Peruvian national team: Ricardo Gareca would be an option to lead Colombia, according to Argentine journalist

It is not a secret to anyone that Ricardo Gareca is the architect of the success of the Peruvian national team. What it has been achieving since 2015 with ups and downs, among other things, has given the team competitiveness to face any country no matter what stars it has. This has caused it to be targeted by other sides, including Colombia, which according to journalist Claudio Husain, would be one of the options to take the diver.

This news was released by 'Turco' himself on the YouTube channel “Offsiders Latinoamérica”, in a program with other communicators from this part of the continent. He first pointed out that in the face of the failure of the 'coffee growers' in the Qatar 2022 Qualifiers, they would have decided to leave Reinaldo Rueda. In that sense, there would be 2 options: Marcelo Bielsa and Ricardo Gareca. “Marcelo Bielsa is option number 1. Option number 2, Ricardo Gareca. Let Colombia wait for Ricardo Gareca. If it does go to the World Cup, it ends with Peru, the stage is over and wait for Gareca,” said Husain.

But before reporting on this surprise event, Claudio was happy with the achievement achieved by the 'Tiger', who has put the national team in the repechage, where he will face Australia or the United Arab Emirates. “I am happy because Ricardo Gareca performed the miracle: the repechage, everything depended on him. Beware that Australia is not New Zealand. New Zealand signed Peru to the World Cup. Now with Australia... With the United Arab Emirates they go, for me they go. If he doesn't make it, Gareca's statue falls down. It is already half done, but you have to choose where to put it, whether in the Plaza Mayor de Armas, at the National Stadium or the Jorge Chavez Airport. If he loses to the United Arab Emirates, they break the statue,” he added.

And it is that everything that the Argentine coach has achieved with the team of the 'bicolor' has been extraordinary. It came in 2015 at a time when the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) was looking to lead a new project with Edwin Oviedo as president. Juan Carlos Oblitas started out as sports director in that entity and had the mission of finding the new coach. Several options were considered, but the one that the 'Blind' had in his sights was the 'Tiger'. He knew about his time at Universitario de Deportes in 2017-2018 with the Apertura included, so he was no stranger to the Peruvian environment. In addition, he was free after a discreet stint at Palmeiras in Brazil and with the successes in Vélez Sarsfield behind him.

Gareca accepted and embarked on a new path with Peru, winning a meritorious third place in the 2015 Copa América. Although in the qualifiers heading to Russia 2018 it did not start in the best way. However, the 2016 Copa America Centenario caused me to leave some names aside (Claudio Pizarro and Juan Manuel Vargas), to add to the new blood that at that time was giving its first shows in League 1 such as Raúl Ruidíaz, Edison Flores, Andy Polo, Miguel Trauco, Christian Cueva, among others who were were added and led by Paolo Guerrero. What came next was the qualification for the World Cup in Russia after a repechage against New Zealand, second place in the 2019 Copa America and fourth place in the 2021 edition.

He also took care of a squad of players who kill for him and for the national team shirt, giving them a playing identity and, above all, the competitiveness to face any team. In every game he played, the 'white-roja' went with that intention.

He is now one step away from qualifying for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, in the absence of playing the repechage against the Australians or Emiratis. However, all this work has borne fruit and his contract is waiting to be extended if he passes this previous phase. If he succeeds, he would end after the World Cup event. After this competition, it will be seen if the FPF decides to keep him in office, something logical for everything he has obtained, although offers will not be lacking.

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