MESSI LOOKING FORWARD TO PERU MATCH

The Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has said that the game with the Peruvian national team as part of the World Cup qualifying fixtures was more of a fight than a football match. However, he has also said that he is extremely delighted to come out of the match with the positive result of having drawn their encounter 1-1. The Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain was on the score sheet for Argentina, while his goal had cancelled out the goal from Carlos Zambrano earlier in the match. The Peruvian football Association recently apologised to the Argentine national team for the way they have been treated by the fans prior and after the match.

Argentina are one of the favourites to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and they currently have a one-point advantage over the Colombian national team in the table. They have 14 points on the board. After the match, the Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, who is undoubtedly one of the best players of the national team, has said that he was extremely satisfied with the outcome of the match.

“It was a really tight game, and it was more fight than football. Away games like this are always difficult and you have to be strong. The pitch did not exactly help either, but I don’t want to use that as an excuse. We would have preferred to bag the full three points, but the most important thing was not to lose. A draw is a good result as we still sit atop of the table. We will have to win our next game against Uruguay,” said the Argentine striker after the match. Argentina will be looking to make use of the World Cup that will be held in their home continent and win it for the first time after many years.

PREUVIAN FARFAN CAN HAVE IMPACT

The Peru international and Schalke winger Jefferson Farfan has said that he is extremely confident that Schalke can challenge for the Bundesliga title this season. In Germany, Bayern Munich are usually the team to beat. However, there has been a change in order in the last two seasons because Bayern Munich have been unable to prevent Borussia Dortmund from winning the title. Hence, the recent case being made for the likes of Schalke and Wolfsburg to also be crowned as the champions of Germany. The Peruvian Jefferson Farfan has said that Schalke have enough quality in order to mount a serious title challenge this season.

Schalke finished in the third position last season and were able to keep up with Bayern Munich throughout the majority of last season. This is one of the main factors for Jefferson Farfan to consider that Schalke will be capable of a title challenge. Apart from impressing in the domestic league, Schalke also did well in the European competition as well. Schalke reached the quarter-final stage of the Europa league. The return of Huub Stevens has done wonders to the club according to the winger, who is expected to play a key role for the club in their title challenge this season.

“I want to play for first place all the time over the next four years. We have a very good team – one that could even win the championship this season. At the very least, we should return to the Champions League. No single player can replace Raul. But we can make it up as a team. The exact role is in Huub Stevens’ hands. The right wing is perfect for me, but if the coach wants me to, I can play as a second striker,” said the player, who recently signed a four-year contract.

URUGUAY INCREASE PRESSURE

Uruguay managed to increase the pressure on the national team manager of Peru, Sergio Markarian, after yet another defeat for the national team. Sergio Markarian has been under pressure in the last couple of weeks after failing to get the right kind of results even with the best squad at its disposal.

Uruguay only managed to increase the pressure on him after their win over Peru in the latest World Cup qualifying match. Peru last qualified for the World Cup back in 1982, but they were looking at the possibility of making it into the tournament that will be held in their home continent.

However, the latest loss against Uruguay now means that they set near the bottom of the table with only three points on the board. Their opponents on the night, Uruguay, on the other hand now have seven points and lead the table. Speaking after the match, the Uruguay national team manager Oscar Washington Tabarez said that he is extremely confident that Peru will be able to do well in the remaining World Cup qualifiers. The Peru national team was missing a number of high profile players due to injury and Oscar Washington Tabarez has said that the team will be much better when they get the first-team players back, according to the Tottenham news website.

“I got (telephone) calls that tell me the ball didn’t go in for the first goal. They tell me that for the second goal there is offside. Luis Suarez is clearly off. I’m not going to make a value judgment over the refereeing nor do I want to stain Uruguay’s victory, which was fair without doubt, but I’m left with a sour taste, a hard defeat,” said Sergio Markarian after the match. He has also said that he will not be resigning from his post as the national team manager after this defeat.