Sebastián Viera made his first real move as Junior coach on the eve of the Jaguares match: he named the squad that will take the field for his debut on the bench. The list brought back Kevin Pérez and Guillermo Celis, while Jean Pestaña, Joel Canchimbo and Déiber Caicedo were left out.
The call-up lands at a moment when Junior needs a clean reset after a complicated start in Liga BetPlay II-2026. Viera, who replaced Alfredo Arias after he left on August 31, is walking into a team under pressure, and his first selection suggests he is not starting from scratch so much as adjusting an existing structure for a new voice.
That matters because the group he chose still looks close to the one Arias had been using. Viera kept a large base of the roster in place, which points to continuity as much as change in his first matchday decision. Guillermo Celis is back after serving a one-match suspension, so his return fits a straightforward rule rather than a mystery. Kevin Pérez’s return also reads as a selection choice within the normal limits of a coach’s call-up: with only so many places available, some players come in and others are left out. The absences of Pestaña, Canchimbo and Caicedo, by contrast, are the first clear signs that Viera is beginning to sort roles before his first whistle as head coach.
Junior will still have serious options in attack for the debut, with Luis Muriel, Guillermo Paiva, Francisco Fydriszewski and Teófilo Gutiérrez available. That gives Viera room to decide whether his first impression will come through caution, continuity or a sharper break from what came before. The answer will start to show against Jaguares, when his first squad list turns into his first team on the field.
