Peru have given themselves what they hope will be a morale-boosting send-off before heading to their first World Cup in 36 years. In late May they will say farewell to their own fans with a match in Lima against Scotland.
The opponents have been hand-picked to bring back memories of the country’s 1970s golden age. In Argentina ’78 they began their campaign with a 3-1 win over the Scots.
Once again they will kick off their World Cup against European opposition – a crunch debut game against Denmark, before a daunting meeting with the French. In recent times, Peru have little experience against Europeans. They were sparring partners for both England and Switzerland shortly before the last World Cup – losing 3-0 and 2-0. And then there were no further meetings until the recent warm-up friendlies against Croatia and Iceland, both of which took place in the United States.
Coming out of those games with two wins – 2-0 and 3-1 respectively – was a huge boost to morale. It means that the team have equalled the Peruvian national team’s record of 12 games unbeaten – so they can make history next month against Scotland.
But, as is usually the case with friendlies, the result is not necessarily the most important thing. This was also a case of picking up much needed experience – especially as many of the Peru squad have never played any club football in Europe. And coach Ricardo Gareca made some fascinating remarks about the two matches, particularly the first one.
“Croatia are very good on the ball, especially with [Luka] Modric,” he said. “The most important thing for us was to reduce the space available to them, without dropping too deep. Against the European teams if you just limit yourself to defending then you end up not being able to play your way into the game, because they bring their centre-backs right up into your half.”
It is a pertinent observation. Much of club football in South America features defensive lines that operate close to their own goal. Centre-backs in this system can be slow, because there is little space for them to cover behind their backs. These days, in top-level European football, teams are normally much more compact, with the centre-backs expected to push up much higher.
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This difference can make it tough for South American centre-backs to adapt when they come to Europe. Those with sufficient pace can make the transition. The slower ones frequently cannot. The football is faster, the pitches are quicker and the newcomer is caught in unaccustomed positions, feeling vulnerable with so much space behind him. All of this is very disorientating – all the more so if he does not share a language with his new colleagues.
Come the World Cup, Gareca will have to use all his linguistic skills to remind his players of the dangers of dropping deep. A friendly on a neutral ground is one thing. Taking on Denmark and France (and also Australia) will be another. Peru have a young side, lacking experience at this level. Returning to the World Cup after so long means so much – perhaps too much. The psychological pressure will be immense. Other Latin American nations in a similar situation – Ecuador in 2002, Honduras in 2010 – found the World Cup a huge emotional strain, and were unable to produce their best football until the third game, by which time it was too late.
It might be natural for Peru to attempt to ease their way into the competition by erring on their side of caution. But if they drop too deep then the Europeans might be able to maintain them in a stranglehold, squeezed into their own half. This has an extra danger; defending in the air is not the team’s strong point.
In the play-off against New Zealand, they were fortunate that opposing centre forward Chris Wood was not fit enough to start either game. When he came off the bench the Peru defence had problems dealing with his physicality. The goal conceded recently against Iceland came from a corner played high into the box. Defending deep may not only prevent the team from enjoying controlled possession. It may also mean defending badly.
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