Team overview
By Rupert Fryer | @Rupert_Fryer |
In 2011, under the stewardship of veteran Uruguayan coach Sergio Markarian, Peru fans would have been forgiven for believing the immediate future looked bright. Having finished rock bottom of CONMEBOL World Cup qualification ahead of South Africa 2010, Markarian guided the team to its first Copa semifinal since 1983 in what local media dubbed ‘the cup of the humble.’
Peru failed to build on that success, however, and finished 10 points off qualification for what it hoped would be its first World Cup since 1982.
Expectations were raised again at last year's Copa after Argentinian coach Ricardo Gareca matched Markarian’s third-place finish. However, a disappointing sense of déjà vu has followed with Peru slumping to just one win in its six qualifiers so far, leaving it third-bottom of the 10-team group with just four points.
There had been suggestions that Gareca would use the Centenario to experiment with some new faces, but the omissions of a number of high-profile players such as Jefferson Farfan, Claudio Pizarro Juan Manuel Vargas, Carlos Zambrano and Luis Advincula have been met with speculation he has lost patience with the core of his group.
Key player
32-year-old Flamengo striker Paolo Guerrero avoided the cull, and much of Peru’s hopes will be pinned on the former Bayern Munich, Hamburg and Corinthians man.
Tied with the great Teofilo Cubillas on 26 goals as Peru’s all-time leading marksman, Guerrero is strong, leads the line and is a persistent threat in the air. He is expected to inherit the captain’s armband from Pizarro.
The problem for Peru will be providing its hitman with the service to overtake Cubillas and write himself into the history books.
Toluca winger Christian Cueva could provide a key supply line following an impressive spell in Mexico which has seen him improve at a rate that is rumored to be attracting scouts from England. PSV’s uncapped Luiz Da Silva is also an interesting prospect.
Tricky Universitario striker Raul Ruidiaz could also add some much-needed guile, should he graduate from impact sub to a first-teamer. The 25-year-old’s career slowed after making waves off the bench at Jorge Sampaoli’s Universidad de Chile in 2012, but he has rediscovered his form since returning home.
A squat, inventive attacker, Ruidiaz has scored bucket-loads of goals this season and came off the bench to rescue a point in Lima in March’s 2-2 draw with Venezuela in World Cup qualifying.
Few at the Copa head the ball better than Guerrero and, with the right supply line, he could certainly lead from the front.
Manager spotlight
Gareca was roundly booed following that 2-2 draw with Venezuela, and the tension was clearly getting to him as he reacted angrily to a line of questioning regarding his future during a post-match press conference.
Assisted by legendary Peru international Nolberto Solano, Gareca has attracted further criticism for a 40-man preliminary squad that included just 10 players based outside Peru.
“Maybe I've been too patient,” he said. “I have characterized it that way because I always believe that players will recover their form. That is the criterion I have used. But everything has to have a limit.”
It was a bold decision from the former Boca, River and Argentina striker who led Velez Sarsfield to three league titles between 2009 and 2012, overseeing what was perhaps the most stable club in Argentinian soccer’s recent history, with Gareca managing a remarkable four years in the same job.
His stock was high following his spell in Liniers, but a 2014 spell with Palmeiras lasted just nine games as the Argentinian contingent he brought to Sao Paulo failed to produce immediate results.
Life as Peru coach started well with the 2011 Copa, but the pressure is mounting.
Success looks like...
Qualification from a tricky group that includes Brazil and early qualification pace-setters Ecuador would be seen a fruitful tournament for Peru. However, simply some encouraging signs from the new arrivals to the international scene will likely be enough to buy Gareca time ahead of the resumption of CONMEBOL qualifying in September. The Centenario will offer a distraction from the rocky road to Russia 2018, and the diminished importance of the competition itself means it’s more suitable to utilize as a something of a test lab for the Argentinian.
Gareca will also be able to gauge the reaction of Peru’s senior absentees, some of whom were rumored to have added their names to a long list of incidents of ill-discipline that have plagued the national team's recent history.
An inexperienced squad, then, will be faced with the task of navigating a group which will see Peru as favorites in just one of its first-round matches, against CONCACAF outfit Haiti.
The emergence of a new star would certainly be welcome. Perhaps 19-year-old Da Silva could be exactly that. An exciting talent, he has already cruelly been tagged the ‘Peruvian Neymar.’
Failure looks like...
Three insipid performances that would undoubtedly lead to criticism that Gareca was wrong to leave a group of established internationals kicking their heels throughout June.
“In the soccer world, players must be in great form to reach a national team,” mused Lima-based newspaper El Bocon in its critique of the squad.
“Ricardo Gareca clearly thinks differently. Notable is that no one in the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) has the authority to [question] the latest call-ups to the Peruvian team.”
The excluded Zambano insisted, “We do not care much about this Copa America Centenario. We want to reach a World Cup and we have to win a lot of points.” Gareca’s employers, however, may think differently, and more of the sort of form the team’s shown since last year’s Copa would likely see the end of the road for the coach.
Recent Copa America performances are about the only things Peruvian fans have had to celebrate in some 30 years. They don’t expect another semifinal. All they ask is cause for hope.
