Drums beat for Peru as team arrives
It must be wonderful, at the end of a long trip, to emerge into the open and find people wearing your colours and singing songs of praise.
Peru arrived at Auckland Airport just after 8.30am yesterday, ahead of their World Cup qualifier against the All Whites in Wellington on Saturday.
Around 50 fans were there to greet them, clad in red and white, and they were singing and dancing for nearly two hours prior to the team’s arrival. There were plenty of ‘‘oles’’ and plenty of smiles, and their passion was clear to see.
Peru have opted to keep a low profile this week, basing themselves in Auckland, rather than in Wellington, in part because they couldn’t find a suitable training ground in the capital.
It took nearly an hour for them to pass through customs once they touched down, having come straight from Lima on a charter flight that took a tick under 14 hours from start to finish.
Waving to their fans, and to the gathered media, the players and staff headed straight outside to the team bus.
The fans followed, singing and chanting - a couple banging drums - and a few even tried to hop on board to get a closer look. They were denied, peacefully, and a line of security formed along the side of the bus. It never got heated, however, and the fans kept a respectful distance and allowed the bus to pull off.
It wasn’t a smooth getaway, as one member of Peru’s party had been missed, but they quickly realised and had only gone about an inch before he was gathered up.
The fans sang until the bus was out of sight, buoyed by the appearance of their heroes, who hold the hopes of a country on their shoulders.
Peru are ranked 10th in the world, but haven’t been to a World Cup since 1982, 35 years ago, and with only the 122nd-ranked All Whites to beat, fans and players alike know they won’t get a better chance than this.
New Zealand Football chief executive Andy Martin had called for the country to make Peru’s time here as difficult as possible, given that the opposite would happen in Lima, but that plea was widely derided, and there was no sign of anything like that yesterday.
The team passed through the airport smoothly, and will now begin their final preparations for Saturday’s match. They will train in Auckland today and tomorrow, though it is expected those sessions will be closed to the public.
Among those gathered to greet the team was Francisco Davila, who was born in New Zealand after his parents moved here from Peru early in the 90s.
He said he had never imagined Peru would one day play here.
‘‘It’s very special to me, because I’ve always been watching them since I was little, but for my Dad, it’s more special, because they haven’t qualified for years.
Peru have been hit hard by the suspension of their star striker, Paolo Guerrero, following a failed drug test, but that hasn’t dampened Davila’s enthusiasm.
‘‘I reckon it’s going to be a very tough match, knowing that our striker’s not here, but I reckon Peru will come away with a win.’’
Dale Warburton, a Wellingtonbased leader of the White Noise All Whites fan group said he had ‘‘never seen people so excited about arriving into Auckland’’.
‘‘It’s great to see those scenes at Auckland Airport.
‘‘It really lays down a challenge for all New Zealand fans to match that passion on Saturday, both in terms of noise and colour.’’
As they made their way to the airport in Lima, late on Sunday night (local time) Peru were given a raucous send-off, complete with flares.
As one fan noted, responding to footage of the welcome on social media: ‘‘Wherever you go there will always be a Peruvian … and a McDonald’s’’.