Lima, Jan 21 (EFE).- Peru’s coach, Ricardo Gareca, left the experienced Paolo Guerrero and Jefferson Farfán out of the squad this Friday to face Colombia and Ecuador, and instead returns to the Blanquirroja on forward of the Mexican Leon Santiago Ormeño.
The two great stars of the national team are not on the list of 30 players announced by Gareca for the next double date of the South American qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup due to their low fitness, as they have not fully recovered from two physical problems that drag.
“They are two fundamental players due to their predisposition, professionalism and constant desire to be in the national team. They try to improve themselves not only so that their career continues but also to be in the national team,” Gareca explained.
“We noticed an unconditional love on their part for the national team. We are supporting them in everything we can, but that does not guarantee them a call-up. There have to be other things, unfortunately,” he added.
In return, the Argentine coach got Ormeño back after he began to have more appearances with León and considered that this is “a nice opportunity” for the Mexican nationalized Peruvian player.
Gareca has awarded this call to the players from the Peruvian league who had the most prominence in the two friendlies played in the last week against Panama (1-1) and Jamaica (3-0) such as striker Álex Valera, midfielder Jairo Concha and defender Renzo Garcés.
Garcés was included in the list to the detriment of Christian Ramos, who suffered a fibrillar rupture during the warm-up of the match against Jamaica and will mean a significant loss in the Peruvian defense ahead of the matches against Colombia and Ecuador.
The absences of Anderson Santamaría (Atlas-MEX) and Raúl Ruidíaz (Seattle Sounders-USA) also stand out, who rejected the invitation to participate in the matches against Panama and Jamaica, although it does not seem that Gareca will hold a grudge against him for that decision. .
“Raúl has been one of the players I have called up the most. He is always in our consideration. We respect all the decisions of the boys and any type of position that the player has. We have absolutely nothing to say against him,” Gareca said.
“Each one of us goes through stages and moments of our own in which we decide what we want to do. At no time will he have the selection closed. We want that when they come to the national team, they do it in the best way. If they see that he is not a propitious moment, we appreciate that they tell us,” he added.
Looking ahead to the match in Barranquilla (Colombia), the Argentine coach recalled that the two teams play “many things”, since they are direct rivals for one of the direct qualifying spots for the World Cup.
“It’s going to be a nice game to watch and play. These are the games that you look forward to playing. Colombia and Peru are teams that have known each other for many years. They know us very well, and we know them very well. “, he pointed.
Gareca indicated that he does not want to waste any more energy in insisting that the Peruvian authorities allow the National Stadium in Lima to have full capacity to receive Ecuador, just as the Metropolitan Stadium in Barranquilla will have for the visit of the Peruvian team to Colombia.
The 30 footballers summoned by Gareca are the following:
Goalkeepers: Pedro Gallese (Orlando City-USA), José Carvallo (University) and Ángelo Campos (Alianza Lima).
Defenders: Luis Advíncula (Boca Juniors-ARG), Aldo Corzo (Universitario), Jhilmar Lora (Sporting Cristal), Carlos Zambrano (Boca Juniors-ARG), Miguel Araujo (Emmen-HOL), Alexander Callens (New York City-USA). UU.), Luis Abram (Granada-ESP), Renzo Garcés (Sporting Cristal), Miguel Trauco (Saint Étienne-FRA), Marcos López (San José Earthquakes-USA) and Nilson Loyola (Sporting Cristal).
Midfielders: Renato Tapia (Celta de Vigo-ESP), Pedro Aquino (América-MEX), Wilder Cartagena (Al Ittihad-UAE), Sergio Peña (Malmoe-SUE), Horacio Calcaterra (Sporting Cristal), Jairo Concha (Alianza Lima) , Yoshimar Yotún (without a team), Christopher Gonzáles (Sporting Cristal), Edison Flores (DC United-USA), Christian Cueva (Al Fateh-UAE) and Raziel García (Deportes Tolima-COL).
Forwards: André Carrillo (Al Hilal-EAU), Gabriel Costa (Colo Colo-CHI), Gianluca Lapadula (Benevento-ITA), Álex Valera (Universitario) and Santiago Ormeño (León-MEX).
(c) EFE Agency
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