Anderson Santamaría: reflection on his absence from the Peruvian national team and the dream of going to the Qatar 2022 World Cup

The Peruvian national team achieved one of the objectives set at the beginning of the South American Qualifiers: to finish in the top five, which allowed them to enter the playoffs prior to the Qatar 2022 World Cup . However, one of the players who was absent in the last stage was Anderson Santamaría, who revealed his feelings about this situation despite being happy with this achievement of the 'bicolor'.

“I've had many opportunities in the selection. I am also aware that there are colleagues in my position who are having very good times, so from here I can only tell you that I am working in the best way, always thinking about the selection. It's a very hard blow that I had to live on the sidelines these last few days,” the national defender confessed in an interview for the media Area Sports Network.

And it is that some of the mistakes he made in the matches of the national team caused coach Ricardo Gareca to take him out of the starting eleven and change the central backward and then opt for the duo that currently occupies him: Carlos Zambrano and Alexander Callens. In fact, the Peruvian footballer rained countless criticisms after his failures against Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela in duels for the qualifying process. The problems at the start occurred against these rivals and were decisive for them to finish on goal occasions.

Now, although against 'Vinotinto' (1-0) and with 'La Celeste' (1-1) in Lima the results were in favor of the 'blanquirroja', precisely the goal of the 'charruas' occurred because of a bad pass by Anderson at the start. The same thing did not happen to the Venezuelans, but he was directly responsible for a situation of danger. In addition, against 'Scratch' he led to the play that ended in Everton Ribeiro's scoring. This is because he held the ball for too long in defense until Neymar took it away without fail and assisted at the wheel of Flamengo.

RETURN TO THE SELECTION

However, after leaving these dark episodes with the national team aside, Santamaría aims to return and claim his revenge, considering that he is in a good football moment in the Atlas of Mexico. “It is always in my mind that I am going to have a new opportunity and it will grab me very prepared because I am working very well and I am having continuity in my club. For now, I want to continue well with my team, and if I have the opportunity to return to the national team at some point, I will be very prepared,” added the former Melgar de Arequipa footballer.

The 'Zorros' team did not fare in the best way in the 'Aztec' Clausura Tournament, since in the 14 matches they have played, the team is in fifth position with 22 points, 10 behind the leaders Tigres and Pachuca. In that sense, there are 2 dates left before the tournament ends, so they still have options to access the final stages of the Liga MX. As for the Peruvian defender, he has played 12 matches and is a fixture in the starting eleven for DT Diego Cocca. Precisely with this coach they came out championship champions last year, hence they have options to fight until the end.

REPECHAJE OBJECTIVE

On the other hand, the 30-year-old said that his dream is to be able to be with the 'white-roja' in the repechage, taking into account everything at stake. “Very important moments await the national team. He is coming to the repechage and the possibility of entering a World Cup again in a row. So the illusion is always at 100%,” he said.

Nobody wants to miss this crucial duel. And although it is less than 2 months away, Santamaría will have to continue working very hard in his club to be considered. He is experiencing a situation with Raúl Ruidíaz, another of those who was absent in recent times. However, the selection has nothing left over and must have its best elements.

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