What an eligible Paolo Guerrero could mean for Peru

Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero has been announced as eligible for the World Cup, after managing to get his ban for substance abuse shortened from a year, to six months. The Flamengo man missed some of Peru’s late qualification games, and you could tell that they missed him.

Qualification from CONMEBOL was unpredictable to say the least. But perhaps the biggest shocks came from a gutsy Peru side, who often bested teams from their work ethic alone. Key for them, at least in scoring goals, was Paolo Guerrero, and once it was announced that he would be missing numerous games, very few thought that Peru could do what was required to qualify for Russia.

However, what we witnessed was almost the opposite. It almost looked like Guerrero’s absence galvanized the squad, and it looked like they were playing for him. They definitely found it difficult to score goals, but they didn’t concede many either, with Pedro Gallese (a contender for golden glove, in my eyes) appearing unbeatable at times. They finally managed to get the job done, beating New Zealand in the playoffs through quality performances from Christian Cueva and legend Jefferson Farfan.

Now that Guerrero is back, Peru are in for a huge boost. They showed the world that they can compete with the Brazil’s and the Argentina’s, and in this case exceed a team such as Chile, who everyone has been in awe of over the last few years, without their star man Guerrero. With him in the side, they are a totally different team. Peru could be a dark horse for a long run in the competition this summer, and in tournaments to come. CONMEBOL is no longer a region run by two teams. Almost anyone can achieve success in the area. By keeping this good work ethic going, and by utilizing their strengths, the sky is the limit for La Blanquirroja.