Overview
- Ricardo Gareca said in a new interview that Claudio Pizarro’s omission was to “care for the group” that secured Russia 2018 qualification, not due to any negative influence.
- He described Pizarro as an excellent professional and framed the call as gratitude toward players who endured a difficult campaign and heavy criticism.
- Gareca stressed he does not regret the choice because reversing it would diminish Raúl Ruidíaz’s contributions and the staff’s conviction in him.
- The remarks were made on the YouTube program Pase Filtrado and were reported by Peruvian outlets including El Popular and La República, with RPP also highlighting the comments.
- As context, Peru’s 2018 World Cup run in Group C included losses to Denmark and France and a win over Australia.