TOUGH MATCH

Trinidad and Tobago coach Hutson Charles has said that the team are already looking forward to playing against teams like Peru in friendly matches. The national team has been scheduled to play against Peru and Belize ahead of the CONCACAF Gold Cup that will resume in July. Trinidad will be first taking on Belize at the end of March, while they will be playing Peru at Lima three days later. This is not the first time that Trinidad will be playing against Peru, as the teams have met each other in a friendly back in October. The Caribbean team lost their encounter 2-0 back then and they will be looking for revenge this time around.

Charles has said that the team had a great opportunity to play against a quality opposition like Peru, who have a number of players playing abroad. There were also several locally based players as well. He has said that the process of learning from their opponents is not over yet because Trinidad still have a lot to learn from the likes of Peru. Meanwhile, the first friendly match will take place at the Ato Boldon Stadium, which is located in Couva. Other venues are not available to host this match, as they are being renovated.

Belize come into the match after having recently been defeated by Costa Rica 1-0. “We had a good opportunity to see some of the players from abroad in the last game against Peru and we also had the chance to see the local-based players in that particular game. The process of seeing what the players have to offer will continue in these two matches coming up. These are games that we are looking forward to. Playing away to Peru will be a good opportunity for the players to get a good test in conditions away from home,” said Charles.

SANCHEZ SUSPENDED

The attacking midfielder of Peruvian football team, Joel Sanchez, has been suspended for a couple of years for doping. FIFA announced Sanchez’s suspension on Friday.

After Peru’s World Cup qualifying match against Bolivia in October last year, Sanchez was found positive for Methylhexaneamine which is a banned item.

This is not great news for the Peruvian football team. Peru is currently at the 8th position in the points table of South American World Cup qualifying group. Out of the nine world cup qualifying matches that they have played so far, they have won 2, have lost 5 and have shared points in 2 matches. So, their chances of qualifying for the World Cup are not very good. And, now, they have lost one of their key players.

The Peru team management has got this bad news just 20 days before their next World Cup qualifying match against Chile.

Sanchez will not be able to feature for Peru in any friendly or official match. He has also been banned from playing any match at the domestic level. Sanchez’s ban will end on 21st January 2015.

This was a very harsh decision by FIFA. Sanchez was not expected to be banned for duration of 2 years. For substances like Methylhexaneamine, UEFA generally bans players for 1 year.

In August last year, a couple of players from FK Rabotnicki (a club from Macedonia) were found positive for Methylhexaneamine after a Europa League clash against S.S. Lazio (a club from Rome). Both those players were banned for 12 months. Sanchez was also expected to be banned for the same duration, but, that didn’t happen.

Methylhexaneamine is one of those substances which can be taken without the intention of doping. If Sanchez wants his ban period to be reduced, he will have to prove that he didn’t take Methylhexaneamine with the intention of doping.

PIZZARO BACKS PERU

The Bayern Munich striker Claudio Pizarro is regarded as one of the best footballers from Peru of all-time. He has played for various high-profile clubs like Bayern Munich and Chelsea over the years. He has now said that he is extremely confident that the Peruvian national team can qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Due to the fact that this World Cup will be held in the home continent, a number of the teams like Uruguay and Argentina are also the favourites to lift the competition. However, Pizarro is more concerned about getting Peru to play in this competition by qualifying.

The World Cup qualifying for the South American countries has been going on for a little while. Peru have not qualified for a major tournament like the FIFA World Cup for quite a while now, which has always been the ambition of the Bayern Munich striker. He recently became the first foreign player to score more than 160 goals in the Bundesliga, while he has also made more than 330 appearances in this league. He has said that he is extremely delighted and proud of his record. The 34-year-old is now hoping to help Peru qualify for the World Cup more than anything else.

“I’m absolutely convinced that we can do it and I think the Peruvian public are starting to believe it too. It’ll be difficult, but we’re prepared for the remaining qualifying fixtures. I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again: my dream is to reach the World Cup with my country. That’s what we’re trying to achieve. Argentina and Uruguay are the most likely to qualify, although Colombia are doing very well right now. It’ll be very tight right up until the end,” said the 34-year-old in an interview given to FIFA.com.