Modern History (1990s To Present)
Heading towards the 21st century, the 1990s were not very good years for the Peruvian football team. The terrible 1987 Alianza Lima air disaster further crushed the hopes for the team as a series of good players ready to play for the national team died. Although there were still several good players like Julio César Uribe, Nolberto Solano, Claudio Pizarro, and José del Solar, the team was no longer the "Golden Team" of the 70s. In terms of Copa América, the squad could only go as far as the quarterfinals before getting eliminated. Meanwhile, in the World Cup qualifiers, the team was not able to even get close to reaching another FIFA tournament until 1998, but that dream was also twarthed by a goal difference with Chile. The only important title the team won during these years was the Kirin Cup, were they shared first place with Belgium.
The early 21st century brought with it the same Peruvian team, a shadow of its former self. Nevertheless, the squad began getting new revivals once the team began getting new young players with new hopes and goals. As the years kept going, Peruvian football once more started to give signs of vitality as local teams from the league began doing rather well in international competitions. Yet, the results were still vastly the same for the Peruvian team in terms of both the Copa América and the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. Quite surprisingly, Peru was able to do well when they were invited to participate in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and even won another Kirin Cup in 2005. Meanwhile, in 2007, the football fans of Peru received another great surprise as the national U-17 squad qualified and reached the quarterfinals (for their first time) of their FIFA World Cup. With young star players like Jefferson Farfán and José Paolo Guerrero had given new hopes to fans that things would turn around for the better. Nonetheless the possibilities of Peru securing a CONMEBOL place for the 2010 FIFA World Cup have completely vanished since the team has tumbled to the bottom of the qualification table.
Read more about this topic: Football In Peru
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