The Sports Desk
The Monday editions of El Comercio contain not one, but two, sections on sports. That’s the hallmark of a sports-crazy nation.
With that in mind, here are some tidbits I learned (once I was able to translate the paper).
The Real Futbol
The Peruvian national soccer team is in the middle of attempting to qualify for the 2014 Word Cup and all is not well for the Blanquirroja (the nickname for the team, which translates to “red and white”, the team’s colors) as they are 1-and-4. There’s still a dozen more games to go, so there is still hope.
Except the people of Peru don’t think so. El Comercio ran a poll and found that 57% of the respondents thought Peru had a chance to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil. Only 37% thought their national team could do it.
Oddly enough, given the team’s win-loss record, 60% of the people approve of Sergio Markarian as coach for the team. The ire of the fans appears to be saved for Manuel Burga, the President of the Peruvian Football Federation, because a full 88% of the respondents disapproved of his management.
Punching Through
Peruvian boxer Alberto Rossel, also known as “Chiquito”, retained his WBA interim light flyweight championship. To make his victory even prouder for the red-and-white, he defended his title in Peru.
We’re Number Two
The Peruvian national volleyball team is ranked number 17 in the world and is number two in South America behing Brazil.
Back in London
For the Paralympics being held in London, Peru has one athletic participant. Best of luck to Pompilio Falconi who will be competing in the discus.
Periodically, Peru 