Cienciano del Cusco beat Universitario de Deportes 2-0 in Peru's Torneo Clausura, and assistant coach Cristian Ruggeri said the result showed his side had overpowered both the reigning Copa Sudamericana champion and the country's three-time domestic champion in the space of a few days.
The win over Universitario came shortly after Cienciano's victory against Argentina's Lanus in the Copa Sudamericana, South America's second-tier continental club competition. Ruggeri, who serves as assistant to head coach Horacio Melgarejo, spoke to reporters after the match in Cusco.
Ruggeri on beating Universitario
Ruggeri said Cienciano had not beaten Universitario in Cusco since 2022, and that his team played well and dominated the match. He said Cienciano created 13 scoring chances in the first half, while Universitario had only one, through a key player, Valera.
He added that Cienciano had been through some difficult matches this season, including one in which a sending-off contributed to a defeat. He praised the squad for overcoming both the Copa Sudamericana and Recopa Sudamericana champion and Universitario, the three-time champion of Peruvian football.
Cienciano, one of the most successful clubs based outside the Peruvian capital, won the Copa Sudamericana in 2003. Universitario de Deportes, based in Lima, is one of Peru's most decorated clubs and enters the match as the country's reigning three-time league champion.
Request to postpone Liga 1 match
Cienciano is next due to face Brazil's Botafogo in the Copa Sudamericana, and Ruggeri said the club's packed fixture list was a concern. He asked Peru's football federation, the FPF, to reschedule Cienciano's league match against Deportivo Garcilaso, which falls between the two legs against Botafogo.
He said he hoped the federation would bear in mind that Cienciano was the only Peruvian club still competing internationally, and that rescheduling the Garcilaso match would be a matter of common sense. He said he believed all Peruvians wanted Cienciano to advance as far as possible in the competition, and that the federation should grant the request.
Cienciano vs Botafogo
The first leg between Cienciano and Botafogo, in the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana, is scheduled for Thursday, August 13, kicking off at 7.30 p.m. at the Estadio Inca Garcilaso de la Vega.
