Atletico Minero – Matucana, Peru

Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal has insisted that he is very happy at the club despite the regular speculation over his future. The Chile international has been with the Blaugrana since the summer of 2018 and he has bagged nine goals and 10 assists from 84 appearances across all competitions. He has another 13 months remaining on his contract but reports have recently claimed that he could be offered as a makeweight to sign Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan.

Amidst this, Vidal has clarified that he is comfortable at the Camp Nou and he wants to continue with the club, he told: “I am very happy and comfortable in Barcelona, of course, I want to continue. Now I am more prepared than ever. There is a good group and I have great friends in the dressing room. I feel very well physically, better than ever. In all my career I never had so much time to prepare myself. We made a plan to the maximum to extend my career as much as possible. I feel prepared for what is coming, both the Champions League and La Liga.”
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FIFA POSTPONES MARCH QUALIFIERS AMID CONVID19 FEARS

indexMarch 27, 2020

The World football governing body FIFA have postponed the match between Paraguay and Peru. The world cup qualifier was slated for March, but the match has been postponed till further notice. Alongside the match between Paraguay and Peru, all qualifiers slated for the month of March have also been shifted to later dates.

This is in light of the breakout of CONVID19. The breakout has put most domestic league matches on hold. European domestic teams are on hold and only a few are still active while some others play behind closed doors.
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Peru’s Friendly with Chile Stands Cancelled

indexJanuary 15, 2020

Peru’s national team coach Ricardo Gareca claims that there are no issues surrounding the cancellation of a friendly match with Chile. It was expected that Peru would conclude 2019 with a friendly match against Chile at home. This was supposed to take place just a few days after the friendly against Colombia. However, a unanimous decision has been taken to scrap this game so that the team will conclude the campaign with a 1-0 loss against Colombia. Alfredo Morelos came up with a late goal in such a way that Peru were not able to react.

However, the team has achieved some big successes in recent months. After beating Chile 3-0 back in July, Peru managed to create a major shock in world football after overcoming Brazil with a 1-0 win back in September. Recent form for the team, however, has not been so great and the loss against Colombia is a testament to this status. Ironically, the win over Brazil in September is the only success for team in the last six games. It was a surprise that Peru did not try to find a replacement once Chile pulled out of the friendly. The lack of a friendly match would mean good news for some of the established players within the national team, since they could do with some rest.
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CHILE PULL OUT OF PERU FRIENDLY

indexDecember 2, 2019

Chile have pulled out of their friendly game against Peru due to the current unrest facing the country. The countries football federation made an announcement on its website revealing that the team had decided not to play the friendly match in Peru.

It is understood that a team meeting was held in which the decision to forfeit the game was taken by the squad and the coaching staff. The Chilean FA also revealed that the players had been released and allowed to return to their clubs.

There had been wild speculations whether the game would hold with a section of local media claiming that the players should boycott the game. Veteran midfielder Charles Aranguiz had revealed that the game should not be played amid the unrest and it seems this has been taken into account.
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Tite Expects Feeling of Revenge from Peru

indexOctober 10, 2019

Brazil manager Tite has revealed that he will not hold discussions with Neymar about the latter’s career. Neymar’s career has had a turbulent period with the striker failing to secure a return back to Barcelona. As a result, he has the difficult job of staying at PSG, a club where he has lost a number of supporters with his summer antiques. Despite not starting a match for his club, Neymar was included in the Brazil squad for the game against Colombia in the recent international friendly. The superstar ended up scoring in the 2-2 draw and these were his first goals of the season. It is highly anticipated that Neymar will continue in the starting role for the game against Peru.

This international friendly will be a rematch of the recent Copa America final. The 27-year-old will be the player to watch in the match. He has come up with 61 goals for Brazil and it is just one shy of the tally held by Ronaldo, who has 62 goals. However, Neymar has still a long way to go before he catches Pele, who is the all-time leading scorer for the national team with 77 goals. Meanwhile, Brazil defender Thiago Silva expressed his delight with Neymar ending up at PSG for another season. Continue reading “Tite Expects Feeling of Revenge from Peru”

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Peru head coach optimistic about the country’s footballing progress

indexSeptember 28, 2019

Peru head coach Ricardo Gareca has said that there are plenty of positives for the South American nation after their strong performance in the recent Copa America tournament. Peru were ranked outsiders to secure continental glory for the summer but they managed to surprise many as they reached up to the final, where they suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of Brazil.

Speaking to reporters, Gareca suggested that Peru should be optimistic about the future, given they have made progress in the forward direction over the past few years, he quipped: “The most important thing is to realize that we have improved over time. We are on the right track despite some setbacks, and we have to stay on this path.”
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VERETOUT IS AN OPTION

adminJune 26, 2019

Arsenal are reportedly interested in the signing of Fiorentina midfielder Jordan Veretout according to reports in Italy. The 26-year-old has enjoyed a renaissance in Italy after struggling at Aston Villa during his time in England. He has developed into an excellent and sturdy midfielder for the Florence outfit since his move two seasons ago.

Arsenal are limited with the amount that they can spend in the transfer window and Veretout is seen as an affordable option for the club. Peru defender Christian Ramos has also been touted with a move to the Emirates. Continue reading “VERETOUT IS AN OPTION”

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FEYENOORD SECURE THIRD-PLACE FINISH

indexMay 6, 2019May 18, 2019

Feynoord are certain of finishing third in the Dutch league after their convincing win at NAC Breda. The dutch giants were able to put four goals past the league’s bottom side with a brace from Jens Toornstra and goals from Jeremiah St Juste and Dylan Vente.

Breda needed to win to have any hopes of avoiding relegation but fell to the worst start as thery found themselves behind in the 11th minute. St Juste knocking it home from close range on his 100th league appearance.

Feynoord continued to press the home side backwards and Vente playing as a result of the absence of first team forwards Nicolai Jorgensen and Robin Van Persie doubled their lead. The forward struck from distance after a poor mistake from goalkeeper Benjamin Van leer.

The Break came as a respite for the home team as they looked to be on the ropes. However despite some promising attacks in the second half Feynoord proved too strong with a goal in the 66th minute to put a dagger into the home side.

Toornstra struck with a well placed header following a fine move from the team which led to the goal. He struck his second some few minutes later with a sweet freekick that gave the opposition stopper no chance.

The game also saw Feynoord stopper Kenneth Vermeer completing a milestone of 200 eredivisie appearances with a clean sheet. Meanwhile Peruvian midfielder Renato Tapia missed the game as a result of injury.

In what is to be Giovanni Van Bronchorst last season at the club he has secured a place in Europe which is the minimum for a club of their stature. Meanwhile Breda have to win their remaining two games and hope for relegation rivals Exclesior to lose theirs to have any chance of beating the drop.

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Ricardo Gareca Concerned about Defensive Performances Ahead of Copa America

indexApril 6, 2019

Ricardo Gareca has opened up on the problems faced by the Peruvian national team ahead of the 2019 Copa America. The Argentine has been in charge of Peru since 2015 and he has been able to make a strong impression in terms of overall results so far in the job. Peru have not been involved in a competitive game since their World Cup 2018 concluded with a group stage victory against Australia. Still, it is a major positive for the national team to be involved in such competitions. There is great expectation from Peru ahead of the 2019 Copa America.

However,Gareca has identified defensive problems as one of the areas to improve before the start of the tournament. Peru have been able to manage one clean sheet in the last six matches and this came against Chile in a friendly match back in October. Apart from the game against United States and Chile, Peru have been conceding goals in big numbers with each match witnessing at least over 1.5 goals on average from the opposition.Gareca says that Peru will have to improve the defensive record in order to have any chance of succeeding at the Copa America, which starts in June with a group match against Venezuela.

Gareca has his work cut out at this tournament since Peru are in the same group involving Brazil, who happen to be the final group opponents at this tournament.“Post-World we made a goal to Holland, to Germany, three to Chile, the United States and Costa Rica, it’s not a worry the lack of goal, we have variations to get it, I’m worried about having conceded so many goals. it does not manage to be solid,” said Gareca. Peru have the opportunity to improve the defensive record in the final two friendlies – against Paraguay and El Salvador – before the tournament.

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Peru Stripped of Rights to Host U17 World Cup

indexMarch 13, 2019

FIFA has stripped Peru of rights to host the U17 World Cup due to concerns about the nation’s ability to meet the infrastructure requirements. The country was looking to host the tournament in October but a number of inspection visits carried out by FIFA has revealed that Peru has a lot of challenges related to infrastructure. These challenges are believed to pose a lot of problems when it comes to the delivery of the event. Peru recently won the rights to host the tournament.

After careful consideration of various factors, the FIFA council seems to have decided on hosting the tournament not in Peru. The council consisted of Gianni Infantino, who is the current
FIFA president, and several other regional confederations. The next destination of the host country is not revealed yet as it may take a while to arrive at a decision. The blow of not hosting the U17 World Cup may not be decisive financially for Peru, but it is a major disappointment for the nation in terms of keeping their football tradition going. The South American country may not be on par with the likes of Brazil and Argentina in terms of history but they have produced some high profile players in the past.

“Following various inspection visits by FIFA and further meetings with the Peruvian Football Association (FPF), and in view of a number of organisational and infrastructure challenges linked to the event delivery, the Bureau of the FIFA Council has decided that the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2019 will no longer be staged in Peru. FIFA is currently evaluating different alternatives concerning the appointment of a new host country. Further information will be provided by FIFA in due course,” said a FIFA statement. The tournament was expected to take place in October.