Peru to the repechage: Spanish journalist praised the 'bicolor' and compared Renato Tapia to world 'cracks'

The Peruvian national team achieved a historic event after beating Paraguay 2-0 on the last date of the South American Qualifiers. The only result that served him was the triumph and he achieved it decisively to ensure his passage to the pre-World Cup playoffs in Qatar 2022. In that sense, a Spanish journalist praised the performances of the 'bicolor' players in this meeting, highlighting the figure of Renato Tapia, whom he compared to great world 'cracks'.

But who is the communicator in question? This is Aritz Gabilondo, editor of the Spanish newspaper AS, who saw this duel between Peruvians and Paraguayans and gave his opinion through his Twitter account, highlighting three football players above the rest.

GIANLUCA LAPADULA

Gianluca Lapadula was the first element he referred to. And it is that the national striker was present on the scoreboard after an impressive assist from Christian Cueva three-fingered. “It's not Paolo Guerrero, but Lapadula's performance with Peru is extraordinary. Goal that sentences everything right now,” said the journalist.

The Turin-born player fell at a precise moment to the 'bicolor'. When Paolo Guerrero and Jefferson Farfan had been experiencing physical problems, 'Lapa' proved to be up to the task, not only with his notes and assists, but also with his rapport with the rest of his teammates off the playing field. On more than one occasion he has celebrated with the same Cueva or with André Carrillo in the dressing rooms after the matches in Peru, even sharing some dance steps.

CHRISTIAN CUEVA

However, he was not the only footballer to whom he had pleasant words, as he highlighted the performance of 'Aladino' against the 'Guaraníes'. “Cueva is crack today. When he plays with that nerve, he is a huge footballer. A lot of quality Peru”, described the also football commentator.

The creative flyer of the 'white-red' would lack adjectives to explain what it develops on the grass. You just have to appreciate it. Simply put, Christian Cueva is a footballer who plays like in his neighborhood, with that characteristic spark of the Peruvian player and who has been reborn at his feet. Add to that the physicist who has improved in recent years with the work of a personal trainer.

RENATO TAPIA

There is another footballer who dazzled Gabilondo and that is Renato Tapia. His performance was so outstanding against the 'Albirroja' that he put him on a par with big 'cracks' such as Casemiro and Sergio Busquets. “There is a lot of talk that Casemiro, Busquets and other positional midfielders of big clubs don't have a replacement. This one would more than fulfill. Recital against Paraguay,” he said.

The 'Cabezón' was another high point of the national squad at the National Stadium. It multiplied as many times as the match required and it was the one that made the most recoveries in the match (20), according to SofaScore, showing his physical waste and also his quality in distributing the ball.

Likewise, both Real Madrid and Barcelona talked about a possible substitute for the Brazilian and the Spaniard, respectively, so Tapia could be an option, despite the decline in his performance in recent months with Celta de Vigo.

RICARDO GARECA

Finally, he did not leave aside the work done by Ricardo Gareca at the helm of the Peruvian national team, which he is close to qualifying for his second consecutive World Cup after Russia 2018. “Ricardo Gareca will have to be made a monument in Lima. He gets Peru back into the repechage. At the worst moment he was faithful to his idea, to his footballers. The prize is this,” he added.

There was a moment in the present qualifiers when Peru was looking at the bottom of the table. In October 2021, the team had barely 11 points in 11 matches played. However, the victories against Chile and Bolivia at home, Venezuela in Caracas and, above all, Colombia in Barranquilla, ended up standing out and getting him into the fight for a quota for the World Cup event. Precisely, Aritz played on that subject, who mentioned that the repechage will not be easy, although he highlighted the union of the 'bicolor'. “Peru will play the World Cup against Australia or the United Arab Emirates in a single match in June in Qatar. It won't be easy. Today (yesterday) it's time to celebrate because they played a great match, playing like this is a great team”, he concluded.

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