Arlington (Texas, USA), June 20 (EFE).- The legendary Peruvian former soccer player Julio Meléndez, champion of the Copa América in 1975, visited the Blanquirroja in Dallas to wish the teams good luck in their debut against Chile in the edition of the continental tournament that takes place starting this Thursday in the United States.
Meléndez was received with affection by Peru’s coach, Uruguayan Jorge Fossati, and distributed greetings and hugs among the players, according to a video shared by the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF).
“I am of few words, I have come to wish you luck and nothing more. With the great professor (Fossati), we will solve it tomorrow,” said the former defender, who also conveyed a message of encouragement and calm to the team ahead of the match.
Meléndez, now 82 years old, is considered one of the greatest defenders in Peru’s history and was also a legend at Argentine side Boca Juniors.
The Peruvian was captain of the Xeneizes when players like Ángel Clemente Rojas, Silvio Marzolini and Rubén José Suñé were in their ranks, and he appears in Boca’s all-time ideal team.
In the Bicolor, he shared a team with other historical players, such as Teófilo Cubillas, Hugo ‘Cholo’ Sotil, Héctor Chumpitaz, Juan Carlos Oblitas and Percy Rojas, among others, who lifted the cup in the 1975 edition, which was played in several venues.
The Peruvian campaign to achieve that title, the second and last on their account for now, included three finals played with Colombia, two round trips and the third tiebreaker match, which was played in Venezuela.
In the first leg, the Incas lost 1-0 and won 2-0 in Lima.
In the tiebreaker in Caracas, Peru won by the minimum with a goal from ‘Cholo’ Sotil, while Cubillas was chosen as the best player of the tournament.
La Blanquirroja had previously won the title in the 1939 Copa América and in 2019 they came close to glory, although they had to settle for runners-up after losing 3-1 in the final against Brazil.
In the 2024 cup, the Peruvian team has as rivals in the group stage Argentina, current world champion, Canada and Chile, with whom it will face this Friday at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
