English football fans tend to groan when FIFA dates come around and the Premier League is put on hold for a weekend. But imagine how they would feel if they were in Peru.
With the Peruvian national team needing to prepare for the home and away World Cup qualifying play-off against New Zealand, the domestic league will shut down after this coming weekend, and only start up again in the middle of November. Fans of the likes of Universitario and Alianza Lima will have to go without their fix for almost three weeks.
And will it all be worth it? True, Peru’s 26-man squad contains 10-home based players. But they are nearly all reserves. The only regular first-teamers based in Peru are right-back Aldo Corzo and veteran centre-back Alberto Rodriguez. The rest are all over the place; of the first-teamers, three are Brazil-based, with the rest flying in from Mexico, USA, Ecuador, Denmark, Holland and England. Most of the foreign-based players will not be allowed to join up with the national team early, so the first week of training will be of limited value.
It is, though, an indication of how seriously Peru are treating the occasion. They have not made it to a World Cup since 1982. In recent times they have frequently not even come close, and they made a bad start to the current campaign. But they finished in style. In the last eight rounds they were only beaten once – away to Brazil – and accumulated four wins and three draws. The country hopes that a new generation has emerged to rival the feats of Cubillas and company in the 1970s; but it fears that hopes are being raised only to be cruelly dashed once again.
Argentine coach Ricardo Gareca has to pilot the squad through this emotional turmoil. A decade ago, during his time in charge of Universitario, he noted how the fans could almost instantly turn from euphoria to despair. Perhaps his biggest virtue in the current campaign has been his calm approach. There has been no playing to the gallery, no mass wielding of the axe after early defeats. He found a group of players he believed in and has stuck with him – and he, and Peru, have been rewarded for his faith.
His is a young squad. There are three veterans. The big star, centre-forward Paolo Guerrero, was born in 1984, along with centre-back Rodriguez and the recently recalled support striker Jefferson Farfan. No one else in the squad, with the exception of the third-choice keeper, is 29. The majority are in their early to mid-20s.
They have come through as a group, and together they have put an end to Peru’s absurdly bad away record in World Cup qualification. After 2004 it took them 12 years to win another game on the road, and even draws were a rarity. Time and time again the team collapsed after conceding the first goal. Gareca’s kids would seem to be made of stronger stuff. But now, so close to glory, comes the real test. These play-offs – in Wellington on November 11 and in Lima four days later – are not normal games. The emotional aspect will be huge. Already all of Peru holds its breath every time Guerrero is tackled when he plays for Flamengo, his Brazilian club side. If he picks up a knock and is substituted, it is front-page news.
Gareca is wisely making a point of not underestimating New Zealand, who enjoyed some impressive moments in the Confederations Cup, where they were even leading Mexico at half-time. Peru’s coach described them as “a team who have been well worked,” paying tribute to the job done by his counterpart Anthony Hudson and concluding that “we think they are going to be a very tough opponent.”
And it is not just Peruvian domestic football which is having to be rearranged as a consequence of the play-off. American rock band Green Day had been booked to play in Lima’s National Stadium around the time of the play-off. They have agreed to change the date and the venue of their concert. November 15, after all, is a day for putting on the white shirt with the red sash. And it is not an occasion for half measures. For Peru the soundtrack will either be ‘Welcome to Paradise,’ or ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams.’
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