by J.P. Devetori
It’s a long day for the club. Many different news were confirmed today, some good, some bad. Let’s start with the bad news.
Due to health reasons, Gregorio Perez will step down as manager. After having heart surgery, Perez will not continue due to health concerns. The decision is not what the fans want but health always come first. Edgardo Adinolfi will serve as interim manager. Jean Ferrari weighed in on the ‘Goyo’ departure: ““It’s not a usual situation, inside they don’t want to talk about it, but the players know that now they have to give 200%… All the fans and all of Peru love him.”
The good news? The “U” will play against Inter Miami CF in a preseason friendly on 1/26 at Fort Lauderdale. It’s going to be an exciting friendly for the “U” since they will play against the likes of Argentinian star Gonzalo Higuain and French 2018 World Cup Champion Blaise Matuidi. This is also a unique experience for Inter Miami since this is their first ever international friendly. The friendly in Florida has been speculated for months, it was originally going to be a small friendly series involving the U, Alianza Lima, and a couple Colombian teams. The plans did not fare out but it may still be an idea for later this year.
Ferrari spoke contacted and planned with David Beckham’s team: “Inter knows the heavy Peru population in Miami so they have elevated their marketing and publicity by making this friendly… It helps us to have an international match in the United States, in preparation for the Copa Libertadores. And it also benefits us economically… The contact was made by the people who took us to play against Huracan and Boca Juniors”
The other good news? Noche Crema 2022 is finally rescheduled to next Saturday January 29. Millonarios couldn’t play on 29th date due to scheduling conflicts. The new opponent is Aucas from Ecuador. Omicron ruined the original date of January 8 but the variant did not hold the U back. Tuesday is the start of the ticket sales. Socio Adherentes have first priority before general public.
Both friendlies will be managed by Adinolfi, we don’t know whether Ferrari will continue to deploy him as manager once the 2022 Liga1 season begins. Ferrari spoke highly on Adinolfi : “Today we had a match with Sport Boys, Edgardo directed the practice. I’m excited, I’m excited about the goals I’ve seen today. The possibilities in football are always on the table”.
Other subjects covered today: The “U” swept Sport Boys in a 2-0 and 2-1 wins in a 2 match pre season scrimmages. Ferrari spoke about a new fixture due to Binacional’s return to Liga1 after crying to TAS and whether he would sign new players whose teams are relegated like Cusco FC. “There is a great possibility of a fixture change. I imagine that the Federation and those in charge will have to make a change. We don’t know if there will be more teams, we don’t know the schedules. It is not a simple issue, there are plans involved”
It was a long day for Universitario. The ‘Goyo’ departure has been looming for days since his surgery while the Omicron variant has delayed many team activities. Let’s hope February be a better month for all of us.
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