Peru

Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	La Blanquirroja La Rojiblanca (The White and Red Ones)
Association	Federación Peruana de Fútbol
Confederation	CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach	Sergio Markarián
Captain	Juan Manuel Vargas
Most caps	Roberto Palacios (122)
Top scorer	Teófilo Cubillas (26)[1]
Home stadium	Estadio Nacional
FIFA code	PER
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	38
Highest	34 (September 1997)
Lowest	91 (September 2009)
First international
Peru 0 – 4 Uruguay  (Lima, Peru; November 1, 1927)
Biggest win
Peru 9 – 1 Ecuador  (Bogotá, Colombia; August 11, 1938)
Biggest defeat
Brazil 7 – 0 Peru (Santa Cruz, Bolivia; June 26, 1997)
World Cup
Appearances	4 (first in 1930)
Best result	Quarterfinals, 1970
Copa América
Appearances	34 (first in 1927)
Best result	Winners, 1939 and 1975
Medal record Bolivarian Games 1938 Bogotá NA 1947–48 Lima NA 1951 Caracas NA 1961 Barranquilla NA 1973 Panama City NA 1977 La Paz NA 1981 Barquisimeto NA CONCACAF Gold Cup 2000 Gold Cup NA Copa Centenario de Armenia 1989 Armenia NA Kirin Cup 1999 Japan NA 2005 Japan NA Marlboro Cup 1989 New York NA Men’s Pre-Olympic Football 1960 Peru NA 1964 Peru NA 1980 Colombia NA Nike United States Cup 1997 U.S. Cup NA

The Peru national football team represents Peru in international football competition and is managed by the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF). The team competes against the other nine members of FIFA's CONMEBOL conference, which encompasses the countries of South America. The traditional colors of the team are white and red, the colors of the Peruvian flag, and the team is commonly known as la Blanquirroja (Spanish for "the white-and-red").^[2]

Founded in 1927, the team plays its home matches primarily at the Estadio Nacional in Lima. The team is a reflection of the multicultural society of Peru.^[3] Peru has won the Copa América on two occasions, and qualified for four FIFA World Cups and two Olympic tournaments; it has gone as far as the quarterfinal stage in both tournaments. Peru's traditional footballing rival is Chile,^[4] but the team also has a prominent rivalry with neighboring Ecuador.^[5]

The Peruvian team's performance has been inconsistent despite it is considered to have had two golden eras in football history (the 1930s and 1970s).^[6] The side's early years saw World Cup participations and victories in the 1938 Bolivarian Games and the 1939 Copa América, led by football legends Juan Valdivieso, Alejandro Villanueva, and Teodoro Fernández.^[6] Its 1950s side, which included Alberto Terry and Valeriano López, was considered to be among the top 20 strongest footballing nations of the decade, despite not winning any major tournaments.^[7] The golden generation of Peruvian football in the 1970s brought Peru back into the world view, with players such as Héctor Chumpitaz, Hugo Sotil, and Teófilo Cubillas leading to the belief that a new footballing powerhouse had emerged.^[8][9] This team qualified Peru for three FIFA World Cups, and won the Copa América in 1975.

Peru's 1982 World Cup participation was its last to date: the national team has not seen a major tournament victory or World Cup participation in over 27 years. The team was temporarily suspended from international participation by FIFA in late 2008 due to allegations of corruption between government sport authorities and the FPF. Peru has currently appointed Uruguayan Sergio Markarián as its head coach with looks of a successful participation in the 2011 Copa America and qualification to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

History

Beginnings

Football was brought to Peru by English sailors in the late 19th century during their frequent visits to the port of Callao, which was then an important port of the Pacific Ocean.^[10] During their free time, the English sailors played football and invited the local Chalacos (people from Callao) to participate. Allegedly, it was during these early games that the creation of the popular move known as the chalaca (short for "Chalacan Strike"), or bicycle kick, took place.^[11] Football in Peru grew thanks to its practice by British residents of Peru and its adoption by Peruvians returning from England.^[12]

Soon, the sports rivalry that evolved between the foreign visitors and the local Chalacos began to gain the attention of Peruvians outside the port.^[12] Although at first the sport was played outside of formal organization such as sport clubs or leagues, clubs were founded in the early 20th century in order to continue the sport's practice.^[13][14] In the 1900s, due to the construction of the Panama Canal, the port of Callao was no longer flooded with the several foreign sailors and travelers that had at one point made the port a center of cultural diffusion.^[15] By then, football clubs and leagues had sprouted in other Peruvian cities, including Lima, Cusco, and Arequipa.^[16] However, the most important amateur league (the Peruvian Football League) remained in the capital province, where rivalries arose between the Callao clubs, and those from the nearby capital of Lima.^[17] The lack of a centralized organization often led to conflicts between the teams, and one such conflict resulted in the creation of the Peruvian Football Federation in 1922, along with a new Peruvian Football League tournament under the regulation of said organization in 1926.^[18]

The Peruvian Football Federation had joined CONMEBOL in 1925, but internal and economic problems prevented the creation of a national team that would officially represent the country internationally.^[19] An unofficial national team was created in 1922, and it played against an Uruguayan team sponsored by the Uruguayan Football Association.^[19] Subsequent years saw the appearance of several talented Peruvian football players, and international interest in their skills inspired a series of international tours across South America, to places such as Colombia, Venezuela, and Chile.^[20]

In 1927, the Peruvian national football team was officially created.^[19] The team hosted the 1927 South American Championship, and Peru reached third place after losing to Uruguay by 4–0 in their debut match, defeating Bolivia 3–2, and losing to Argentina 1–5.^[21] Nevertheless, internal corruption and the commotion surrounding the Great Depression led the team that played in the 1929 edition to be selected by social favoritism rather than player skill.^[22] A year later, la Blanquirroja was invited to participate in a new intercontinental competition, to be held in Uruguay: the first World Cup.^[23]

1930s golden generation

The 1930s is considered to be the first golden era of Peruvian football.^[6] At the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup, the Peruvian team failed to progress beyond the group stages; despite this performance, the Uruguayan audience was surprised by the level of skill demonstrated by the Peruvians.^[24] Between 1933 and 1934, the national squad (composed mainly of players from Universitario de Deportes, Alianza Lima, and Atletico Chalaco) united with the Chilean squad (formed mainly by players from Colo Colo) to form the Combinado del Pacifico (known by the European press as the "Peru-Chile XI" and "All-Pacific," among other names),^[25] which toured the European countries of England, Germany, France, and Spain until August 1935. Teodoro Fernandez became the team's top goal scorer with 48 goals in 39 games.^[26]

Peru was the only South American football representative in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.^[6] The team began the tournament well, defeating Finland 7–3. Players for Peru included Teodoro Fernández, Alejandro Villanueva, Juan Valdivieso, and Adelfo Magallanes.^[27] The IFFHS considers this Peruvian side to have been "a technically excellent and strong attacking side" that had "everything to be a finalist."^[28] The Peruvians went on to upset the Austrian Wunderteam, who were favorites to win the tournament, by defeating them 4–2 in extra time. After the game, the Austrian team alleged that the Peruvian players had manhandled them, and that Peruvian spectators, one brandishing a revolver, had swarmed down on the field during overtime.^[29] However, Peru was playing as the away team, almost without any supporters, and neither the nationality or identity of the spectators that entered the field during the regular time of play (not overtime) were ever discovered.^[30] Despite the lack of concrete evidence, the International Olympic Committee, which was essentially a FIFA committee presided by Jules Rimet,^[31] controversially nullified the result and ordered a re-match behind closed doors, which drove the Peruvian and Colombian delegations to forfeit the games in protest.^[29] The story was told differently by European and South American media; to this day, the exact details of what occurred are not known.^[27] Nowadays, the IFFHS is the only international football organization to condemn the actions taken against Peru in the tournament.^[31]

In 1938, Peru won its first international title at the first Bolivarian Games, defeating Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.^[32] In 1939, la Blanquirroja won Peru's first South American Championship (known later as the Copa América), a tournament remembered for the conspicuous absence of football powerhouses Brazil and Argentina. The Peruvians defeated the Uruguayan team by a close score of 2–1 in the final,^[33] after eliminating Ecuador, Chile, and Paraguay. Peru became the fourth nation to become South American champions, after Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil.

Good games, few titles

By 1941, la Blanquirroja's star-studded squad was beginning to show its age.^[34] In the same year, Peru and Argentina played a three-game series for the Copa Roque Saenz Peña in Lima, and a struggling Peru managed to draw twice before finally losing the third match 3–0.^[35] The national squad's diminishing effectiveness was most apparent during the South American Championships of the 1940s,^[36] where the team's most positive performances came from goalkeeper José Soriano.^[37] Peru would not win another international title until 1947, when the side won the Bolivarian Games.^[32] Three years later, at the South American Championship held in Brazil, Peru gained third place after defeating Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Uruguay.^[38]

By the 1950s, Peru had once again become a major protagonist in South American football, ranking among the top 20 strongest football nations of the decade.^[7] In the Pan-American Championship of 1952 the Peruvians defeated Panama and Mexico, tied with Brazil, and lost to Chile and Uruguay in close matches.^[36] Players such as Alberto Terry, Guillermo Barbadillo, Valeriano López, Félix Castillo, and Óscar Gómez Sánchez contributed to Peru's competitive play throughout the 1950s. During 1953 and 1954, Peru achieved its only two titles of the decade, twice winning the Copa del Pacífico (Pacific Cup), a trophy disputed between Chile and Peru every time the two sides play.^[36] In the 1955 South American Championship, the national squad's campaign took them to a third place finish.^[39] Nonetheless, the team fared poorly at the Pan-American Championship held in Mexico, and the South American Championship in Montevideo.^[36] The team made a slight recovery as the decade closed, reaching fourth place at the 1957 and 1959 South American Championships, and defeating England 4–1 in an exhibition match.^[36][40][41]

During the 1960s, Peru showed signs of improvement, winning the Bolivarian Games in Barranquilla and qualifying for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.^[32] However, these would be the only achievements of the decade, as Peru failed to place in the top four spots of the 1963 South American Championship, did not qualify for the Chile and England World Cups, and was unable to regain the Copa del Pacífico.

1970s golden generation

The story of the 1970s golden generation started in late 1969, when la Blanquirroja qualified for the Mexico 1970 World Cup. Thanks to the goals of "Cachito" Ramírez, the squad tied Argentina at a game popularly known as "La Bombonera" (in reference to the Estadio Alberto J. Armando where the game was played).^[42] The squad, managed by "Didi" Pereira, followed a 4-2-4 formation that typically comprised José Fernández, Orlando de la Torre, Héctor Chumpitaz, and Nicolás Fuentes as the defenders; Ramón Mifflin and Roberto Challe as the midfielders; Julio Baylón, Pedro Pablo León, Teófilo Cubillas, and Alberto Gallardo as the forwards; and Luis Rubiños as the goalkeeper.^[43]

The participation of Peru in the 1970 FIFA World Cup was particularly memorable when the squad caused surprise as they advanced into the quarterfinals by defeating Bulgaria 3–2 and Morocco 3–0, and despite losing 3–1 to Germany.^[9][36] Although Peru lost the quarterfinal game to Brazil by 4–2, la Blanquirroja would go on to win the Copa del Pacífico, were invited to participate in the Brazil Independence Cup, and won the Copa Mariscal Sucre.^[36] Additionally, the squad won their second Copa America in 1975.^[44]

In 1978, la Blanquirroja once again qualified for a World Cup. The squad, led by Marcos Calderón, had a different (4-4-2) formation from the early 70s structure. Jaime Duarte, Héctor Chumpitaz, Rubén Díaz, and Germán Leguía were on the defense; César Cueto, Percy Rojas, Teófilo Cubillas, and José Velásquez on the midfield; Juan José Muñante, Juan Carlos Oblitas, Guillermo La Rosa, and Hugo Sotil on the attack; and Ramón Quiroga as the goalkeeper.^[45]

Prior to the World Cup, the national squad defeated varied opponents such as China and Hungary.^[36] Once into the World Cup finals, Peru reached the top of their group after defeating Scotland (3–1), tying with the Netherlands (0–0), and defeating Iran (4–1).^[45] However, in the second round, Peru ended last in the group after losing to Brazil (0–3), Poland (0–1), and to Argentina (0–6) in a controversial match that some claim was bought by Argentina's military junta.^[45][46] After the tournament, the squad played some international friendlies to prepare for the Copa America of 1979; they would tie Scotland at Glasgow (1–1) and defeat Uruguay in Lima (2–0). Nonetheless, by the time this new tournament started, Peru was eliminated by Chile. This great era in Peruvian football ended with a 1–0 loss against Mexico at Monterrey.^[36]

From glory to decline

The national team occasionally shone in the 1980s. La Blanquirroja successfully qualified for the 1982 FIFA World Cup at the expense of Colombia and Uruguay, the recent Mundialito winners.^[47] Under the direction of Tim, the Peruvians won the Pacific Cup and led a European and African tour in which la Blanquirroja defeated Hungary (2–1), France (1–0), tied Algeria (1–1), and upon their return defeated Romania (2–0).^[36] Tim's squad was composed of a 4-4-2 formation with Jaime Duarte, Rubén Toribio Díaz, Salvador Salguero, and Jorge Olaechea in defense; César Cueto, José Velásquez, Julio César Uribe, and Teófilo Cubillas in midfield; Gerónimo Barbadillo and Juan Carlos Oblitas as forwards; and Ramón Quiroga as goalkeeper.^[48]

Once in the World Cup of Spain, the team did not perform well as they tied with Cameroon and Italy, and lost 5–1 against Poland.^[48] Afterwards, Peru faced a string of bad results, but nearly qualified to the 1986 FIFA World Cup.^[36] The Peruvians needed a victory against Argentina in order to directly qualify to the World Cup, but Diego Maradona pulled off a tie that led Peru to seek qualification through a play-off game against Chile. A loss against Chile put an end to Peruvian aspirations for this tournament. Despite the loss, in 1986 Peru was invited to participate in its first Asian tournament, the Nehru Cup of India. The 1987 Alianza Lima air disaster further crushed hopes for the team as a series of good players ready to play for Peru and the national team's coach Marcos Calderón (among others) died.^[49] Nevertheless, in 1989 Peru gained third place in the Copa Centenario de Armenia 1989, which took place in the city of Armenia, Colombia.^[50] That same year Peru won second place in the Marlboro Cup.^[51] The situation of Peru would go on a slow decline from that point as a series of ties and defeats came one after the other.^[36]

By the late 1990s Peru had a small resurgence, reaching fourth place at the 1997 Copa America and nearly qualifying to the 1998 World Cup: they lost the chance to appear in the tournament only due to their goal difference with Chile.^[52] During this time Peru was invited to the 1997 U.S. Cup, in which they beat the United States 1–0, lost to Denmark 1–2, and tied with Mexico (the eventual champions of the competition) 0–0.^[53] Later, in 1999, the team won its first Kirin Cup and reached the quarterfinals of the Copa America.^[54] Players like Nolberto Solano, Andrés Mendoza, Flavio Maestri, Roberto Palacios, Claudio Pizarro, and José del Solar made a positive difference to the team's performance.^[54]

Scandal and suspension

In the year 2000, the team was invited to join the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament along with Colombia and South Korea.^[55] Positioned in Group B of the tournament, Peru started out bad with a 1–1 tie with Haiti, and a 1-0 loss to the United States.^[55] Surprisingly, this was enough for Peru to advance and face Honduras, which had ended first in their group.^[55] Peru won this quarterfinals match with an unexpected 5–3 result.^[56] In the semifinals, Peruvian defenders made a series of mistakes, including an own goal, and the only goal of Peru against Colombia came thanks to Roberto Palacios; Colombia defeated Peru 2–1.^[57] Peru earned third place in the North American competition.^[58]

Despite the good position attained in the CONCACAF tournament, Peru failed to get beyond the quarterfinals in the 2001 and 2004 editions of the Copa América, and did not qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup after finishing only above Venezuela and Chile in the CONMEBOL qualifiers.^[36] In 2005, Peru gained another Kirin Cup, this time sharing it with the United Arab Emirates.^[59] Despite the victory, Peru would once again miss out on a World Cup by finishing next to last in the qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup; the difference between Peru and the last place team, Bolivia, was only 4 points.

In 2007, Peru's U-17 squad surprised the nation by qualifying for and reaching the quarterfinals of the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup. In contrast to this success, the main team only reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 Copa America and succumbed at the bottom of the CONMEBOL qualifiers for the first time in its history during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification. During this qualification season, a corruption and indiscipline scandal shook the national team as Peruvian journalists Jaime Bayly and Magaly Medina revealed that a series of Peru's most recognized players, including Claudio Pizarro, Andrés Mendoza, Santiago Acasiete, Paolo Guerrero, and Jefferson Farfán, were seen at nightclubs and parties only days before the team was scheduled to play qualifier matches. Several players were banned from playing for the national team while others were put under investigation.^[60][61] Ironically, banned players such as Pizarro and Farfán ended up with successful 2009 seasons while the national team suffered shame in the bottom of the South American qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup.^[62]

In a further blow to the team's reputation, in November 2008, FIFA suspended several Peruvian Football Federation authorities, as well as several Peruvian Football League authorities and referees; additionally, the national team was barred from participating in international competition, under allegations of irregularities between the FPF, the Peruvian Institute of Sports (IPD), and the Peruvian government.^[63] The president of the IPD, Arturo Woodman, and the Peruvian government had made re-election of FPF President Manuel Burga illegal under allegations of corruption. With FIFA's approval, the FPF later reappointed Burga.^[64] After the FPF and IPD agreed to discuss the matter and reach an agreement, FIFA President Sepp Blatter lifted the bans and restrictions.^[65]

Recent history

As a result of the controversy, Peru was stripped of its opportunity to host the 2009 South American Youth Championship; the tournament was held in Venezuela instead. Peru's hopes of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup were dashed early on, as the team was the first CONMEBOL squad to be eliminated from the finals. The Peruvian sports press dubbed the current squad "Los Hijos de Burga" (the "Sons of Burga"), in reference to the FPF's president, who was widely blamed for Peru's terrible qualifying campaign. The press went on to name the squad the worst in the national team's 82-year history, amidst calls for Burga's resignation.^[66][67][68] Following the end of the qualifiers, Juan Manuel Vargas and Nolberto Solano, who officially retired from the team at this time, expressed their hopes to change the way things were going for the national squad.^[69][70] The team finalized the qualifying tournament in last place, with only 3 victories and a mere 13 points. Further reflecting the team's terrible state, in the August 2009 FIFA World Rankings Peru reached spot 91, its lowest ranking to date.^[71]

Héctor Chumpitaz, Peru's former star defense, suggested that more renowned coaches, such as Gustavo Costas and Luis Fernando Suárez, be given a chance at leading Peru based on their successes in the national football league.^[72] On July 2, 2010, Uruguayan Sergio Markarián took charge of the national team with the task of leading Peru in the 2011 Copa América and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.^[73] In the July 2010 FIFA World Rankings Peru reached spot 38, one of its highest ranking to date.

FIFA World Cup record

Peru has played at four FIFA World Cup finals, the first in 1930 and the last in 1982.^[74] In the 1930 la Blanquirroja lost both of its matches. During the match against Romania, Peru's Placido Galindo became the first player to be sent off during a World Cup.^[75] In 1969, Peru had an infamous 1–2 loss to Bolivia in the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, after which match referee Sergio Chechelev admitted to having been paid by Argentina to fix the game in Bolivia's favor.^[76] Peru eventually qualified for the 1970 FIFA World Cup in a historic 2–2 match against Argentina, which became La Albiceleste's first and only time they did not qualify for the tournament finals.^[77] The 1970 team led by "Didi" Pereira beat Bulgaria 3–2 after trailing 0–2 at half-time,^[78] beat Morocco 3–0, lost to Germany 1–3, and were finally eliminated by Brazil 4–2 in the quarterfinal match.^[79][80]

Peru qualified for the 1978 cup held in Argentina, where they famously beat Ally MacLeod's Scotland 3–1,^[81][82][83] and infamously lost to Argentina in a game that is claimed to have been set-up by the military junta that governed Argentina during those times.^[84] Peru qualified in first place from its group after also drawing with the Netherlands at 0–0 and beating Iran 4–1.^[85][86] It was rumored that Peru had been paid by the Argentine military government to play poorly in order to concede the goals Argentina needed; fueling the rumors was the fact that the Peruvian goalkeeper, Ramón Quiroga, was born in Argentina. None of the allegations could be proven, and Argentina went on to win the tournament.^[87] By the time the Spain 1982 World Cup came, the Peruvian squad made a successful practice tour in Europe and Africa,^[36] but ties with Cameroon and Italy and a defeat by Poland (5–1) saw them leave the tournament early.^[88]

Year	Result	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	GF[36]	GA[36]
1930	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	4
1934	Withdrew
1938	Did not qualify
1950 – 1954	Withdrew
1958 – 1966	Did not qualify
1970	Quarterfinals	4	2	0	2	9	9
1974	Did not qualify
1978	Round 2	6	2	1	3	7	12
1982	Round 1	3	0	2	1	2	6
1986 – 2010	Did not qualify
Totals		15	4	3	8	19	31

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Template:Peru FIFA World Cup Squads

Copa América record

After joining CONMEBOL in 1925, Peru has hosted the Copa América six times and won it twice. Peru has had two top goalscorers for the tournament, Teodoro Fernández (7 goals, 1939) and Eduardo Malasquez (3 goals, 1983).^[89] The 1927 tournament was the first hosted by Peru, followed by the 1935, 1939, 1957 and the 2004 tournaments.

In 1939 Peru achieved its first Copa América title by defeating Ecuador 5–2, Chile 3–1, and Paraguay 3–0 in order to reach the final. With skilled players like Teodoro Fernández and Jorge Alcalde, Peru defeated Uruguay in the final by the close score of 2–1.^[90] With this result, Peru became the fourth nation, after Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil, to win the Copa América.

In 1975, the Peruvians won the first Copa América held without a fixed venue by defeating Chile and Bolivia in the group stages, Brazil at the Mineirão by a score of 3–1 with the goals of Enrique Casaretto and Teófilo Cubillas in the semifinals, and, after being randomly chosen in a CONMEBOL-sponsored lottery (which was ordered after Brazil defeated Peru in Lima by a score of 0–2, thus equalizing in the amount of points) between it and Brazil,^[91] defeated Colombia in two out of three games played for the final. La Blanquirroja lost the first leg of the final played at Colombia, but won the second match at Lima and a final third match at Caracas thanks to the goals of Juan Carlos Oblitas, Oswaldo Ramírez, and Hugo Sotil.^[91]

Aside from these two victories, Peru's best place in the tournament have been four third places, two in 1927 and 1935 in Peru, one in 1949 in Brazil, and the last in 1955 in Chile. When the tournaments once again began to be hosted by individual countries, Peru's best place was in 1997 when they gained fourth place after losing to Mexico for the third place match. In 2004, Peru once again hosted the tournament, but did not manage to get beyond the quarterfinals. This same story repeated itself in 2007, and the team looks forward to the 2011 tournament to be held in Argentina.

Copa America/South American Championship
Total: 2 Titles
Year	Position		Year	Position		Year	Position
1916-1926	Absent		1949	Third Place		1987	Round 1
1927	Third Place		1953	Fifth Place		1989	Round 1
1929	Fourth Place		1955	Third Place		1991	Round 1
1935	Third Place		1956	Sixth Place		1993	Quarterfinals
1937	Sixth place		1957	Fourth Place		1995	Round 1
1939	Winners		1959	Fourth Place		1997	Fourth Place
1941	Fourth Place		1963	Fifth place		1999	Quarterfinals
1942	Fifth place		1967	Withdrew		2001	Quarterfinals
1945	Withdrew		1975	Winners		2004	Quarterfinals
1946	Withdrew		1979	Semifinals		2007	Quarterfinals
1947	Fifth Place		1983	Semifinals		2011	TBP

Template:Peru Copa América Champion Squads

Stadium

The Estadio Nacional (National Stadium), also known as the Coloso de José Díaz, is a 45,574-spectator stadium located in Lima that acts as the traditional home of the Peruvian team and the National Stadium of Peru.^[92] The stadium opened on July 18, 1897, as the Estadio Guadalupe. The Peruvian Football League (which later became the Peruvian Football Federation) used it for the first official football tournaments, which were held in Lima. In 1921, as part of President Augusto B. Leguía's embellecimiento (beautification) program, the stadium was renovated and renamed the Estadio Nacional de Peru.^[93] Later, during the regime of General Manuel Odría, the stadium was reconstructed and officially re-inaugurated on October 27, 1952.^[94]

In preparation for the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, artificial turf was installed as a means of improving the stadium's aesthetic appeal; the surface was left in place after the tournament. By 2005, Peru was home to four of the world's eight "Star II" (the highest certification granted to artificial pitches) stadiums.^[95] Despite being one of the Star II-certified stadiums,^[96] the surface has received heavy criticisms from Peruvian First Division clubs, due to player injuries for which it is allegedly responsible.^[97]

The national team occasionally selects other stadiums as its home venue. The thin atmosphere at the high-altitude Estadio Garcilaso de la Vega in Cusco and the balmy Amazonic climate of the Estadio Max Augustín in Iquitos provide strategic advantages against certain rivals.^[98] Other stadiums in Lima are sometimes used to bring the team closer to certain communities in the city, such as Alianza Lima's Estadio Alejandro Villanueva.^[99] In recent times, Universitario's Estadio Monumental "U" is most often selected for home matches due to controversy over the National Stadium's playing surface.^[97]

Uniform

Nolberto Solano, former captain of Peru and third top goalscorer wearing a kit design from 2007.

Peru's national colors are red and white.^[100] The team's first uniform was made for the 1927 South American Championship, and it consisted of white shorts and a shirt with vertical stripes. Another uniform was made for the 1930 FIFA World Cup held in Uruguay, and was an all-white kit with a red collar. A third uniform was made for the 1935 South American Championship, with the only difference from its prior kit being a horizontal red stripe. Peru's current uniform was made for the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, and it consists of a red stripe that crosses the chest diagonally from the left shoulder to the hip's right.^[2] The simple design of the Peruvian jersey received international praise in 2010 when ESPN, a sports network, qualified Peru's 1978 FIFA World Cup jersey as the best World Cup jersey of all time.^[101]

• 
  Peru's 1927 uniform
• 
  Peru's 1930 uniform
• 
  Peru's 1935 uniform
• 
  Peru's current uniform (1936–Present)

Rivalries

The Peruvian team has major regional rivalries with Chile and Ecuador. Territorial, maritime, and cultural disputes have led to a large football rivalry between Chile and Peru since the ending of the War of the Pacific. Both nations dispute the origin of the football move known as the bicycle kick, which Chileans claim they invented in 1914 while Peruvians claim it was invented in Peru during the late 19th century.^[11][102] Their games, considered by CNN (Cable News Network) to be among the top ten rivalries in the world,^[102] have gained the nickname of Clásico del Pacífico, meaning the "Derby of the Pacific," and a trophy named the Copa del Pacífico (Cup of the Pacific) is awarded whenever both national teams play.^[4][36] Peru's rivalry with Ecuador, derived from various historical border conflicts between the two countries, is not as great as with Chile, but is still of competitive importance to both nations.^[5]

Players

• For a complete list of the players called-up during the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers, see 2010 WCQ Main Squad and 2010 WCQ Additional Squad.

• Caps and Goals up to 15 Jun 2010 ^[103]

• |- class="nat-fs-player"

• |- class="nat-fs-player"

• |- class="nat-fs-player"

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club |- class="nat-fs-player"	1	1GK	Leao Butrón	(1976-02-09) February 9, 1976 (age 48)	35	0	Universidad San Martín |- class="nat-fs-player"	12	1GK	Diego Penny	(1984-04-22) April 22, 1984 (age 40)	6	0	Burnley |- class="nat-fs-player"	21	1GK	Raúl Fernández	(1985-10-06) October 6, 1985 (age 38)	3	0	Universitario de Deportes
2	2DF	Alberto Rodríguez	(1984-03-31) March 31, 1984 (age 40)	28	0	Sporting Braga |- class="nat-fs-player"	4	2DF	Walter Vílchez	(1982-02-20) February 20, 1982 (age 42)	5	0	Alianza Lima |- class="nat-fs-player"	5	2DF	Carlos Zambrano	(1989-07-10) July 10, 1989 (age 34)	11	1	FC St. Pauli |- class="nat-fs-player"	22	2DF	John Galliquio	(1979-12-01) December 1, 1979 (age 44)	30	0	Universitario de Deportes |- class="nat-fs-player"	3	2DF	Santiago Acasiete	(1977-11-22) November 22, 1977 (age 46)	27	2	UD Almería |- class="nat-fs-player"	16	2DF	Renzo Revoredo	(1986-05-11) May 11, 1986 (age 38)	1	0	Universitario de Deportes |- class="nat-fs-player"	19	2DF	Roberto Guizasola	(1984-08-21) August 21, 1984 (age 39)	2	0	Rosario Central
13	3MF	Junior Viza	(1985-04-03) April 3, 1985 (age 39)	2	0	Hapoel Petah Tikva |- class="nat-fs-player"	7	3MF	Reimond Manco	(1990-08-23) August 23, 1990 (age 33)	2	0	Juan Aurich |- class="nat-fs-player"	8	3MF	Rainer Torres	(1980-01-12) January 12, 1980 (age 44)	23	0	Universitario de Deportes |- class="nat-fs-player"	32	3MF	Manuel Rivera	(1978-03-16) March 16, 1978 (age 46)	0	0	AC Bellinzona |- class="nat-fs-player"	26	3MF	Joazinho Arroé	(1992-06-05) June 5, 1992 (age 32)	0	0	Inter Milan |- class="nat-fs-player"	27	3MF	Carlos Lobaton	(1980-02-06) February 6, 1980 (age 44)	4	0	Sporting Cristal |- class="nat-fs-player"	26	3MF	Juan Cominges	(1983-10-01) October 1, 1983 (age 40)	14	0	Al-Qadisiya |- class="nat-fs-player"	25	3MF	Joel Sánchez	(1989-06-11) June 11, 1989 (age 35)	1	0	Alianza Lima |- class="nat-fs-player"	10	3MF	Roberto Merino	(1982-05-19) May 19, 1982 (age 42)	1	0	AS Bari |- class="nat-fs-player"	15	3MF	Josepmir Ballón	(1989-03-21) March 21, 1989 (age 35)	9	0	River Plate |- class="nat-fs-player"	17	4FW	Jefferson Farfán	(1984-10-26) October 26, 1984 (age 39)	36	12	Schalke 04 |- class="nat-fs-player"	28	3MF	Jean Tragodara	(1985-12-16) December 16, 1985 (age 38)	0	0	Alianza Lima |- class="nat-fs-player"	6	3MF	Juan Vargas	(1983-10-05) October 5, 1983 (age 40)	25	3	Fiorentina |- class="nat-fs-player"	20	3MF	Renzo Sheput	(1980-08-11) August 11, 1980 (age 43)	0	0	La Equidad |- class="nat-fs-player"	24	3MF	Nolberto Solano	(1974-12-12) December 12, 1974 (age 49)	95	20	Hull City |- class="nat-fs-player"	34	3MF	Paolo de la Haza	(1983-11-30) November 30, 1983 (age 40)	31	0	Alianza Lima
9	4FW	Paolo Guerrero	(1984-01-01) January 1, 1984 (age 40)	24	9	Hamburg |- class="nat-fs-player"	11	4FW	Johan Fano	(1978-08-09) August 9, 1978 (age 45)	14	3	Atlante |- class="nat-fs-player"	14	4FW	Claudio Pizarro	(1978-10-03) October 3, 1978 (age 45)	56	13	Werder Bremen |- class="nat-fs-player"	18	4FW	Hernan Rengifo	(1983-05-18) May 18, 1983 (age 41)	17	5	AC Omonia |- class="nat-fs-player"	23	4FW	Daniel Chavez	(1988-01-08) January 8, 1988 (age 36)	9	0	K.V.C. Westerlo |- class="nat-fs-player"	20	4FW	Wilmer Aguirre	(1983-10-05) October 5, 1983 (age 40)	3	0	San Luis F.C. |- class="nat-fs-player"	35	4FW	José Carlos Fernández	(1983-10-05) October 5, 1983 (age 40)	2	0	Deportivo Quito

^{[104] [105]}

Managers

Since the creation of the national team in 1927, several coaches have been in charge of managing Peru. The first coach, Uruguayan Pedro Olivieri, was appointed for the 1927 South American Championship that was held in Peru. During the first World Cup in 1930, Spaniard Francisco Bru was given the position of manager.^[106] However, Peru was to win its first two international titles (the Bolivarian Games of 1938 and the South American championship of 1939) under the coaching of English Jack Greenwell.

Brazilian Valdir Pereira, Peruvian Marcos Calderón, and Brazilian Elba de Pádua Lima were to lead Peru in its FIFA World Cup games of 1970, 1978, and 1982 respectively.^{[107][108][109]} Both Pereira and Calderón managed to get past the first round of the competition, but to date Pereira's quarterfinal finish is the farthest Peru has gotten in the World Cup. Nonetheless, Calderón would manage Peru in its 1975 Copa América victory, the national team's second title in the competition. Other tournament winning coaches include Colombian Francisco Maturana and Peruvian Freddy Ternero, who both managed the team to its Kirin Cup titles of 1999 and 2005 respectively.

Statistically the most successful manager was Jack Greenwell, who won all eight games in which he took charge. Discounting managers who took charge in ten or less games, the least successful manager was Brazilian José Macia, with just two wins in 23 games. The current manager of Peru, Uruguayan Sergio Markarián, was appointed in 2010 as the replacement of José del Solar. Markarián is tasked with leading Peru in the 2011 Copa America and the 2014 FIFA World Cup CONMEBOL qualifiers.

These are the latest 10 managers of the national football team, for a complete list please visit the main article:

Name	Peru career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	# Titles
Freddy Ternero	1997 Copa America	6	3	0	3	50.00	0
Juan Carlos Oblitas	1996-1999	38	16	9	13	42.10	0
Francisco Maturana	1999-2000	14	4	4	6	28.57	1
Julio César Uribe	2000-2002	15	3	4	8	20.00	0
Paulo Autuori	2003-2005	31	9	10	12	29.03	0
Freddy Ternero	2005-2006	8	3	2	3	37.50	1
Franco Navarro	2006	7	0	3	4	0.00	0
Julio César Uribe	2007	7	2	1	4	28.57	0
José "Chemo" del Solar	2007-2010	28	6	6	16	21.00	0
Sergio Markarián	2010-present	~~	~~	~~	~~	~~	~~
Totals		154	46	39	69	29.87	2

• Freddy Ternero took charge during the 1997 Copa America, but Juan Carlos Oblitas was the head coach.

Records

According to CONMEBOL, Peruvian teams are often said to play with much technique and elegance, generally making them one of the finest exponents of South American football.^[110] Peru has positive overall head-to-head records against Asian, African, Caribbean, and Central American teams.^[111] The largest margin of victory achieved by the Blanquirroja is a 9–1 score against Ecuador in the inaugural Bolivarian Games. The team's record defeat took place in the 1997 Copa América, when Brazil defeated Peru by a score of 7–0.^[36] Peru is the first team that received a FIFA Fair Play Trophy. The Peruvians received the award in the 1970 FIFA World Cup because they were the only team that received no yellow or red cards in their games.^[112]

Alejandro Villanueva, Teodoro Fernández, and Juan Valdivieso were part of the Combinado del Pacífico that toured Europe from 1933 to 1934 and ultimately ended with an alleged record of 13 games won, 13 tied, and 13 lost; Fernández was top scorer with 48 goals.^[25] Hugo Sotil, Héctor Chumpitaz, and Teófilo Cubillas were selected from the Peruvian football team to be part of the starting line-up of the South America football team that played against the Europe XI in 1973 at the Nou Camp of FC Barcelona. Sotil scored South America's second goal, and Chumpitaz scored the tying goal (4–4); South America beat Europe 7–6 in the penalty rounds.^[113]

Roberto Palacios holds Peru's records for most appearances with the national team, having played 122 times between 1992 and 2007. Héctor Chumpitaz, with 105 appearances, and Jorge Soto, with 101 appearances, follow in second and third respectively. For goalkeepers, Oscar Ibañez holds the most appearances with 50 caps, followed by Miguel Miranda (47 caps) and Ramón Quiroga (40 caps).^[114] Teófilo Cubillas holds the team's record of top goalscorer with 26 goals in 81 appearances. Teodoro Fernández is in second, but holds a better goal per appearance average with 24 goals in 32 appearances. In third place is Nolberto Solano, who has 20 goals in 89 appearances.^[114]

Fixtures

Peru has played a total 525 official matches, including friendlies, since 1927. There have been numerous memorable matches throughout the history of the Blanquirroja. Among them are the controversial 1936 Olympic match against Austria, the successful 1939 South American championship final against Uruguay, the 1959 international friendly against England which was won by the Blanquirroja, and the 1969 match against Argentina (popularly known in Peru as "La Bombonera") which qualified Peru to its second World Cup.^[36]

Recent results for Peru have not been positive. The team has failed to qualify for several World Cups and has not managed to get past the quarterfinals in various editions of the Copa America. Peru was the first squad eliminated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The team's most recent game was against Honduras, which the Blanquirroja won by a 2-1 margin.^[115] Peru has an upcoming international friendly against Canada to be played on September 4, 2010, in Toronto; afterwards, Peru will play against Guatemala in New York.^[116]

Footnotes

References

External links

• Peru FA
• FIFA team profile
• All about Peru in FIFA World Cup (Spanish)
• All about Peru in Olimpic Games (Spanish)
• All about Peru in the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2000 (Spanish)
• All about the FIFA U-17 World Cup Peru 2005 (Spanish)

Achievements
Preceded by Inaugural Champions	Bolivarian Champions 1938 (First title) 1947–48 (Second title)	Succeeded by 1951 Colombia
Preceded by 1937 Argentina	South American Champions 1939 (First title)	Succeeded by 1941 Argentina
Preceded by 1951 Colombia	Bolivarian Champions 1961 (Third title)	Succeeded by 1965 Ecuador
Preceded by 1970 Bolivia	Bolivarian Champions 1973 (Fourth title)	Succeeded by 1977 Bolivia
Preceded by 1967 Uruguay	South American Champions 1975 (Second title)	Succeeded by 1979 Paraguay
Preceded by 1977 Bolivia	Bolivarian Champions 1981 (Fifth title)	Succeeded by U-20 Tournaments
Preceded by 1998 Japan	Kirin Cup Champions 1999 (First title)	Succeeded by 2000 Slovakia
Preceded by 2004 Japan	Kirin Cup Champions 2005 (Second title)	Succeeded by 2006 Scotland