Much of the campus Peruvian team has already been in Seoul for a few days, concentrating for the next friendly matches against South Korea and Japan, on the 16th and 20th of this month, respectively (be careful, these are the last tests for the debut of the Qualifiers, in September). And from this Sunday new summons began to join and, of course, Paolo Guerrero It was one of them, who is cited again after a year and a half. Undoubtedly, his objective is to contribute all his experience in the Juan Reynoso scheme.
The ‘Predator’ played his last match with the ‘Blanquirroja’ on October 7, 2021, in the 2-0 victory over Chile on matchday 11 of the Qatar 2022 Qualifiers. Although since then his physical condition has not allowed him to have the continuity he expected, the ‘Chess player’ met him in Argentina -at the Racing Club facilities- and was convinced that his hierarchy is key in the group.
Upon his arrival on Asian soil, Paolo spoke with the cameras of Soccer in America and touched on various topics. The first of these was the recent rise of Gianluca Lapadula to Serie A, after Cagliari beat Bari 1-0 in the final second leg of the Serie B play-offs. He congratulated ‘Bambino’ for returning to the highest category of Italian football, as well as referring to the competition that there will be with him and Alex Valera for a place in the starting eleven from Reynoso.
“My congratulations to him, he has made every effort to be in Serie A and is returning to competitive football. There is Valera, who has been doing things well in Peru. As I spoke with Juan Reynoso, he was also clear with me… whoever is better, he is going to play. The training sessions are going to be very competitive, because the three of us want to play”, he stated.
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In another part of the interview, the ‘Academy’ striker showed some discomfort when asked about his age and what he can contribute to the Peruvian team. Apparently he did not like that and he left some controversial statements regarding competitiveness and the level where some of his teammates have been playing, emphasizing League 1.
“I am playing competitive soccer. If you tell me about my age, I wouldn’t be playing competitive soccer. There are many Peruvian players who don’t play competitive soccer, which is the Peruvian one, obviously. I, at 39 years old, keep playing competitive football. If you are going to ask me that, it is not very relevant because I have been playing competitive football and I am fine.”, he added.
Likewise, the striker racing club He made it clear that his age will not be a problem, while he does not understand the complaints of some fans who referred to his present. On the other hand, he talked about his objectives in this last stage of his soccer career, where he aims to fight to win the Copa Libertadores.
“It surprises me a little, but nothing. I keep training, preparing well. I will play until I feel good, playing competitive football. Then I’ll make a decision, as long as I don’t get injured, I’m super fine. It will depend a lot on what is going to happen this year, so far it is going very well in the Copa Libertadores, which is an objective that I had discussed with the leaders”, he narrowed.
Alianza Lima, the Qualifiers and the last summoned
Paolo Guerrero He also referred to his failed return to Alianza Lima. “At some point the issue of Alianza Lima was touched on, it did not happen and I had some proposals from Ecuador, Uruguay, Chile, but I think Racing was for me“, he pointed. “I wanted to play in Argentine soccer, after Brazilian soccer, which is very competitive. On the issue of trademarks, it is more complicated in Argentina than in Brazil. I would have liked to go to Alianza, as a fan, but that did not depend on me, it depended more on a matter of the managers“, said.
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Finally, the national attacker made it clear that, despite the criticism for the last call, where many consider that there is no generational change, it is what it is. “If you say that names are repeated, it is what it is. Sometimes I would like to understand people who whistle for new names, but it is what it is. Getting me out of here, because I have my last years left”, he opined.
“Because of my colleagues, sometimes they say, why don’t they summon others, and people don’t start to think that there aren’t any. They want to play a Qualifier and not qualify. Let’s hope that my teammates continue with that same hunger and take us to the World Cup, which is what we want”, he pointed out.
When will the matches of the Peruvian National Team be?
The Peruvian team He has been training in Seoul since Sunday June 11 and, when the delegation with the players who play abroad is complete, Juan Reynoso will begin to work on the scheme and variants that he will propose for these friendly commitments on the Asian continent. To date the ‘Cabezón’ has directed six games with the ‘Bicolor’ and these will be two interesting tests thinking about the Qualifiers.
The meeting in front of South Korea is scheduled for Friday, June 16 from 6:00 am (to 8:00 pm in Korean time) and will be held at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium (Busan). For its part, the party against Japan It is scheduled for Tuesday June 20 from 4:55 am (to 6:55 pm in Japanese time) and will take place at the Panasonic Stadium Suita (Osaka).
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