“Ricardo Gareca managed to convince the Peruvian soccer player of what he was capable of” | INTERVIEW

The Centennial of Montevideo, that imposing and majestic concrete stadium built 91 years ago in which Peru he will look for another ‘Centenariazo’, it was his second home. Yes, just as she reads it. Elo Bengoechea spent more weekends in the stands of that Greek Parthenon, as former FIFA president Joao Havelange compared it, than sharing with friends from the neighborhood. The main witness of the golden age of Peñarol, whose figure was his father, Pablo Bengoechea, Elo knows the scene of the Peru vs. Uruguay this Thursday and tells us all the details in this interview.

—Do you feel the pressure of the fans in the Centennial?

It is a very large stadium and everyone knows the historical deeds that took place there. When the whole stadium sings together, it does feel. Perhaps not the individual insult as it happens in other places because the stands are somewhat far away.

—And the mystique of being a Historic Football Monument is imposed from the moment you enter?

What happens is that I started going to the Centenary from a very young age. From almost three years. Every weekend of my life from ’93 to 2003, when my father played. It was like my second home, so I don’t feel so much mystique. One, even though it is in a historical and mystical place, that many people want to know, but you know it so much that you don’t understand its value, and that you underestimate the place. It’s not that I lost respect for him, just that I took it as a regular place. I always went to the same grandstand, same places to buy, I know those who sell things, the lady in the bathroom, etc.

—Have you stepped on the pitch of the Centennial in historical matches? How is the atmosphere?

Luckily we caught a good time in Peñarol and when my father was champion, he entered the Olympic lap. Entrance of the hand of him to celebrate. The atmosphere has always been beautiful. With the Uruguayan national team I remember the Copa América in 1995, but I celebrated that in the stands. But I was also in the bad, eh…

-In which?

In Peru 3-1 in 2004. That day I went with Gregorio Pérez to the stadium, he invited me. That day I had a terrible bitterness because apart from that everything was more uphill for us for the World Cup. We came from a bad result against Venezuela and that happened.

—Does the Uruguayan fan make himself felt in the stands or in the streets?

We are very passionate when it comes to living the sport. Just as you can see that we play it, that we always want to win, that’s how we are. We have a strong, rebellious character. Another characteristic is that everyone is informed about what happens with our selection and the one that will visit. Everyone knows about Peru, about who is going to play, about ‘Tigre’ Gareca. That attracts foreigners attention. But we are also very respectful of visitors.

-Which was the Uruguay-Peru that you remember the most in the Centenary?

I have been to several. Some cheering for Uruguay and others for Peru when my father worked with Sergio Markarián on the Peruvian team. Seeing his country and cheering for another is something strange.

—That match, I suspect, is the 4-2 defeat at the Centenario in 2012, the day Diego Penny saves a penalty from Diego Forlán…

Yes. Besides, let’s say that because of our accent it was obvious that we were Uruguayan. I remember that at the entrance, when handing out the tickets, they asked us if we were in the right grandstand and asked us to be careful, not to shout too much because perhaps the Peruvian fans could get upset; but we told them that we were really there to support Peru.

—Did you shout Diego Godín’s own goal and Paolo Guerrero’s goal?

Obviously I shouted Peru’s goals. Before any country or team is my father. I always root for him before anything else.

—How did your romance with Peru begin?

Starting in 2010, when Sergio Markarián took command of the Peruvian national team, I began to come to Lima. I was studying communications in Uruguay so I was coming on my vacations. After finishing the subjects and doing the thesis, I came to live with my father for six months, it was in 2013. I was from January to June. In that time we beat Ecuador and Chile. The other time, remembering that, I laughed with my teammates because whenever I went to the Nacional to support Peru, we won.

—That is to say that against Paraguay you should be the first to enter the stadium…

Well, I could, ha ha ha. Obviously I have nothing to do with it, it’s just a nice coincidence.

—What is the most marked difference you noticed between Peruvian and Uruguayan football?

Geographic diversity. In Uruguay, the vast majority, except for two teams that play in the first division, are from the capital, so there is no such thing as travel. Yes, there are locations, but all within the same city. It is as if everything was played in Lima, there are no plane trips the day before the game. Everything is done en route. On the other hand, here it is played in height, heat, synthetic, etc. Then there is the fact that each team has a lot of fans. One goes to Arequipa, Huancayo, Cusco or any other city and feels the fanaticism, that although many are fans of big clubs, they are also fans of the teams in their city.

—How do you imagine Uruguay-Peru this Thursday?

It seems to me that it is going to be a very complicated game because both are playing for the possibility of qualifying for the World Cup. They are very close together on the table. For both of them it’s three gold points, but it seems to me that it will be essential to see how the first chips move and the results of the rest of the matches to see later how positive or negative the result obtained in the Centenary is.

—How do you analyze this renewed Uruguay of Diego Alonso?

Although there were some changes, I still believe that it is a process that the “Maestro” Tabárez had and that in some way Diego Alonso is continuing. Let’s remember that Tabárez was removed after losing to visiting Brazil, Messi’s Argentina and Bolivia in La Paz, games that on paper can be lost. But Alonso’s arrival was a breath of fresh air and changes always have consequences; many times good, other times not so much. As for the work itself, it seems to me that it is a continuity. I don’t doubt the ability of Diego Alonso, who is a great coach, but in four or five days you can’t do magic either.

—How do you see the Peruvian team in Uruguay?

I think that as has been seen in almost all the programs of “The Interview” in which I ask ex-soccer players about it and they answer me that Peru always had a very good team that was not given the results and that with Ricardo Gareca materialized. The selection of Gareca has been a process with a serious human group that managed to convince the Peruvian soccer player of what he was capable of. This generation knows what it means to qualify for a World Cup and it seems to me that now they really want to repeat it.

—Who is the best player in the national team right now?

I don’t dare to choose the best. It seems to me that the base of Peru has always been the collective and it is good to keep it that way. With a skeleton that has been known to maintain Gallese in the goal, Ramos, Advincula, Trauco, Tapia, Yotún. There is no one who is the best, but Christian Cueva is different, he has a different technical capacity.

—Which player impressed your father the most when he was in Sergio Markarián’s technical command?

He was very surprised by the speed with which André Carrillo controlled the ball. At that time he was in Portugal.

—What does Gianluca Lapadula generate in the Uruguayan fan?

He is a great footballer who is contributing a lot. Obviously because of his training in Europe he makes a difference.