:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/TPCZPGM46JBFDAEYG5HVJXBX2M.jpg "Jefferson Farfán told how Ricardo Gareca’s desperate reaction was when he saw Carlos Zambrano’s elbow in a Peru vs Paraguay match in 2020")
In a preview of their Focused podcast, those involved remembered, laughing, what happened at the Defensores del Chaco stadium for the Qatar 2022 Qualifiers. (Focused)
Due to his extensive time with the Peruvian national team, in which he worked for more than seven years, evoking the name of the Argentine coach Ricardo Gareca is the meaning of numerous memories for the footballers he coached during his successful cycle in the ‘blanquirroja’.
On this occasion it was former player Jefferson Farfán, who retired in 2022, and Alianza Lima central defender, Carlos Zambrano, who recalled a funny anecdote they had with the ‘Tigre’ during a match against Paraguay in 2020.
A preview of the next episode of his podcast Enfocados, which will have Zambrano Ochandarte as a guest, contains the fragment of the humorous moment that unleashed laughter on the recording set.
On the first day of the Qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, the Peruvian team visited its counterpart from Paraguay at the Defensores del Chaco stadium, having ‘León’ Zambrano in the starting eleven, while ‘Foquita’ Farfán awaited her opportunity On the bench.
When the 18th minute of the first half passed and the score remained tied 0-0, the ‘Guaraní’ midfielder, Miguel Almirón, managed to snatch the ball from the left back Miguel Trauco and was preparing to attack the ‘bicolor’ team’s area. However, as he continued his progression with the ball, he encountered the ‘Kaiser’. At the exact moment they were going to collide, Carlos Zambrano turned on his back and recklessly raised his elbow, impacting his opponent’s face. The Newcastle midfielder fell to the ground with visible signs of pain, holding his face and throat.
As soon as the violent impact occurred, the referee of the match, the Argentine Nelson Pitana, called a foul in favor of the ‘albirroja’ and did not hesitate to show a yellow card to the Peruvian soccer player.
The Argentine referee Néstor Pitana determined that the ‘León’ hit warranted a yellow card. (TigoSports)
The rough game played by Carlos Zambrano is no surprise to those who have seen him play decades ago. However, doing so excessively has led him to earn some expulsions and, therefore, Gareca Nardi has had scares when observing the fouls committed by the Academia Cantolao youth player.
In the Enfocados program, which will premiere on Sunday, April 28, ‘Jeffrey’ recalled the reaction of ‘Flaco’ Gareca to Zambrano’s abrupt infraction against Almirón.
In the first instance, Carlos Augusto tried to justify his fault, mentioning that he had only raised his arm and that the blow was involuntary. “It wasn’t a kick, ‘black’, it was that I got up like that (makes a movement with his elbow upwards),” he commented.
However, Jefferson Farfán immediately trolled him, not validating his attempt at justification. “He wakes up from sleeping like that, he says,” he mentioned with a laugh.
“I covered myself, I covered myself,” was the reply given by the former Boca Juniors. However, Jefferson Agustín contradicted what his colleague said and mentioned that the collision of his arm with Almirón’s face resonated even with the position he was in: the substitutes’ bench. “He rang. I was on the bench, on the other side, and boom! “He indicated.
From his place, he was able to tell first-hand the reaction of today’s Chilean coach to the elbow given by his pupil. According to Farfán, Gareca raised his voice repeatedly and said the defender’s name, holding his face in a bewildered manner. “Professor Gareca shouted: Carlos!!! “Carlos!!!” he evoked with laughter to end the story.
RIcardo Gareca was coach of the Peruvian national team between 2015 and 2023 – Credit: Getty
After not being considered to carry out the preseason with Alianza Lima by decision of coach Alejandro Restrepo and sports manager Bruno Marioni, due to lack of personnel it was decided to return to the first team and since then he has become the undisputed starter for the Colombian .
So far this season he has played seven games, four in the Liga 1 Apertura Tournament and three in the 2024 Copa Libertadores. In a total of 553 minutes on the field he has scored two goals and received two yellow cards.