“Pedro Gallese is one of those goalkeepers who lead the way for new generations”

His image raising the 2003 Copa Sudamericana in style, under the Arequipa sky, after beating the mighty River Plate in the grand final with Cienciano has a special place in the Peruvian soccer archive. And in the heart of the fan who once stuck a poster of that glorious and eternal moment on the wall of his room. Oscar Manuel Ibáñez Holzmann (Saenz Peña, 1967), Argentine by birth and Peruvian at heart, came to our land in 1993 and has never left since. National multi-champion and until recently the goalkeeper with the most games in the history of the peruvian national team (fifty). Who passed it? Pedro Gallese, the one that since 2019 is under his command every time he arrives at La Videna and today accumulates 89 appearances. The Bicolor goalkeeper coach spoke with DT El Comercio about the ‘Octopus’, his importance in the Qualifiers and how the national team will reach the playoffs.

—As a footballer he played in two Qualifiers, as a goalkeeper coach he was in the era of Sergio Markarián and now in this second stage of Ricardo Gareca. What is different about this process that the others did not have to achieve so many successes?

The organization is totally different. From the selection office that we occupy, we are 14 people. The medical part with many more professionals and, therefore, more possibilities for the player to recover and arrive better at the time of the matches. Before it was totally different, what was used until that moment. Today there is a much larger structure, with many specialists in each area. I would start with that. It is an important difference that I noticed when I returned to La Videna.

Do you miss directing again?

The truth is that I don’t miss anything because Ricardo (Gareca) has a very particular way of leading and starts from the opening. He is a very open person who makes us all participate regardless of the topics that are discussed. He commits us all to participate. So I don’t miss anything. I live in the moment, I enjoy it a lot and I try to contribute my grain of sand from this position that I have to be.

—At some point did you feel that the national team was like that historic Cienciano champion of South America in 2003 and Recopa Sudamericana in 2004; that is, an island in the middle of an uncompetitive league?

I think it’s different. The Cienciano thing was a spectacular moment because the first international title was won, then came the Recopa. The whole country turned in favor of the team. What can be compared suddenly is in the relationship between the players and the fans. The fans feel represented on the pitch and the footballer feels that he represents them. That is very difficult to achieve in a club or national team. This selection has achieved it and reinforces it in each participation it has.

—What was the turning point in this process to go from adding a point in the first five dates to being in the playoffs?

Out there it’s hard to believe what I’m going to say, but the truth is that I don’t feel like there’s a breaking point. Even being with one point out of fifteen possible in the first dates, there was always conviction and the course of what had been planned was never changed. Ricardo was always clear and the message was the same. I think that was something that kept us convinced that the good results were going to come. Even when the chances were getting smaller, I always felt the players and Ricardo convinced that we were going to get up. And it was so. In the final stage, where many teams began to fall, Peru, on the contrary, began to have important results, both at home and away. That became stronger and the goal we set for ourselves in the middle of the pandemic was achieved: reaching the last game depending on us.

—Unlike the previous Qualifiers, this time Peru won three away games. How much did it help and which was the most important?

The result in Ecuador, prior to the Copa América, was important because the Qualifiers were cut right there. It was a spectacular result for how they and we came. From there we went to the Copa América, a tournament that suits Peru very well.

—Why does the Copa América suit Peru very well?

That coexistence, the power to add hours of training. It is something that in the Qualifiers is very difficult. All of this helped the group to become stronger, to unite more and also because some boys had opportunities to show themselves and today they are vital in the national team.

—How do you see the performance of the goalkeepers in the face of the playoffs?

Good. The goalkeepers are very sober, professional, mature boys. They understand what the profession, the position, is about. In that sense we have no problems. Pedro (Gallese), for example, has played all the matches in the Qualifiers and knew how to stay put, put up with the yellow cards because he has been on the limit for many games. That also shows his maturity, his balance and what a reference he is today in the group. But they are all very well and in that sense we are calm.

—Did you ever worry that Pedro Gallese played so many games on the brink of being suspended for yellow cards?

No, because we knew he could handle it very well. In fact, he prepared himself and psyched himself up in each game, in addition to the game and the rival, to cope with that situation. When it was his turn to manage the times, he did, but being aware that he was on the limit. On the other hand, we always had that peace of mind that the guys behind us are very well prepared.

—How important was Gallese to reach the playoffs?

Pedro is an archer who has no roof. He is very concerned about his profession and has had remarkable growth. Today he is a benchmark for the national team and a captain as well. That speaks very well of his growth and his maturity, because he has significant maturity at a spectacular age for the position: 32 years old. I think Pedro is here to meet the goal he wants and play wherever he wants. We must not forget that he is a national team goalkeeper, with a World Cup and two Qualifiers on him. Not everyone can have the career that he has.

—Are you surprised that you’re still playing in Major League Soccer in the United States?

Not at all. He has taken an important step. We must not forget that he was here, in the local environment. He jumped into a league that is important to me and sometimes unfairly minimized. I see the quality of strikers he faces and the truth is that not every league has it. It is a tournament that is constantly growing and hires good players. In this context, Pedro found an important place and has continuity. He is a benchmark player for a club that always fights for important things.

—Pedro Gallese is the best goalkeeper in the history of the Peruvian team?

One of the best, surely. He has a World Cup on him and, God willing, he can add a second World Cup. In addition to the juvenile process he went through. For me, it has a deserved place in history. Pedro is one of those goalkeepers who arouses enthusiasm in the youngest, one of those players who will lead the way for the new generations. It is very important for Peru that there is a goalkeeper like him.

“Are there any young archers, or young archers, that catch your eye?”

It is difficult to name one because it will depend a lot on the continuity they have. The important thing in the goalkeeper is that he plays, that he makes mistakes, although obviously as few as possible. But let him have continuity. For the goalkeeper it is important to stay in time, not just play a season, six months or alternate. The goalkeeper grows and becomes good with the passing of the years. There are good goalkeepers here, so much so that in the local league there are very few foreigners in that position, very different from my time, which was the other way around. That speaks highly of the national goalkeeper coaches and the players themselves.

—Bearing in mind that the goalkeeper needs to have continuity —and all soccer players in general—, are you worried that there is still no Reserve Tournament?

Yes. I tell you from my own experience because I played many years in the Reserve Tournament. It was a huge joy, one was preparing because it was the previous step to the first division. At that time, the reserve team played before the first-class match, so you were more excited about it. Now they have the advantage that it is even televised, so all that experience that they don’t have today is a waste of time and path. The longer it takes, the more difficult the player’s training will be.

—And as for the little continuity that Gianluca Lapadula has been having, how are they in the technical command?

We would all like him to be playing more, to have continuity, but the players of this team have something particular that is very difficult to achieve: when they put on the shirt, they transform. They forget that they do not have continuity, that they are stopped or have an injury. Does not matter. They transform and there have been many cases, like that of Gianluca (Lapadula).

—Is it a disadvantage to play the playoff in Qatar against teams that are closer and know how to counteract the weather?

It is relative. The truth is that it is also an advantage to see them play beforehand. It’s going to be a very intense game, surely to the death, so it can leave some sequel that gives us an advantage. But from our side, we are going to arrive well, we will have a few days of preparation there and the friendly in Spain will also help us.

—Have they touched on the subject of what will happen to the technical command after the playoffs and, God willing, Qatar 2022?

Not at all. The only real thing is that we are super focused on the preparation of the national team, that the boys arrive in the best way, the logistics of the trip, the friendly, to see what can happen between Australia and the United Arab Emirates and to play that match that gives us the chance to go to the World Cup. Later it will be seen.