Peru are currently sat firmly at the bottom of the Conmebol standings for World Cup qualification with three points and a goal difference of -12. With six games played and twelve remaining all is not lost but I wouldn’t hold your breath.
Peru are one of the original World Cup teams having been present at the first one but have only managed three appearances since. It is an inevitable fact for a South American country trying to qualify for the World Cup that Brazil and Argentina are pretty much always going to fly through.
As well as their obvious superior football pedigree they have the biggest populations Brazil with 187 million to choose from and Argentina with 40 million (to put it into perspective the United Kingdom has a population of 60 million and four international football teams!)
But how have South America’s third biggest nation with a population of 28 million, after their golden years of the seventies and eighties, managed to find themselves knocked out of serious contention for those all important third and fourth spots by relative football minnows like Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile and Venezuela.
On the surface everything looks rosey in Peruvian football. They have rules in place in the Primera Division Peruana to stop a mass immigration of footballers from other South American nations, each team may only field three players without Peruvian citizenship, which ensures a big pool of talent for national team selection.
They also have a number of reasonable quality players plying their trade in Europe. Former Newcastle favourite Nolberto Solano now playing with Larrisa F.C. in Greece, intensely patriotic Hamburg striker Paolo Guerrero, former Chelsea man Claudio Pizarro now on loan with Werder Bremen (much to the relief of the Peruvian people), Jefferson Farfan who has signed for Shalke 04 from PSV Eindhoven this season and in my opinion their best player Fiorentina’s new signing Juan Manuel Vargas a left-back who is equally impressive attacking as defending and has a left foot as good as Roberto Carlos’s ever was (one to look for in the Champions League this season).
So what is going wrong?
As Peru limp towards what looks like a sixth successive World Cup qualification failure the finger pointing has already started.
Reports of partying before the 1-1 draw with Brazil in November of last year have brought into question the attitude of several players and led to bans for Farfan and Pizarro from Peru’s football federation. Pizarro in particular is accused of having no commitment to Peru.
In the past he had been in rather a hurry to return to Europe and reluctant to turn out for friendly fixtures (maybe understandably considering the distances involved).
Star player Paolo Guerrero has also done the cause no favours getting himself sent off and given a FIFA six game ban for aggressive behaviour during the 6-0 loss to Uruguay in June of this year. His frustration with their performance was there for everyone to see.
On their return to Lima Peru’s football fans let manager Jose del Solar and his players know exactly how they felt. Riot police had to protect them when leaving the airport as they were pelted with eggs and insults were screamed by the waiting mob.
Being a player in the Peruvian national team that isn’t performing (which means any from the last 25 years) can be a dangerous job. As well as the fans venting their anger the media also don’t pull their punches going as far as recently calling the team “a bunch of drunks.”
The perception in Peru is that the players just do not try as hard as their South American neighbours an understandable view but one all too simplistic.
The Peruvian football federation really needs to examine all aspects of football development in Peru. Peru doesn’t suffer with the problem of children simply not playing the game like a lot of European nations. Nearly every child in Peru plays the game and there seems to be a football pitch on every corner but stadiums just don’t fill up for club games.
For example Cienciano a team from the historic city of Cusco won the 2003 Copa Sudamericana and 2004 Recopa Sudamericana, making them what could be argued the best team in South America, only to return home to half empty stadiums.
The popularity of European and other South American leagues is not healthy and the Peruvian Football Federation need to look harder at promoting their own league (which isn’t an easy thing to do when you take into account one of the main reasons the people stay away is pure and simple poverty).
Another problem for Peruvian football is a lot more general to Peruvian society. Professionalism is lacking in many occupations in Peru and footballers are no exception.
Having Peruvian family I fully understand Peru’s problems with time keeping among other things. A story I often use to explain this odd Peruvian custom is of a Spaniard I know who married a Peruvian girl and knowing of her families and friends problem with punctuality sent out two sets of invitations to the evening party.
The Spanish side’s invitations said to arrive at eight o’clock and the invitations sent to the Peruvians stated six o’clock. As he predicted both sides arrived at roughly the same time.
The problem has got so bad the government recently started a campaign ”la hora sin demora” or “time without delay” to promote punctuality in Peru.
Gone are the days when teams could rely purely on talent. George Best used to train once a week and spend the rest of it in the pub. Maradona took cocaine during his career. I don’t think even the great World Cup winning teams of the past couldn’t live with today’s ultra tactical, total fitness high level games.
If Peru are to qualify alongside supremely talented athletes with total dedication like Kaka and Messi they need to realize that those days are well and truly gone. Dedication, leadership and discipline are all things future Peruvian players need installing in them because at the moment they are severely lacking.
With Venezuela, Argentina and Bolivia to play home and away, Chile and Ecuador to play at home and Paraguay, Brazil and Colombia to play away qualification is still possible but something tells me the current team are lacking in the discipline to recover from such a disastrous start.
Hope though, is something they never run out of in Peru. The U-17 team’s qualification to the 2007 U-17 World Cup, with a win against Brazil and draw with Argentina among other good results, was met with celebrations that other countries would be proud of if they won the World Cup and showed how much it would mean to Peru to rise again as a powerful football country.
When the team returned to Jorge Chavez airport in Lima a crowd of thousands waited and a media frenzy ensued. Despite only securing the fourth qualifying spot behind Brazil, Argentina and Colombia the team even got a full military reception with the president Alan Garcia.
All this may seem over the top to someone unfamiliar with Peruvian football but you have to remember no Peruvian national team has qualified for an international tournament since 1981!
The U-17 team exited the 2007 World cup with a defeat to Ghana in the quarter final but the attacking fearless manner in which they played was enough to please the fans and the tournament made stars of a group of 16 year olds.
17 year old Reimond Manco, the attacking talisman of the team, has since been signed by PSV Eindhoven from Alianza Lima (Newcastle fans will remember his goal in pre-season) and is looking like a very exciting prospect.
There also many slighty older young prospects. 18-year old Damian Ismodes signed earlier this year for La Liga’s Racing Santander from Sporting Cristal. 20 year old Daniel Chavez Castillo is another outstanding talent playing for Brugge.
Carlos Zambrona is another great prospect who since his arrival to Shalke 04 two years ago has cemented his reputation as a great defender and is expected to make the jump to the senior national team.
There are many other young prospects playing in the Peruvian league as well but in the true style of the Peruvian media they are making gods of these players before they even step on the pitch.
Reimond Manco for example since returning from the U-17 world cup has become a superstar in Peru. Although he shows great potential he is showing all the traditional traits of a Peruvian footballer by being linked with Miss Teen Peru Jazmin Pinedo.
Peru’s journalists as you can imagine are ecstatic with such a glamorous pairing but should he play in the next senior game and they lose I doubt they’ll waste any time turning on him and choking the confidence out of a potentially great young player.
Whatever the outcome of the upcoming World Cup qualification games there is a feeling in Peru that a new golden generation of players is on the horizon for the first time since the seventies.
If Peru’s Football federation develop them in the proper way and the Peruvian media and people give them a fair chance then they could be right. But nothing is ever certain with Peruvian football and potential is often not met.
Only time will tell if their optimism is mis-placed yet again.
16 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Joe Ustler 10 months ago
Hugo Chavez airport in Lima?
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Anthony Sanchez 10 months ago
Slip of the tongue.Cheers.
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illya mclellan 10 months ago
nice article mate. I like the reference to the Peruvian's and their poor time keeping. I am known amongst my family and friends as one who is always late so I think perhaps I should go and live there.
A great quote from one of my favourite writers, Oscar Wilde is "punctuality is the thief of time", seems as though it would be very apt for the Peruvian people.
I got a laugh out of partying BEFORE their 1-1 draw with Brazil! imagine if they hadn't been partying!
I plan to look at the results they have had so far as I have not been following the conmebol qualification closely.
It must be frustrating as a follower of this team with their repeated poor showings in qualification for the world cup. I will be interested to see if they can turn the situation around in the coming months as from your research it is easy to see that they have the talent to challenge the worlds best.
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illya mclellan 10 months ago
just checked their results, does not make good reading. 5-1 to Ecuador and 6-0 to Uruguay are shockers but their draw with Brazil is perhaps something to be happy about. A lot of games left though. Maybe they will make a miraculous recovery, stranger things have happened in football.
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Anthony Sanchez 10 months ago
They aren't very good Illya.Lima is hard place to come and win so the 1-1 result is pretty decieving we'll probably see that when they get thumped 7-0 or something in brazil.I think there only hope is the young players comin through maybe we'll see them in the world cup 2014.Thanks for taking the time to read and comment Illya.
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S B 10 months ago
Nice read. The reason Venezuela , Bolivia and Paraguay (who you did not mention and currently lead the standings by a clear 2 points) are doing better is youth programs.
Also apart from Brazil, Argentina ..Uruguay has to be considered a South American powerhouse with 2 World Cup wins and a good brand.
I watched them almost beat Kaka,Ronaldino and company last year.
So really there are only two spots up for grabs. Just two places for 5 or 6 excellent teams who have all played in the World Cup.
Peru is probably being punished by the football gods for throwing that 1978 match to Argentina.
p.s just a footnote....if population had something to do with it then India, China or at least the U.S. would be the teams to watch. ...chortle....chortle
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Anthony Sanchez 10 months ago
Maybe one day those team will be the ones to watch but at the moment they don't have the pedigree they're a bit too occupied with baseball and cricket and god knows what else.Maybe your right about the football gods I know Peruvians favour Argentina because of the language and Maradona being mestizo so if the same situation came up again I would expect a different outcome .Like i said I think they'll be a better team in a few years and maybe give you a better game.Thanks for the comment S its much appreciated.
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Anthony Sanchez 10 months ago
Oh and I didn't mention Paraguay and Uruguay is because I consider them decent teams.Peru should be competing with them.
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Saraswathi Siriginia 10 months ago
Nice read Ant, Peruvian Soccer is yet to grow to Brazilian or Argentenian heights. Uruguay is doing great and Peru to reach to that level needs a more balanced program and long term planning.
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Anthony Sanchez 10 months ago
I hope one day they can do it. Until then I'll keep hoping.
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Baris Gerceker 8 months ago
The landscape of nations really defines what their leagues and national teams will look like. The more industrial football gets weaker goes the poor nations. This also reflects the scope of their respective fans, both club-team-wise and national-team-wise.
In my articles talking about foreign player freedom and foreigners playing in national teams I wandered around this issue actually. South American nations and Turkey have so much in common despite the distinctive differences in their base characters. Poverty, government approaches, warm-bloodedness etc. Our teams much more than to us, than others.
Peru's limitations for foreign players is not appearantly helping them, they keep on exporting players to Europe. Which leaves their national leagues weeker perhaps. And I always believe that the leagues are what makes a national team. They should find a way to promote their national league as you have suggested, increase the expectations of fans from teams, make them "have to" perform much better and professionally. Otherwise they will never reach the potential they bear. The finings of national players by the FA tells a lot. Will that cause any improvements is something to see.
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luis sanchez 6 months ago
hey ant. do you know why farfan and pizarro are not playing for the team anymore?
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Anthony Sanchez 6 months ago
They got an 18 month ban for drinking all night before that Brazil game. Pretty strange move to ban your own two best players. Guess they thought that they couldn't get any worse!
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luis sanchez 6 months ago
thanks
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Andrew McNair 6 months ago
Peru's nightmare??????Scotland haven't been the same since!
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Anthony Sanchez 6 months ago
Ha ha, Don't worry Andrew. Neither has Peru!
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