The last mystery before the playoffs: will Paolo Guerrero be on the list?

On October 20, 2017, Ricardo Gareca announced the selected list that returned us to the world championships after 36 years. They ate more craving than now.

In the middle of the predictable there was a surprise: Adrián Zela, a rude defender from Deportivo Municipal that nobody had on the radar, ended up having a few minutes against New Zealand.

Gareca does not usually break schemes with his calls. He protects the group above all things. It privileges what is known before what is good to know. In that sense, he is not carried away by the popular clamor that usually praises the player of the date.

Today, at noon, he will announce the long-awaited list of those who will be tasked with taking Peru to its second consecutive World Cup. A feat that we only achieved once in Argentina 78 and Spain 82.

There are several injured players, in the process of rehabilitation, who impatiently await their last word.

warrior of faith

With a renewed ‘look’, braids through, Paolo Guerrero wants a place on the plane that will leave for the city of Barcelona in two Saturdays.

In his favor he has his proven hierarchy, his long idyll with the Blanquirroja and the consideration of his companions, who continue to call him captain even though he no longer wears the belt.

Against: his 38 years, his inactivity for seven months, not having signed for any club and his right knee.

According to Jean Paul Osores, an extremely trusted doctor from Guerrero, he is already recovered to the point that he runs with great intensity, as has been seen on his social networks. However, he has not yet been subjected to the rigors of a competition.

”, said the striker as soon as he set foot in Lima. If his name doesn’t appear today, he’ll keep trying.

In the last five years of his career, Paolo Guerrero He is a footballer who “comes back” every so often.

Given the scoring streak of Gianluca Lapadula, who is fighting to be promoted to Serie A, and the maturity of Álex Valera, which has made him a reliable attacker, Guerrero is fighting for that third spot, which is also disputed by Santiago Ormeño, whose performances have not finished come together, and Raúl Ruidíaz, who at 31 has still not removed the label of being “a club player”, and who has made noise with the conquest of the Concachampions.

One possibility that has gained strength in recent weeks is that it be a broad call (bordering on the thirty selected), in which Guerrero can be included to win practices and, in addition, pour his experience into the coexistence of the group.

I will walk against time

The defeat against Uruguay, on the penultimate date of the Qualifiers, not only left us with the eternal controversy of Anderson Daronco, but also our most unbalanced winger bruised.

This Tuesday will be two months since André Carrillo felt the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee.

A few days ago, Néstor Bonillo, physical trainer of the national team, said between the lines that the “Culebra” will be left out of the list.

“It is a bit complex because it is at the lower limit of its possibility of recovery. His injury is 3 months of recovery, ”he said..

Will it be worth rushing him three weeks before the playoffs?

Another unknown is defender Luis Abram, who recently underwent surgery for a broken nose.

Present

Luis Advíncula and Carlos Zambrano are one step higher than the rest. His present in Boca Juniors is unbeatable. Not only have they earned the title, but also the respect of a fan so demanding that it is capable of beating them at the slightest mistake.

Pedro Gallese has led Orlando City to the top of the MLS Eastern Conference. Alexander Callens scored a goal on the last date with New York City. Miguel Trauco, meanwhile, is on the verge of relegation with Saint-Etienne in the absence of a date for the end of the French League.

Yotún has won minutes with Sporting Cristal, as has Sergio Peña at Malmo. And minutes is what they need most to be the same as before. Christian Cueva continues to focus, training triple shifts with his personal trainer, José Neyra, with cumbia in the background. Only Renato Tapia worries: his presence has been questioned as a result of an injury whose magnitude is still unknown.

Continuity

Ricardo Gareca rarely talks about more. And less when it comes to his future at the head of the Blanquirroja. He has repeated it more than once: “My contract will last until the end of the year if we qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.”

That what Juan Carlos Oblitas said despite when it is his turn to make the decision: “Nowhere will you feel more loved.”