Juan Reynoso is packing his bags for a new journey. The United States, Mexico and Argentina will be their next targets to finally announce the squad for June’s friendlies against South Korea and Japan. Will there be any news?
— Will players like Christopher Olivares and Fernando Pacheco have a chance in the national team?
Yes, they are interesting players. Christopher already had a chance with us, from then on he didn’t play much in Cristal; then he gave us no tools to summon him. Surely they will be brought up for the next microcycle where there is a call from the local media. They are players being pursued.
— Will there be a microcycle ahead of the Asian friendlies?
No, because the teams come with a load of Libertadores, Sudamericana, a postponed League 1 date, so we didn’t find the moment or the situation to bring them because we increase the risk of injury.
At one point he was criticized for subpoenaing Andy Polo and today he reveals why…
(Laughter) Yeah, you get exposed to that sometimes and it’s part of this business. I could name a few more than why he traveled, why he played when he’s on a small team. We try to give those who made minors a chance.
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— What do you think of Alianza’s good moment at the hand of Guillermo Salas?
The thing about Salas is to congratulate the Peru coach and keep trusting him. What the board has done, what the players are doing, Alianza as an environment has a lot of value. The ‘U’ does a great job too. I think if there’s one thing you can appreciate going forward, it’s that if you plan well, there’s a project with a roadmap, the results will come.
— What conclusions did you draw from the tour conducted in Europe and Qatar?
Sitting at lunch or dinner with the player, not only with him but also with his partner, his environment, is priceless. Needless to say it was more than important because for me it unlocks a lot of paradigms that in South America it was said that in Europe they didn’t give you the conditions to know how they train. Today you realize that if you don’t leave, you don’t knock on the door, you don’t give feedback, they will be closed. Thank goodness the opposite happened to us and that’s what I appreciate the most.
Juan Reynoso closely follows Luis Advíncula’s games against Boca Juniors. Photo: spread.
— Will there be more trips?
Yes, we’re going to MLS, Mexican league, sure we’ll close in Argentina next week.
YOU CAN SEE: Juan Reynoso reports on his month-long tour of Europe: “The investment was worth it”
— Are you meeting Paolo Guerrero?
With Paolo and Lucho Advincula. Watching them train, watch them play, that’s part of the plan so by the end of the month I’m fully awake for the trip. Paolo keeps looking more complete, better.
— And Advíncula is a goalscorer…
(Laughter) It reinvented itself. Quoted on a new position because he always played there before Sergio (Markarián) made him a winger. In Mexico he had to play as a winger on the right flank, in Germany it’s not worth mentioning, he’s a versatile player that we like. Where do I prefer? A lot has to do with the rival, the present and the collective.
— What do you think of what happened between Yoshimar Yotún and coach Thiago Nunes?
Sometimes one dares to express an opinion when he wasn’t there at the time, but knowing Yoshi and with everything he sacrificed to be with Cristal, it’s unfair that they should take his honesty and… doubt his leadership qualities. Sometimes in football we’re competitive, hot, but things are settled when it’s cold.
— Will Peru do well in qualifying?
The stats and analysis are what we interpret and surely the fan will think more about the results. We see a clear improvement, especially in the idea. We will do much better against Korea and Japan, we will see growth. Things will certainly look better against Paraguay and Brazil, we’re in a good process.