Why can Piero Quispe be the new driver of the Peruvian team?

The fascination that generates Piero Quispe It is diluted when you review his numbers in Pumas: 9 games played, 8 as a starter, 657 accumulated minutes and… 0 assists and 0 goals. Very poor for a player whose main mission is to provide offensive ideas for his team. He himself has just commented on Fox Sports in Mexico that he is not satisfied with his performance. “You have to be self-critical, I need to improve some things, but I feel that I am doing things well (sic), that with work I will continue to improve. “I’m going in the right direction.” His team, which played last Sunday (tied 3-3 against Tijuana at home), is in ninth position in the Mexican Clausura, nine points behind Monterrey, which is the leader.

However, does anyone doubt that it will be on the list that Jorge Fossati will present? His presence is assured not only because the Uruguayan knows him and knows what he can give him, but for another reason perhaps as important or more important than the previous one: there is no other in his position. With Cueva about to manage the delivery of his AFP, and Cancha y Concha far from his level, there is no other footballer who can overshadow him. If there is a permanent player on the first roster of ‘Nono’ it is Pierito.

Juan Carlos Ortecho, editor of RPP sports, is clear that Quispe is not Cueva nor does he consider him his replacement (“saying that is unfair for him and for Cueva himself, who was not a replacement for ‘Chorri’ Palacios or this one from Cubillas”), although it is taken for granted that he will be among those summoned. “It is a risky bet, but necessary, especially for Peru, which is last in the tie.”

Meanwhile, Vicente Cisneros, Gol Perú commentator, highlights Quispe’s good dribbling and imbalance in individual duels. What most differentiates him from ‘Aladdin’, in his opinion, is his lack of goals and assists. “I think that with Fossati, the team will be aggressive and direct in attack, and we will play 1-3-5-2. In the middle will be Yotún, Tapia and Quispe,” he notes.

His numbers in University were not good either. He scored few goals and his pass-goal average is lower than Andy Polo’s. In his defense, the ‘Quispelover’ point out that he is not guilty of the poor aim of the cream forwards (read Valera). Last season, the U was a team that achieved less than it generated. So why was Quispe so important? Or, to update the question, why is Ate still missed so much? Unlike 90% of national footballers, Piero faces up, takes risks, does not take refuge in the little pass to the side, that easy resource with which so many disguise his mediocrity. He doesn’t shy away from dribbling either, he enjoys making diagonals and tries to make filtered passes. At the Monumental it was impressive to see – and feel – how the mood of the stands changed when he received the ball. Immediately people stood up because they knew something different was going to happen.

All that collective excitement disappeared when he went back to his own field in search of the ball or spent most of his time recovering. Quispe’s habitat is the last 30 meters, around the opposing area, with freedom to move along the entire front or close to the left to develop his right profile.

I don’t know if he will wear the 10 or keep the 27 in the national team, but the chance of becoming irreplaceable on the field literally depends on his feet.