Real Garcilaso taking Peruvian football into uncharted waters

 

Peru rarely have a representative in the last eight of the Copa Libertadores but Real Garcilaso are on the cusp of reaching that late stage and Jonathan Wilson recommends a back of Freddy Garcia's boys in tonight's first leg against Nacional

 

It's three years since a Peruvian side last reached the knockout stage of the Copa Libertadores. Not since 1997, when Sporting Cristal, under the inspired leadership of the Uruguayan Sergio Markarian, reached the final, that there has been a Peruvian side in the last eight. So when Real Garcilaso host Nacional of Uruguay tonight, there's more at stake for the home side than just a place in the next round.

 

Theirs is a remarkable story - and one that suggests at the mess Peruvian football has found itself in over the past few years. The club was founded as recently as 2009 by students at the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega school in Cuzco. They started in the second division of the regional Cuzco league and worked their way up to take their place in the Torneo Descentralizado for the first time last season. They also won the Copa Peru in 2011.

 

With Andy Pando finishing as top scorer in the league, they lost in last season's championship play-off to Sporting Cristal, but a runners-up spot was sufficient to secure their place in the Libertadores. That they could rise so quickly, and then prosper at the highest level, is possible only because of the general financial shambles of so many clubs.

 

One-nil away wins over Cerro Porteno and Deportes Tolima, together with a 5-1 home demolition of the Paraguayans, effectively booked their place in the last 16, qualifying with the second best record of the second-placed sides - they actually got the same number of points, 10, as Nacional, which is one of the reasons they are such strong favourites: they're 1.84 to win the first leg with Nacional 4.8.

 

Players were rewarded for getting out of the group with a $100,000 bonus pot, while fans greeted them deliriously on their return from their final group game.

 

"I want to take on the biggest teams in South America," said Garcilaso's 53-year-old coach Freddy Garcia, who tends to be regarded as a promotion specialist.

 

"We are prepared to go as far as possible. Many might think that the ideal for us would be to face a seemingly weak opponent, but no, I want to deal with the continent's largest, because then we can surprise them."

 

The other factor in Garcilaso's favour is altitude. Cuzco stands 3,400 metres above sea level, a major test for a Nacional side that will be without the experienced striker Sebastian Abreu, forwards Juan Albin and Alvaro Recoba and central defender Andres Scotti.

 

This has been a difficult season for Nacional. They may only have lost one of nine games so far in the league but the sense is that they draw rather too much - undone both by a defensive leakiness and by a lack of attacking ruthlessness. The Libertadores game at home to Boca Juniors was a classic example, as they lost 1-0 despite dominating the game and playing against 10 men for three quarters of the match.

 

Garcilaso are in good form domestically, lying second in the Peruvian league, a point behind the leaders Cesar Vallejo with three games in hand, having lost just one of their eight games so far. The only slight doubt is whether they convert sufficient chances: although they've conceded only twice in five home league games so far, they've drawn two of their five home matches. Given that both sides probably draw more than they ought to, the draw at 3.4 is perhaps intriguing - although given Nacional's injury problems probably not quite intriguing enough.

 

In part that's because of the departure of Pando, who scored 27 times in 40 league games last season. He was sold to Las Palmas, where he is still to start a game, leaving the Paraguayan wide forward Victor Ferreira as the main goal threat, with his compatriot, Fabio Ramos, a threat from deep. Mauricio Montes, who leads the line, has never got into double figures for a season. Given Nacional, with all their absentees are likely to adopt a defensive approach, a low-scoring affair seems likely. Under 2.5 goals is 1.66.

 

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Back Real Garcilaso to win @ 1.84

 

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