A week ago, the president of the FPF, Agustín Lozano, was arrested by local police. In terms of football, the situation is also bad. They are penultimate, with one point more than Chile in the standings. This is the confrontation between the two worst teams in the subcontinental context.
Peru arrives at a complex time for the confrontation against La Roja. Almost as bad as the present of the Chilean team itself. The two-tone distribution includes six units. One more than Chile. As a prelude, this looks like the duel between the two worst castings of the subcontinental concert. In the Rimac federation, in fact, they keep Jorge Fossati because they do not have the money to dismiss him and because of their internal crisis. Although, unlike what happened with Gareca, the last double meeting gave him an impetus to continue, since he managed to win against Uruguay, in Lima.. “We are one of the weaker teams; You have to localize yourself, and Chile too. We are direct rivals, with two or three other teams. I have no doubt that he will be a very tough rival. They have quality players and the ability of Ricardo (Gareca) who has demonstrated his capabilities in many regions of the world and commands respect” said the Inca DT in the last hours.
At the FPF, Juan Carlos Oblitas asked for calm in the middle of a bad sporting moment. They prefer to take the bad moment calmly, because they have already broken a contract in the middle of the qualification process by eliminating Juan Reynoso. Even if two defeats could increase the wear and tear on his figure in Peru. The white-red team closed the first round with only one victory. The one mentioned before the Celestial. It is, for the moment, the only team that La Roja has managed to beat in the process that leads to the United States, Mexico and Canada 2026.
Thinking about this Friday’s confrontation, the home team tested Carlos Cáceda on the pitch; Luis Advíncula, Miguel Araujo, Alexander Callens, Luis Abram; Wilder Cartagena, Sergio Peña, Horacio Calcaterra, Miguel Trauco; Alex Valera and Gianluca Lapadula. The average age of this training is 31.7 years. A reflection of when they live in the neighboring nation. Something they keep from the Tigre process there: they failed to rejuvenate their team. Without going any further, the last call highlights the return of Guerrero, who is already 40 years old. In its list there are classic names of the last decade, such as Gallese, Araujo, Callens, Advíncula, Abram, Trauco, Lapadula, Corzo, Zambrano, Polo or Flores. All veteran football players. Many of them even participated in the 2015 Copa América.
As usually happens in these clashes, in Peru, there was no hesitation in directly summoning Arturo Vidal after the statements he made upon his return to Juan Pinto Durán. “It’s a very important match. It’s a classic, so we know what it is. What I can say to Vidal is that we are waiting for him here. No problem. We train and prepare in the best way. It will be a good match. The game motivates me. This is not the first time I have not had good numbers and I have no problem working to improve them,” Lapadula said. What did the Chilean midfielder say? “They have to win too. This match is going to be a war. We prepare well and we are not afraid”, were the words that made noise within the rival.
On the other hand, the Peruvian-Italian striker also spoke about his relationship with Gareca. “I have great affection for Ricardo. To him and to all the technical staff, but that remains off the field. Feelings are left out of the picture. It makes me happy to see him again, but nothing more. There are possibilities of reaching the World Cup. There are still plenty of games left and the numbers indicate there is a possibility. It’s something we have to believe in and I think it’s important to focus on every game. “I don’t want to see what happens next, only what happens on Friday,” he said.
With a scandal in tow
After their elimination from the Copa América, Peru drew against Colombia, lost to Ecuador, beat Uruguay and was beaten by Brazil. This as part of the Qualifiers. On this double date, in addition to receiving Chile, they must visit Argentina. The calculations made in Lima indicate that they need six points to dream of a rise to the second round. Perhaps a very optimistic vision.
Furthermore, in the FPF They are experiencing dark days. On November 7, the president of the federation, Agustín Lozano, was arrested. Besides the boss, other directors and officials were arrested. The list includes Sabrina Martín, Joel Raffo, Jean Robilliard, Norma Alva, Freddy Salazar, Karen Mandriotti, Juan Quispe Cáceres, Humberto Miñán, José Carlos Isla and Franklin Chuquisuta. All are accused of being part of a criminal organization called “Los Galacticos”, accused of various crimes such as fraud, corruption, money laundering for inappropriate use of federation resources. This Wednesday, eight offices of companies linked to the investigation against Lozano were searched.
In Peru, it is already expected that Conmebol will withdraw the organization of the next South American Sub 20 due to the current instability of the FPF. The interim president is Arturo Ríos.
Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
