How do Peru replace the ‘irreplaceable’?
Paolo Guerrero is ‘‘irreplaceable’’ for what he brings to Peru’s attack, All Whites coach Anthony Hudson says.
Peru’s captain was handed a provisional 30-day suspension for a doping violation over the weekend, stemming from a positive test for a stimulant after the Argentina-Peru match on October 5.
He has lawyers working on an appeal, who said the postive test came about through taking flu medication, but he looks likely to miss the first leg against New Zealand in Wellington on November
11 and the return match in Lima four days later. Peru have called Yordy Reyna into their squad as cover.
Hudson said it would be a massive blow for Peru, with so much of their attack centred around the
1.85m striker, who is his country’s record goal-scorer with 33 goals in
84 matches.
‘‘Guerrero is probably irreplaceable in what he does,’’ Hudson said. ‘‘I don’t really think they have anyone that is as physical a presence like him, who can play that type of game they like to play with him in the team.’’
That being said, Peru still possess a wealth of top players in behind whoever plays up front.
Hudson said their front five or six was where they were strongest.
‘‘Attacking midfielders, the two who sit in behind, whoever plays up front, Guerrero, Farfan, whoever it might be, they’re all quality players.
‘‘Where people say they go direct into Guerrero a lot, they also actually play through [Christian] Cueva and [Edison] Flores and [Yoshimar] Yotun – they’ve got some very good players through the middle. So I don’t think too much will change other than they’re not going to have that exact type of profile up front.’’
Regardless, Hudson was not about to change his gameplan based on the absence of one player.