Gianluca Lapadula and the goal: numbers in his first year with the Peruvian national team

A year and days have passed since Gianluca Lapadula’s first match with the Peruvian team. The forward’s relationship with the Blanquirroja fan was always affectionate since he decided to dress in the Blanquirrojo. The attacker only needed one game to become one of the most beloved players on Ricardo Gareca’s team. In more than 365 days, the ‘Bambino’ has given us several joys and this Tuesday he scored the first goal against Venezuela in Caracas.

The story of Gianluca Lapadula with the peruvian team begins in the first months of 2016. The media already reported the goals of a striker with Peruvian roots in Serie B in Italy. His name began to sound right at a critical moment for the Peruvian team: after the draw against Venezuela and the defeat against Uruguay in the 2018 Russia Qualifiers.

Ricardo Gareca had planned to renew his team for the Copa América Centenario. After reviewing videos and collecting statistics, the ‘Tigre’ had Gianluca Lapadula on the agenda. The task was always easy because the attacker, having a Peruvian mother, only had to process his ID and could be part of the team. The difficult thing was convincing him.

In their first meeting, Ricardo Gareca failed to convince Gianluca Lapadula. At that time, the forward’s goal was to continue scoring goals with his team, reach Serie A and play for the Italian national team. And so he did.

The Peruvian team put the issue aside Gianluca Lapadula. Everything was happiness in the Bicolor because they qualified for Russia 2018 and reached the final of the Copa América 2019. However, the problems came in 2020. Peru lost their forwards through injury. The first two dates, of the Qualifiers, he played without Paolo Guerrero and with Jefferson Farfán with a pain in the knee.

Gianluca Lapadula’s present wasn’t the best either. He was no longer part of the Italian team. Then, the attacker contacted the technical command and his arrival in Peru did not take long. The ‘Bambino’ made his debut with the red-white on November 13, 2020 in the match against Chile. He entered at 60 minutes and in a short time he put the fans in his pocket.

-THE NUMBERS OF LAPADULA WITH PERU-

Since his first match, Gianluca Lapadula sought to adapt to a Peruvian team that was used to what it could do Paolo Guerrero. In addition, he had to play without several players who stood out in the previous Qualifiers such as Edison Flores, Jefferson Farfán or with the best version of Yoshimar Yotún and Miguel Trauco.

Gianluca Lapadula always looks for uncheck, empty spaces, fights the ball until the last, goes out to cover the opponent’s exits, leaves everything for the national team. Proof of this is that he now plays with a mask product of a strong shock he had playing for the Bicolor.

In his first year with the Peruvian national team, Gianluca Lapadula He has played 17 games: 10 in the Qualifiers and 7 in the Copa América 2021.

In a short time he has surpassed the goal record of Raúl Ruidíaz who has 4 goals, but in 50 games played with the Peruvian team. Gianluca Lapadula needed 17 games to reach that figure.

Gianluca Lapadula registers a better average than Paolo Guerrero. The Benevento striker has a total of 1,152 minutes played with the Peruvian team.

This process to Qatar 2022, registered the worst streak of the front centers of the Peruvian team, but to Gianluca Lapadula the bow has already opened. He scored on the 12th date against Bolivia and repeated against Venezuela. Two goals in a row. This season has already overcome the drought that the forwards had in the 2002 Japan Korea Qualifiers. That time they had to pass 10 dates for a Peruvian attacker to score. It was in the 5-1 loss to Paraguay in Asunción. The goal for the red-white was Pedro García.

There is a fact to take into account, Gianluca Lapadula he is one of the attacking midfielders who has scored few goals in these Qualifiers. He is in the last places together with the Venenzuela forwards who have 2 goals. He is very far from Marcelo Martins Moreno, current scorer of this process to Qatar 2022.