza Lima | Estadio Nacional | 1998 Torneo Clausura |
| 2001 | Alianza Lima | 2–1 | Sporting Cristal | Estadio Nacional | 2001 Torneo Apertura |
| 2002 | Universitario | 1–0 0–0 |
Alianza Lima | Estadio Monumental Estadio Mansiche |
2002 Torneo Apertura |
| 2014 | Sporting Cristal | 1–0 | Alianza Lima | Estadio UNSA | 2014 Torneo Clausura |
Half-year / Short tournaments
Torneo Apertura / Fase 1 seasons
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years | Runners-up years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universitario | 9 | 2 | 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2008, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2025 | 1969, 2005 |
| Alianza Lima | 6 | 5 | 1997, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2017, 2023 | 1999, 2002, 2003, 2018, 2025 |
| Sporting Cristal | 4 | 8 | 2003, 2015, 2018, 2021 | 1997, 2001, 2006, 2008, 2016, 2019, 2023, 2024 |
Torneo Clausura / Fase 2 seasons
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years | Runners-up years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alianza Lima | 7 | 5 | 1997, 1999, 2003, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022 | 1998, 2002, 2014, 2018, 2024 |
| Sporting Cristal | 6 | 4 | 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2014, 2016 | 2000, 2008, 2020, 2021 |
| Universitario | 4 | 6 | 2000, 2023, 2024, 2025 | 1997, 1999, 2006, 2007, 2016, 2019 |
Torneo Regional seasons (1984–1991)
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years | Runners-up years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universitario | 4 | 3 | 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990–II | 1989–II, 1990–I, 1991–I |
| Sporting Cristal | 3 | 0 | 1989–I, 1991–I, 1991–II | — |
| Alianza Lima | 0 | 2 | — | 1986, 1990–II |
Torneo Descentralizado seasons (1984–1988)
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years | Runners-up years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alianza Lima | 2 | 0 | 1986, 1987 | — |
| Universitario | 1 | 1 | 1985 | 1988 |
| Sporting Cristal | 1 | 0 | 1988 | — |
Torneo Zona Metropolitana seasons (1984–1991)
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years | Runners-up years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universitario | 6 | 0 | 1984, 1987, 1988 Grupo A, 1989–II, 1990–I, 1991–II | — |
| Alianza Lima | 3 | 3 | 1985, 1989–I, 1990–II | 1984, 1986, 1990–I |
| Sporting Cristal | 2 | 2 | 1986, 1991–I | 1989–I, 1989–II |
Parallel tournaments
Total Half-year / Short tournaments by club
| Club | Total | Half-year tournaments | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torneo Apertura (1997–) | Torneo Clausura (1997–) | Torneo Regional (1984–1991) | Torneo Descentralizado (1984–1988) | Torneo Zona Metropolitana (1984–1991) | Torneo de Verano (2017–2018) | Liguilla Pre-Libertadores (1992–1997) | Apertura (1994) | ||
| Universitario | 24 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alianza Lima | 23 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Sporting Cristal | 20 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
National Cups and Supercups
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years | Runners-up years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alianza Lima | 4 | 1 | 1919 Copa de Campeones del Perú, 1928 Torneo Interligas, 2014 Torneo del Inca, 2018 Supercopa Movistar | 2015 Torneo del Inca |
| Universitario | 1 | 0 | 1970 Copa Presidente de la República | — |
| Sporting Cristal | 1 | 0 | 2021 Copa Bicentenario | — |
