The coach of Peru, the Argentine Ricardo GarecaThis Friday, he called “dangerous” the measures taken by the Government to stop the advance of the coronavirus, which keep soccer players inactive in the face of the restart of the South American qualifying rounds. Qatar 2022 World Cup.
“I know how to take care of the covid, (…) what I don’t know is how to proceed with the measures that are taken. I think the covid is dangerous, I have no doubt about that, but I think the measures are also dangerous “because” they generate a lot of inconveniences, “Gareca snapped from Buenos Aires, in a telematic press conference.
The coach of the white-and-red team asserted that the return to confinement, and the consequent impediment to returning to professional sport, was a “hard blow”, a “too hasty decision” that “surprised” him and made him remember “the great sacrifice” that did football during the first wave of COVID-19 infections.
“Football has shown to handle itself very well, I see no reason for those who handle themselves well to be punished, in a certain way, forced to lead a situation in which they are harmed,” he criticized.
Focused on preparing the next matches of Peru in the qualifying rounds against Bolivia in La Paz and against Venezuela in Lima, on March 25 and 30, respectively, Gareca considered “essential that each country start its local league” because a possible delay would directly influence the performance of its players.
“To the extent that this is postponed, logically the players will be in less shape and less competitive condition,” he lamented.
In fact, the Council of Ministers already rejected this week the request of the Peruvian Sports Institute to resume the activities and training of professional athletes, so the schedule of the Peruvian league, which was scheduled to begin on February 26, is subject to the advance of the pandemic in the country.
The coach said that the return to national competition would give “security” to the team, that “at least it could only have players from the local tournament” in case the Peruvians who play in MLS cannot attend the next call.
In that sense, Gareca He demanded that Fifa “analyze” and “reflect” to “facilitate the selection of the players.”
“FIFA has to analyze whether a team has 50% of its players in the United States, the qualifiers begin in March, and the championship begins in April. He will have to see what measures are taken because if the states have to quarantine, if the clubs are not obliged to yield to the players, it is something that harms a certain selection, “he warned.
In any case, the coach was confident that “they will make things easier because the boys from different parts of the world have the possibility to come because it is in the national interest.”