The Swiss justice system has freed Peru’s Paolo Guerrero to play in the World Cup – and saved the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) from its own idiocy.
Guerrero tested positive last October for a metabolite of cocaine – shown in such small quantities that it almost certainly came from a tea he drunk in a contaminated environment, previously used to brew the coca leaf tea, a relatively common drink in Peru.
FIFA gave him a six-month ban, which ran out at the start of May. His lawyers went to CAS pressing for Guerrero to be declared innocent, while the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) pressed for a two-year ban, on the principle that under any circumstances an athlete is always responsible for what enters his body.
And CAS ruled that his suspension should be increased to 14 months – leaving him with eight months still to serve. But it was hard to see the slightest logic in their position. They accepted that Guerrero had made no effort to gain a sporting advantage (and nor had he received one) and that he had not been guilty of any significant lack of care. They decided, then, that there had been no crime – and still handed out a heavy punishment.
Guerrero’s lawyers took the case to the Swiss courts, who seized on the incongruous nature of the sentence and ordered the suspension to be lifted for him to play the World Cup. Both CAS and WADA, perhaps realising that their actions had exposed them to ridicule, raised no objection. And so, by tortuous legal means, Paolo Guerrero is able to crown his long career with a participation in Peru’s first World Cup since 1982.
And so coach Ricardo Gareca can welcome back Peru’s captain, centre forward, all-time top scorer, perhaps their one player of genuine world class. Even so, in the nicest possible way, Gareca has gained a headache. Because Peru have been getting along very nicely without Guerrero.
First they overcame New Zealand in a two-legged play-off to claim the final place in Russia. Then they were drawn in a group containing Denmark, France and Australia. Conclusion: some practice against European opposition was badly needed.
Peru rarely play against teams from Europe. Guerrero, in a 14-year international career of over 80 games, has only once lined up against a European side, in a match against Spain in May 2008. Going into this year, Peru’s last meetings with opponents from the other side of the Atlantic were defeats by England and Switzerland just before the last World Cup. Their last win came at home to Slovakia in November 1999. Before that, another triumph over Slovakia in June 1995. Their last wins of any note came as they warmed up for 1982, beating Romania at home as well as France and Hungary away.
This is the context in which Peru’s results this year must be placed. Without Guerrero they played friendlies against Croatia and Iceland in the USA in March, and won them both, 2-0 and 3-1 respectively. And last week in their Lima send-off they beat Scotland 2-0, before triumphing 3-0 over Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
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Crucial to all of these results was Jefferson Farfan, an old school mate of Guerrero’s who has made a triumphant return to the national team. Farfan does not possess one of Guerrero’s standout skills – the ability to hold the ball up with back to goal and bring others into the play. But he is probably a bit quicker, easier to play behind the defensive line. Indeed, the opening goal against Scotland came from precisely this situation.
There would seem little chance of Farfan and Guerrero being used as twin centre forwards. The only time Scotland had any foothold in last week’s match came in the few minutes in which Peru had two up top, Farfan and Raul Ruidiaz. Suddenly the Scots were more able to play their way down the field, and after 10 minutes Gareca took off Farfan and brought on a midfielder.
Farfan is sufficiently versatile to operate across the line of support strikers in Peru’s 4-2-3-1 formation. But that means someone will have to drop out. Christian Cueva is the team’s foot-on-the-ball playmaker. Edison Flores, versatile and left-footed, was the big discovery of the qualification campaign and brings many virtues to the team. Andre Carrillo on the right wing may be the most vulnerable. But he is looking in good form, and his physical capacity means that he can work up and down the line, putting in a defensive shift that would be beyond Farfan.
The only time Guerrero and Farfan have played together in the last two years was in the World Cup qualifier away to Argentina. Both Carrillo and Cueva were suspended, and, wary of Lionel Messi, Gareca brought an extra man into midfield to play 4-3-2-1. It worked. Peru went home with a vital point after a goalless draw. But, with all his players available, is Gareca disposed to mess around with the architecture of his team to accommodate a pair of veteran strikers?
Add in to the mix the undoubted fact that Guerrero is both 34 and rusty after his lay-off. In early May once his original ban ran out he played three games for Flamengo, his Brazilian club side, coming off the bench twice and starting once. Although he has been training, a couple of warm-up games are hardly enough to get him in shape for a World Cup. He is surely unlikely to last the 90 minutes.
Might the solution, then, be to start with one striker and bring on the other later in the game? And if so, what should be the order? It might make sense, in the first two games at least, to start with Farfan for the extra mobility, and introduce Guerrero for the last chase. But then the captain will not be leading the team out. Does that matter? Gareca must decide.
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