Peru

In the 19th century, British migrants as well as Peruvians coming back in England began to introduce football in Peru. In 1859 people from the British community living in the nation's capital city founded the Lima Cricket Club, Peru's first club focused on the game of rugby, cricket, and football. These new sports were popular in the upper class of the city in the years following However, the initial developments were halted because of the War of the Pacific that Peru was fighting against Chile from 1879 until 1883. Following the war, Peru's coastal community adopted football as a contemporary technological advancement. In Lima's barrios, soccer was a common daily pastime and was embraced by bosses who wanted to promote cooperation and efficiency within their workforce. In the port that was adjacent to Callao and in other commercial zones, British civilian workers and sailors took part in the sport between them and with the locals. There were rivalries in sports between locals as well as foreigners developed in Callao and also between elites and the workers of Lima. When foreigners moved out, this turned into a war with Callao as well as Lima. These reasons, in conjunction with the rapid growth of football in the urban poor of Lima's La Victoria district (where, in 1901 was it was that the Alianza Lima club formed) resulted in Peru creating the Andean region's most renowned football culture. According the the historian Andreas Campomar, "some of the most beautiful and skilled soccer on the continent".

The Peruvian Football League, founded in 1912, hosted annual tournaments until it was disbanded in 1921 due to disputes between its clubs. Its successor, the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) was established in 1922 and revamped the annual event in 1926. In 1926, the FPF became a part of with the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) in 1925. The FPF after reorganizing its finances, established its Peru nation's football squad in 1927. The team was officially launched at 1927's South American Championship, hosted by the FPF in the Lima's Estadio Nacional. Peru lost 0-4 to Uruguay in the first game but won 3-2 over Bolivia in its subsequent. Peru was not able to progress beyond the first round of the first FIFA World Cup in 1930.

The 1930s was the team's initial golden age, as they were able to improve their game by the play of more experienced teams. In the 1930s, Combinado del Pacifico (a squad comprised consisting of Chilean as well as Peruvian footballers) traveled across Europe between 1933 and 1934. Beginning with Ciclista Lima in 1926, Peru's football teams traveled across Latin America with much success. On one of these trips--Alianza Lima's undefeated tour through Chile in 1935--the Rodillo Negro ("Black Roller") skilled group of forwards led by Alejandro Villanueva, Teodoro Fernandez and goalkeeper Juan Valdivieso. The sports historian Richard Witzig described these three as "a soccer triumvirate that was unmatched anywhere else at the time" with a reference to their innovativeness and efficacy on both sides on the field. Peru and Rodillo Negro performed well during the 1936 Summer Olympics and they won the first Bolivarian games in 1938. They then finished the decade with the title of South American champions.

The historian David Goldblatt assessed the decline of its earlier success: "despite all the apparent prerequisites for growth in football and the success of the sport, Peruvian football disappeared". The sudden drop in popularity is attributed in the sport to Peruvian authorities' attempts to stifle "social political, sporting and other organizations among the rural and urban poor" in the 1950s, 1940s. However, Peru performed creditably at the South American Championships, placing third in Brazil 1949 and Chile 1955, but missed qualifying to Brazil's Sweden 1958 World Cup finals, over two games to the eventual champions Brazil.

A string of successes in the late 1960s as well as the qualification for Mexico 1970 World Cup finals, ushered in a second golden age in Peruvian football. The formidable forward pairing of Teofilo Cubillas as well as Hugo Sotil was a key element in Peru's success during the 1970s. Peru made it to the quarterfinals in the year 1970, only to lose to tournament champions Brazil and securing its first FIFA Fair Play Trophy; the historian Richard Henshaw describes Peru as "the unexpected winner of the tournament in 1970 with its flair and impressive level of talent". The following year, Peru became South American champions again after winning in 1975 the Copa America (the then-rechristened South American Championship). The team then was able to qualify for the next two World Cup finals, reaching the second round in Argentina 1978, and the first Group Stage that was played in Spain 1982. The early loss of Peru in 1982 was the beginning of Peru's renowned "flowing soccer". Peru did not, however, did not make it to an opportunity to play in the Mexico 1986 World Cup finals after placing second in the qualifying group behind eventual champions Argentina.

In the 1980s, the new hopes for Peru were focused on the young group of Alianza Lima players known colloquially as Los Potrillos ("The Colts"). Social scientists Aldo Panfichi as well as Victor Vich write that Los Potrillos "became the dream of the whole country"--fans believed they would be able to qualify for their place in the Italy in the 1990 World Cup finals. However, these hopes were shattered when the team took an absence following the death of its manager as well as several of its players were killed from a fatal plane accident that killed the majority of Alianza's players and its staff in 1987. Peru then came very close to making the France 1998 World Cup finals, missing the qualification due to goal difference but they would eventually be victorious in 1998's Kirin Cup at Japan (sharing the trophy together with Belgium) and reach semi-finals in The 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup (contested as an invited participant).

A place in to the FIFA World Cup finals continued as a goal that was elusive for Peru at the start of the 21st century. As per the historian Charles F. Walker, issues with discipline among players plagued the Peruvian national team as well as football league. Problems within the FPF and particularly its former president Manuel Burga, deepened the situation in Peruvian football. FIFA suspended the country from competitions in international competitions in the middle of 2008 due to the fact that the Peruvian government had a probe into possible corruption within the FPF. Burga's 12 years in the position of FPF president, which was viewed by both the public and journalists as a disaster for Peru's national team, despite a third place finish at the 2010 Copa America, ended in 2014. The FPF's leadership changed and appointed Juan Carlos Oblitas as the FPF's new director, as well as Ricardo Gareca as Peru's manager in March of 2015. Gareca is widely praised by journalists covering sports for revitalizing Peru's football skills by enhancing the training of the players as well as professional sporting conduct. under Gareca, Peru achieved third place in the 2015 Copa America, reached the quarterfinals of the Copa America Centenario, participated in the group stage of the Russia 2018 World Cup finals, and was runners-up in the 2014 Copa America.

The Peru national team of football is played in white and red the national colors of Peru. Its primary kit was since 1936, white shortswith white socks and white shirts sporting distinct red "sash" which runs from their fronts diagonally from the left shoulder to the right hip before returning back on the back starting from right hip and ending at the left shoulder. The basic design has only been slightly modified through the decades.

Peru's shirt has been lauded as one of the world's most beautiful designs. Christopher Turpin, the executive producer of NPR's All Things Considered news show and praised the 1970 version as "the most beautiful soccer shirt" as well as describing that it was "retro even in the year 1970". Miles Kohrman, football reporter for The New Republic, commended Peru's jersey as "one of the most secret soccer secrets". Rory Smith, Chief Soccer Correspondent of The New York Times, described Peru's 2018 version of the shirt being "a classic" featuring an evocative and awe-inspiring "blood-red shash". The 1978 version was the first to be featured on an ESPN listing of "Best World Cup jerseys of all time" and was described as "simple but powerfully striking".

Peru's first uniform, designed to be worn at the 1927 South American Championship, comprised an striped white and red shirt with black shorts, white shorts and white socks. In the 1930 World Cup, Peru used an alternative design due to the fact that Paraguay already had registered a similar shirt with red and white stripes. The Peruvians were instead wearing white shirts that had red collars with white shorts and black socks. The team also added an horizontal red stripe on the shirt to commemorate their 1935 South American Championship. The following year, during the 1936 Berlin Olympics it adopted an famous red sash with a diagonal design that and has continued to use it for the last few years. According to the historian Jaime Pulgar-Vidal Olalora the concept for the design was derived from football games played in schools, that wore coloured sashes over the shoulder allowed two teams sporting white shirts to play one another.

Peru has as its badge, the emblem of the Peruvian Football Federation. Its first emblem, which was introduced in 1927, featured the design of a shield with the name of the country and the acronym for the federation (FPF). Eight emblems were introduced and the most durable being the contemporary French the escutcheon design, which was featured on the jersey of the team from 1953 to 2014. The emblem featured the Peruvian flag as its base, with either the country's name or acronym of the federation as its main. In 2014 the emblem sports the retro-inspired design of the heater shield that has the entire field covered by the Peruvian flag and acronym of the federation, which is surrounded by an gold-colored frame.

Eight sportswear companies have provided the Peru national soccer team. The first manufacturer, Adidas, a German company Adidas provided the team's uniform in the years 1978 and 1983-1985. In the past, the FPF has signed agreements with companies from Brazil (Penalty 1981-1982), Canada (Power, 1989-1991), Italy (Diadora, 1991-1992), England (Umbro, 1996-1997, 2010, 2010-2018) and another one from Germany (Puma 1987-1989). The team is also provided by local businesses: Calvo Sporwear (1986-1987), Polmer (1993-1995), and Walon Sport (1998-2010). As of August, Ecuadorian Marathon Sports produce Peru's kit.

The most renowned home for Peruvian soccer is the nation's national stadium which is it's the Estadio Nacional in Lima, which can hold 45,000 people. The current stadium is the Estadio's third version that was renovated under the Alan Garcia administration. The day of its official reopening, the 24th of July in 2011, marked the 88th anniversary following the opening of the first stadium at the same location in 1923.

In celebration of the 100th anniversary in Peru's freedom from Spain the Lima's British society donated to the initial Estadio Nacional, a wooden structure that had a capacity of 6000. Construction began on July 28th, 1921, and was overseen under the president Augusto B. Leguia. The stadium's official re-opening was on the 27th of October 1952 in the Manuel A. Odria administration was the culmination of a long-running campaign to renovate the stadium, that was led by Miguel Dasso, president of the Sociedad de Beneficencia de Lima. The newly renovated stadium had an edifice made of cement and a larger capacity of 53,000 spectators. The most recent redevelopment in 2011, featured the creation of a plaque-covered outside as well as an internal multicoloured lighting system, two huge LED screens, as well as the addition of 375 suites for private use.

One of the most distinctive features of the field has to be it's Miguel Dasso Tower on its north side, with luxurious boxes (renovated in 2004). This Estadio Nacional currently has a natural bermudagrass field, which was reinstalled in the course of redevelopments that were completed in the year 2011. Prior to that the FPF had put in artificial turf at the stadium to host the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, being the only stadium in CONMEBOL that has a natural turf. Despite the synthetic turf's rating as "FIFA Star II" which is the top quality of artificial pitches, some players claimed that the ground of causing injuries such as bruises and burns.

Peru often plays home matches at different locations. In the region that is desert-like, like the coast of Lima the thin air in the high-altitude Estadio Garcilaso de la Vega in Cusco is described as offering strategic advantages to Peru against teams from other countries. Other popular venues for the national team are two other stadiums located in the Peruvian capital city: Alianza's Estadio Alejandro Villanueva and Universitario's Estadio Monumental.

The training facilities of the national team are located in the Villa Deportiva Nacional (VIDENA) sports complex located in Lima's San Luis district. In 1981 the facility is run through the Peruvian Institute of Sport (IPD). Following Peru's qualifying for Russia World Cup in 2018, the World Cup finals, the Peruvian Football Federation announced the construction of a brand new complex called known as the Center of National Teams, located in the Lima's Chaclacayo district. The new complex will have six training fields for the female and male squads, which include the senior and youth teams.

Football is the most well-known game in Peru from the beginning of the 20th century. It was initially restricted for Lima's Anglophile elite and expatriates and separated from the other city dwellers and the rest of the population, football was a major part of the popular culture in the 1910s and 1900s. In the years following, Augusto Leguia's government institutionalised the sport as an integral part of the national scene by encouraging and coordinating its development. Thus, the national soccer team was a key part to Peru's nation's image. According to journalist Carlos Aguirre, nationalist fervor was at its peak during the preparation stage for the 1970 World Cup finals, because the revolutionary administration under General Juan Velasco Alvarado tied the national team's success to the perceived social, cultural and psychological changes triggered by the new political plan.

Peruvian football fans are well-known for their unique cheer! Peru! ("Onward Peru! "), unabating popular chant !Vamos peruanos! (Let's be Peruvians! ) and for the usage of tradition-based Peruvian musica criolla in order to show their support at the national team's games as well as at match-days at clubs. The musica criolla gained not only international but also national recognition due to the rise of mass media in the 1930s, and became an iconic as a symbol for Peru and the culture. The most well-known national team tunes include Peru Campeon, a polca Criolla (Peruvian polka) that celebrates Peru's participation in Mexico for the Mexico 1970 World Cup, and Contigo Peru in a vals-criollo (Peruvian waltz) that the newspaper El Comercio calls "the hymn of Peruvian national teams of football". In the year 2018, a FIFA-sanctioned global online poll honored the "fervent and committed team" of Peruvian supporters during that year's World Cup tournament with the FIFA Fan Award.

The Estadio Nacional incident on May 24, 1964, which involved Peruvian supporters, has been cited to be one of the most tragic sports tragedies of all time. As a match was being played to qualify for 1964's Olympics with Peru's youth squad and the counterpart of Argentina the Uruguayan official Angel Payos disallowed a would-be Peruvian equaliser, accusing him of the player was in a rough spot. Fans hurled at each other from the stands as two fans walked onto the field and fought with the referee. Police fired tear gas at the crowd, which caused the crowd to swell; while trying to flee, the crowd was trapped against the stadium's gates. Three15 people suffered fatal injuries in the chaos and more than 500 were injured.

The Peru national football team has strong rivalries with the teams from neighboring Chile along with Ecuador. It is believed that the Peruvians have a good record against Ecuador as well as a poor score against Chile. Peru played both of its rivals at the 1939 South American Championship in Lima and was the first time Peru had to face Ecuador in an official match; Peru won both games. Peru also beat Ecuador in the process of qualifying to play in the Argentina 1978 World Cup, directly eliminating both teams.

The Chile-Peru football match is recognized as Spanish by the name of Clasico del Pacifico ("Pacific Derby"). CNN World Sport editor Greg Duke puts it in the top 10 football rivalries around the world. Peru first met Chile at the 1934 South American Championship, defeating it by 1-0. The rivalry in football among Peru and Chile is a result of the conflict in geopolitics between these two states is mostly due to the two teams competing to be recognized as the best team from South America's Pacific coast. Their football confederation was historically heavily dominated by south-western South America's Atlantic coast. Both countries play each other in competition for the fourth place of the best nation's team within South America (after Argentina, Brazil in addition to Uruguay). Both countries claim to be the inventors of the bicycle kick. Peruvians refer to it as the chalaca while in Chile it's the chilena of Chile.

Rivalry between Ecuador as well as Peru football teams has its roots in the border dispute between the two countries dating from early in the nineteenth century. In 1995, following the short Cenepa War, CONMEBOL contemplated altering the Copa America group stage to hinder a match between the two sides however, they decided not to. According to historian of culture Michael Handelsman, Ecuadorian fans regard losses in Colombia and Peru "an excuse to complain about the inability of Ecuador for it to be recognized as a world-class football power". Handelsman states that "[t]he rivalries are fierce and games bring a sense of pride and respect for the nation".

2021

2022

There have been 43 managers who have helmed the Peru national squad since the year 1927 (including numerous stints in separate instances) In all 36 of them are native to Peru and 23 foreign-born. The sports analysts and historians tend to consider Peru's top managers who have been successful to be their former managers, the Englishman Jack Greenwell and the Peruvian Marcos Calderon. The former led Peru to victory at the 1938 Bolivarian Games and 1939 South American Championship, and the latter guided Peru to victory at the 1995 Copa America tournament and coached it in the 1978 FIFA World Cup. The three other coaches have guided Peru to victory in tournaments. Juan Carlos Oblitas Freddy Ternero, and Sergio Markarian each oversaw Peru's win during the Kirin Cup in Japan in the years 1999, 2005 and 2011 in 2005, 1999 and 2011 respectively.

After forming Peru's national team for football In the following year, the FPF asked Uruguayan coach Pedro Olivieri and Julio Borelli to lead the team. Olivieri was the first FPF assignment, which was in 1927, for the South American Championship, due to his previous managerial experience in Uruguay. Borelli was named the second manager of the national team in 1929, during the South American Championship, after several years of refereeing soccer match in Peru. Borelli was the Spaniard Francisco Bru, Peru's third manager and the first World Cup coach at the opening tournament in 1930 was previously Spain's first manager. The FPF was then appointed the first national team's Peruvian manager, Telmo Carbajo to coach the team for the 1934 South American Championship. The manager of the team since August 2022 has been the Peruvian Juan Reynoso.

Managers who made significant adjustments on their teams' Peru national team's play style includes those who influenced the style of play include Hungarian Gyorgy Orth as well as Tim and Didi, the Brazilians Didi And Tim. Orth was the coach of Peru from 1957 until 1959. Sports expert Andreas Campomar cites Peru's "4-1 defeat of England in Lima" as proof of Orth's influence on the team's offensive play. Victor Benitez, Peru's defensive midfielder under Orth has credited the Hungarian with helping the team maximize its potential by putting players in their best position. Didi was the coach of Peru from 1968 until 1970, and was the team's manager in the 1970 FIFA World Cup; Campomar credits Didi's methods as the main reason behind Peru's evolution of the "free-flowing soccer" style. Placar is an Brazilian sports magazine, credited Tim Didi, who was the manager of Peru during the 1982 FIFA World Cup, with creating Peru "a squad that is stunning, combining the efficiency of a team with the swagger was thought to only exist within Brazil".

The following players were called up for the friendly match against New Zealand and the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification playoff match against Australia on 5 and 13 June 2022, respectively.

Caps and goals are correct as of 13 June 2022, after the match against Australia.

A report issued by CONMEBOL in 2008 declared Peru as having a long-standing tradition of playing an "elegant, technically and refined football style" and hailed the country for being "one among the top and most faithful supporters of South American football talent". In 2017 Argentine director Ricardo Gareca described Peruvian footballers as "technically solid, physically resilient and flexible" and added that their ability to adapt was due to the diversity of Peru's geography.

Peruvian players cited on the CONMEBOL report as "true players in the game" are forwards Teofilo Cullas, Pedro Pablo Leon and Hugo Sotil, defender Hector Chumpitaz and midfielders Roberto Challe, Cesar Cueto, Jose del Solar, and Roberto Palacios. [109] Cubillas is an attacking midfielder, and forward widely called El Nene ("The Kid") is widely recognized as Peru's best ever player. Chumpitaz is frequently cited as the best defender of the team; Witzig lists him among his "Best players in the Modern Era", and describes his abilities as "a good player who reads the game and has great ball abilities and distribution, whowas able to marshal a formidable defense to help Peru's offensive". El Grafico, an Argentine sports magazine, named Cueto, Cubillas, and Jose Velasquez as, collectively, "the best in the world" in 1978.

Prior to Cubillas debut, Teodoro "Lolo" Fernandez the forward, who was known as"El Canonero ("The Cannoneer") was regarded as the Peru's best player due to his athletic shots, his marksmanship, and his dedication to Universitario. Fernandez played as a pivotal player in the Rodillo Negro team of the 1930s, as did Alejandro Villanueva and Juan Valdivieso. Fernandez scored the majority in the goals scored by his teammates. his teammate in attack, the skilled player Villanueva impressed the crowd with his impressive acrobatic talents. Goalkeeper Valdivieso was known as an excellent penalty stopper who had exceptional athleticism.

The year 1972 was the time that teams from Europe as well as South America played a commemorative match in Basel, Switzerland, for the aid of children who were homeless. Cubillas, Chumpitaz, Sotil And Julio Baylon played in the South American team, which took the victory 2-0. Cubillas scored the game's first goal. The teams played a second match next year, this time held in the Barcelona's Camp Nou, with the stated aim of reducing the global problem of poverty. Cubillas, Chumpitaz, and Sotil were also present in the match, with Chumpitaz chosen as South America's captain. All three Peruvians scored points in the draw of 4-4, and South America won 7-6 on penalties.

The Peru national team of football has played 645 games since 1927, which includes friendlies. The biggest win scored by an Peru team was a 9-1 victory against Ecuador on the 11th of August, 1938, in the Bolivarian Games in Colombia. The team's record loss was a 7-0 defeat to Brazil in 1997's Copa America in Bolivia.

The Peruvian player who has many international caps has Roberto Palacios, who made 128 appearances with the team from 1992 until 2007. The player with the second most appearances are Yoshimar Yotun having 108. Paolo Guerrero is third with 106. It is the Peruvian goalkeeper who has the highest number of performances has been Pedro Gallese with 78. The goalkeeper with the second most appearances has Oscar Ibanez with 50; Miguel Miranda is third with 47.

The most prolific goal scorer in the team's history has been Paolo Guerrero, with 38 goals in 106 games. He is next in line with Jefferson Farfan, with 27 goals in 97 games, and Teofilo Cubillas with 26 goals across 81 games. Of the top 10 scorers of Peru Teodoro's Fernandez who scored 24 goals in 32 games, has the highest goal-per-appearance rate (0.75 goals per game). Claudio Pizarro scored Peru's fastest ever goal, scoring just an hour into a game against Mexico on the 20th of August, 2003.

Peru's captain of the moment is goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. The midfielder Leopoldo Basurto was the team's first captain. In the defensive position, Hector Chumpitaz held the Peruvian team's position of leadership for the longest period between 1965 until 1981. The forward Claudio Pizarro had the second-longest period as captain, spanning between 2003 and 2016. The other notable captains are Ruben Diaz (1981-1985), Julio Cesar Uribe (1987-1989), Juan Reynoso (1993-1999) along with Nolberto Solano (2000-2003).