Juan Reynoso and the dangers of double speech

More than one was left with disappointment after the Peruvian defeat in the last minutes against the Brazilian team.

Reynoso, the Peruvian coach, became strong precisely in his natural strength: defensive tactics.

But a lack of coordination sent the defensive effort to the scrapheap due to Marquinhos’ goal in the 90th minute. He hurt.

Within the calculations, a defeat against Brazil or Argentina at home must be on the agenda. In this sense, the point obtained in Paraguay on 10/07 will have value in the middle of the qualifying rounds and for us to reach that situation, it is imperative that Peru, next 10/12, defeat Chile in Santiago to wait for the home game , on 10/17, against Argentina.

If we can say something positive about the fixture, to take advantage of it, it is that we will no longer have to face the two South American giants in the remainder of the first phase, because after October, the Blanquirroja will only clash with direct rivals. By then, the budgeted losses are supposed to be set aside. In this long path of classification, impossible dreams end up depressing, so it is not worth making projections forgetting the human material that is available.

The meeting last Tuesday, 09/12, left mixed feelings. The positive: the adaptation of the team to the tactical requirements of DT Reynoso, who has only been in office for a short time. Beyond non-sporting absurdities, such as Grimaldo’s figurativeism after his debut and the César Vallejo club’s sanction to Carlos Ascues (his call-up seems more like a provocation than recognition of good performance), one could see a team marked by the aura of experience (Gallese, Tapia and captain Guerrero), who perhaps does not play like in other qualifying rounds, but we must not deny the dignity of this team: if it were not for the questioned experienced players, what would become of the Blanquirroja? The reality is overwhelming.

We are not going to deny Reynoso’s competence as a coach, but Peruvian football has a couple of decades left to iron out basic flaws if it starts working on minors from now on (a nonsense at the end of the day: Agustín Lozano’s management does not guarantees nothing): let’s think about the lack of maturity of the average Peruvian soccer player ((there is a rosary of indiscipline to deny it): sports training is useless without an inner strength to guide it.

We record this anthropological impression to highlight the biggest problem of the Blanquirroja at the moment, which is not sporting as some cantamañanas point out: the emotional dimension. That’s right: the Peruvian player has a crystal character. The strength of his dynamic does not lie in natural talent, but in self-esteem (“they play like stars in the local tournament and compete with foreign teams,” one often hears ad nauseum) and in the circuits of trust that he establishes with His trainer. This sensitivity depends a lot on what you see and hear from him. The comparisons are odious, but pertinent to understand how Peru arrives in Chile: with Gareca, those selected ran even though he could be wrong in his approaches. They ran because they saw coherence and transparency in the Tiger’s speech. This is how the Peruvian soccer player works and what is already in the emotional DNA will not be altered overnight.

It is expected that for the match with Chile the team will have Lapadula and the Danish Oliver Sonne could join the team. The alternatives are presented to the DT, but what image does Reynoso project within the group when what he says does not conform to reality, that is, he lies (or in any case said something incorrect, an inevitable lapse caused by the goal of Marquinhos): Ruidíaz was being held responsible for the PSG defender’s goal. Reynoso pointed out that that was his position on corner kicks at the Seattle Sounders, but coach Brian Schmetzer denied it.

Unfortunately, it is not an isolated event.

When he gave the list of those called up for this first double date, the national coach indicated that he will only focus on the players “who are there”, at the same time, the FPF reported that Cueva, Flores, Reyna and Lora were injured. Two days later, Cueva and Flores played for their respective clubs in League 1.

Strange things that do affect the selection, which we must see as the great metaphor of Peruvian society, where its biggest problem is not the lack of talent and capacity – in Peru, there are plenty – but its articulation. Marcos Calderón, Didí, Tim and Gareca managed to qualify because the players believed in them. The Peruvian player felt safe, because you can fail, but you cannot fail.

The data says that Berizzo’s Chile is winnable. But apart from Paolo’s stick against Paraguay, we have had no other attacking situation to consider. The data says that this Berizzo Chile is the ash of the golden generation, two-time Copa América champions. However, what remains of the strength, explosion and coordination of the Peruvian midfielder who qualified for a World Cup, who played in a Copa América final and fought in a playoff.

Just as Chile is winnable today, Peru is also winnable for Chile. Both teams arrive in the middle of the replacement stage and the need for points for the local team will make the match have all the components of a rarefied and provocative atmosphere. Let’s not forget the duel in Santiago in 1997, a match that Peru entered without adequate psychological preparation. We already know what passed.

As we already indicated, in this eliminatory process there are two teams that should not be counted in the points total, in addition, there are six places already purchased for the 2026 World Cup, and a playoff option. South America would have seven qualified teams and three that are left aside. Venezuela won its home match against Paraguay, Bolivia lost its matches with Brazil and Argentina (it got rid of the monsters for the remainder of the first phase of the qualifiers). Peru and Chile have a point.

Among Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Venezuela and Bolivia are the three/four teams that will not go to the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026. It is assumed that the next qualifying match will be played with a direct rival. Berizzo is being highly questioned in Chile, in Peru the fans are divided between those who long for Gareca to return and those who still believe in Reynoso. There is no notable football difference between these teams. Peru has only one option: they are going to win, or in any case not lose, to Chile and let fate decide the meeting with Argentina in Lima on 10/21. After that second double date, he goes after all possible points.

Is work being done on the mentality and emotional intelligence of those selected? Will there be no more mismatched versions of reality? Only Reynoso knows.

(Matias Reyes).